The charm of the illustrations cannot redeem their poor interaction with the text.
Ten ducklings brave a dip in a child’s wading pool.
“One fluffy duck goes waddling one day. / Two fluffy ducks have found a place to play!” The verse counts its way up to 10 as more and more white ducks enter stage left. When each bird arrives, it ascends a short ladder and crosses a low diving board, but the ducks never make it into the water until the last spread, where the text re-states the title: “SPLISH, SPLASH, SPLOSH!” Various slapstick difficulties impede the critters’ attempts to swim, such as a tree branch that snags one duckling’s inner tube to leave the creature tantalizingly dangling over the water. While the rhyming text scans, it does not always coincide with the jaunty cartoons. The ducks do not look particularly fluffy. A couple of times the birds are said to be grinning or talking, but their bills never reflect this. One of the ducklings is called “Splosh,” but none of the others are named. Melling’s pen-and-ink drawings in fluid lines and muted colors are a delight and have a pleasingly retro look and feel; here’s hoping he can a find (or write) another text worthy of his talents.
The charm of the illustrations cannot redeem their poor interaction with the text. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-643-9
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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