A simple and entertaining Spanish word-builder for English-speaking youngsters.
With rhyming text and flaps to lift, little ones are introduced to six Spanish words related to things that go.
Each double-page spread introduces a vehicle, six in all: tren (train); camión (truck); carro (car); barco (boat); avión (airplane); and metro (subway). The left-hand page gives the clues: “CLICKETY-CLACK, / CLICKETY- CLACK. / You hear it racing / down the track. / It takes you far, / then home again.” The recto has a flap with: “ALL ABOARD! / Come ride the,” and when little hands lift the flap they will find that (hopefully) yes! They were right: It’s a train. The trick here is that the word is presented in Spanish—“tren”—and is then defined underneath in smaller print: “Tren means train.” The other five words are presented in the same manner. The cartoon illustrations in the margins around the stanza on verso also give clues about the hidden vehicle, such as tracks and a whistle for the train, or a rear-view mirror, a steering wheel, and traffic lights for the car. The last spread presents the six vehicles with their names and a pronunciation guide. Non–Spanish-speaking adults should be aware that not all Spanish speakers refer to these vehicles by the same names, though all of the words here are correct.
A simple and entertaining Spanish word-builder for English-speaking youngsters. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-2668-9
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
A disappointing twist on a popular theme. More gimmick than engaging.
This noisy board book is designed to thrill tots fascinated with all things construction.
A tactile backhoe digger is center stage on each of the five cutout pages, complete with flaps. Brief rhyming text describes the machine’s actions as it works throughout the day. Animal characters engaged in manual labor or operating other machinery—a bulldozer, crane, road roller, and dump truck—describe more work that goes on at a construction site in small speech bubbles. Finding the mouse in every scene adds to the fun. On each page, a little bird sporting a hard hat invites young builders to press various parts of the silicone digger to activate a range of distinct sounds. The digger’s track pad sounds different from the sound of its arm moving dirt. The problem is that the digger itself is passive; the track pad and arm don’t actually move. The machine stays in the same place on every spread. The caution light beeps but doesn’t light up. Savvy kids will quickly realize that all the sounds are accessible from the first spread without having to turn the pages. The sound is the most engaging part of the book, but with only five sounds, this feature won’t hold most youngsters’ attention for long.
A disappointing twist on a popular theme. More gimmick than engaging. (Novelty board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68010-684-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
Leave this developmentally inappropriate title on the shelf.
A board book for the toddlers of Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above average.
As with Baby Loves Quarks! (2016) and its series companions, Spiro attempts to explain a topic too complex and abstract for toddlers. The bright-eyed brown-skinned cartoon child on the cover is inviting enough. But it’s hard to imagine the real baby who will be able to follow her example: “Baby takes three steps to the right, three steps forward, and three steps to the left.” The text can tell readers that “This pattern of steps is called an algorithm” when repeated every time the child wants to go to the toy box, but that does not mean babies can understand, much less replicate, the behavior of a computer program. As with many tech-oriented toys designed for gifted tots, a toy train is used to illustrate coding. Later pictures show other machines that rely on unseen computer code to function. There is nothing factually wrong here. And yes, parents and caregivers can follow the book’s example by inserting the language of science and coding in conversation. But 20 pages of oversimplified explanations of theoretical concepts, no matter how attractively packaged, will not translate to understanding until the child is past the concrete-operations stage of development—and even gifted toddlers just aren’t there yet.
Leave this developmentally inappropriate title on the shelf. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: June 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-58089-884-3
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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