Perfectly targeted to preschoolers, Chedru’s basic palette and simple shapes invite young children to learn.
Bold pictures and simple language help beginning readers (or wannabe readers) discover the answer to the title question.
The background of each page is a single bright color. After a brief introduction (“This book will teach you how to describe size.…Have fun!”), there are 14 two-page spreads, each following the same pattern: On the left-hand page, a few words of text in answer to the titular question; on the right-hand page, a very simple illustration. “ ‘I am!’ trumpets the elephant to the butterfly.” Indeed, the blue elephant is so big that their trunk spills over onto the left-hand page, while the small yellow butterfly flutters above the elephant’s head. The bear has the same message for the honey pot, as does the leaf to the ant, the cloud to the kite, and the garden to the flower: “I am!” Chedru tucks an additional lesson into her simple concept with the use of various evocative verbs. Thus, the umbrella “sighs” to the raindrop, the fishbowl “gurgles” to the goldfish, and the flower “smiles” to the bee. Other pairings include a tree and a squirrel, a hammer and a nail, and a pan and a grain of rice. The final, winning comparison speaks right to readers. Chedru’s matte, posterlike illustrations are likewise playful, often—but never completely—approaching abstraction in their use of negative space.
Perfectly targeted to preschoolers, Chedru’s basic palette and simple shapes invite young children to learn. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-500-65149-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A light next installment featuring familiar themes.
Glue gains some sparkle with help from a new friend.
Whether securing Popsicle sticks and pompoms or bringing art to life with googly eyes, Glue is happy to help her friends create. But because her role relegates her to the background, she feels overlooked in the colorful shadows of Pencil and the Markers. Arriving uncapped, with a plume of purple and blue sparkles swirling about, is even more noticeable Glitter. Glue, doing what she does well, offers to stick some of Glitter’s sparkles down. But free-spirited Glitter is “meant to sparkle the entire world, not just one tiny spot!” A mishap might just open his mind and bring some shine to Glue’s life. In this third book, Kilpatrick and Blanco tackle individuality, confidence, and friendship. Glue’s contributions are vital and do not go unpraised by her friends, but she can’t help but feel invisible because her work is often unseen or physically transparent. Ultimately, the team-up with Glitter permanently transforms Glue: With the gift of some of Glitter’s sparkle, Glue’s work is hard to miss. Blanco’s mixed-media illustrations bring texture across the bright white backdrops of the pages. The minimalist art and short narrative result in a simple and cheery, if slightly didactic, message about uplifting less obvious achievements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A light next installment featuring familiar themes. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-81760-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The flat ending is disappointing for a group of characters who could have exhibited a rousing rhythmic finale.
Just before showtime, the animals in the band must search for their instruments in the lost and found by their identifying sounds.
A mouse happily claims the trumpet after a congenial-looking rabbit clerk produces a bicycle horn, trumpet, and toy train in response to a request for an instrument that makes a “Toot! Toot! Toot!” sound. Similarly a beaver retrieves the triangle from an assortment of things that make a “Ding! Ding! Ding!” sound. An elephant and a squirrel find their piano and drum, and the band reassembles, led by their conductor, a bat. The animals’ questions are phrased in rhyming couplets: “The thing I lost goes Plink! Plank! Plunk! I play it with my big, long trunk,” explains the elephant. The simple, black-outlined cartoons against a white or pale yellow background extend the narrative so that readers are expected to discern objects with their corresponding sounds. The rabbit offers the elephant first a piggy bank (“Plink!”), then a flowerpot full of water (“Plank!”), and then a comically tiny piano (“Plunk!”). Unfortunately, as the band comes together, their meager performance reflects the bareness of this storyline. The bat ends the search and exclaims, “You found my things! They sound so grand. / One, two, three— // let’s hit it, band! / Toot! Ding! Plunk! Boom!”
The flat ending is disappointing for a group of characters who could have exhibited a rousing rhythmic finale. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 13, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-238068-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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