Children with easily annoyed or embarrassed parents will love it.
Sophie la girafe thinks it might be a good day to take a walk—but her friends have other ideas.
Designed along the same lines as Sophie’s Big Noisy Day Book (2015) but, improbably, even more raucous, the episode features bursts of loud and uncurtailable motor noises, horns, or sirens from a chip in the back (which requires three batteries to power). Each one is activated by lifting a flap on successive spreads to reveal another of Sophie’s friends in a car or other wheeled conveyance. Rather than promoting the benefits of getting around on two (or in the case of Sophie and friends, who are all animal toys, four) legs, Sophie bows to majority will at the end and opts for a drive rather than a walk. Off she goes in her “noisy car” with a “Beep! Beep! Brrm! Brrrrrm!” As the sounds are light-activated, not only will they not reliably work in a dim setting, but in brighter ones, one or two passes will leave the flaps sufficiently ajar that just turning the pages will set off engine roars and persistent honks.
Children with easily annoyed or embarrassed parents will love it. (Novelty/board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4654-5375-4
Page Count: 12
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
While not as strong as the first two titles in the series (1 2 3 Beep Beep Beep!: A Counting Book and Stop! Go! A Book of...
A catalog of colorful vehicles.
A young girl gets into a yellow taxi and loses her bright red balloon. The balloon floats through the double-page spreads that follow and encounters a green van, a blue bus (in which readers see the young lady in pursuit), a purple sailboat, a white airplane and more. When the balloon encounters a black sports car, it appears to mischievously steal the hat of a passenger. In the end, the balloon floats over a circus to meet a rainbow train, flies past a clown on a unicycle (which is the book’s only wordless spread) and returns back to its original owner, who is now riding in a multicolored hot air balloon of her own. Biggs’ bright and brash cartoons, employing thick black lines, are as droll and lighthearted as ever against subtle cityscape backdrops. The vehicles and their colors are easy to identify (although the orange helicopter is a little too yellow) and are labeled in a bold type with the color written in the featured hue.
While not as strong as the first two titles in the series (1 2 3 Beep Beep Beep!: A Counting Book and Stop! Go! A Book of Opposites, both 2013), Biggs’ playful vehicles keep this one chugging along. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: May 21, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-195814-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An amusing, imaginative launch into outer space.
Milo and Mouse have an out-of-this-world adventure.
Cat and mouse buckle their seatbelts and head for the stars. The story focuses heavily on trip preparation. Mouse charts the course while Milo revs up the rocket. A vertical bar on the cover's edge provides a 10-second timeline that corresponds to specific actions within scenes and doubles as the countdown to takeoff. A bold “BLASTOFF!” in fiery orange against the royal blue sky depicts the rocket jetting off the page; smaller letters celebrate: “And away they go!” A maplike schematic depicts the steps of their journey, connecting the ambitious (“Visit Saturn!”) to the outrageous (“Hello, Alien!”) with more businesslike steps in between (“Discover new galaxies. Repair the satellite”). The final spread includes a nod to an American pioneer of the great beyond: “It's one small step for Mouse, / one giant leap for Milo!” Fine, frequently dotted lines and busy spreads gear this for toddlers and up.
An amusing, imaginative launch into outer space. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: June 25, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-60905-208-9
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Blue Apple
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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