More traffic on the crowded board-book highway.
A digger and dump truck share a double-page spread, followed by “recovery truck” (a flatbed tow truck), fire engine, and recycling truck. An introductory spread attempts to explain all the features of the book: color-coded, textured trails, each with a string of tiny trucks to keep readers oriented, to follow with a finger, shapes to find and identify, and a peek-through hole that foreshadows what will be on the next page. (When the page is turned, the peek-through hole reveals an unrelated item from the previous spread, either a helicopter or a bird). The vocabulary is more complex than in most board books. Key words are printed in boldface, and directional words are highlighted along each track. A likely destination for each truck is pictured and described in a smaller font at the end of each finger trail. A typical truck sound is introduced for each vehicle, though only the “wooh! wooh!” of the fire engine is readily identified with its particular truck. The final page reviews the vehicles and repeats their trails and destinations. For older toddlers who are beginning to enjoy books independently, all this activity may keep them engaged. Younger tots will be overwhelmed and confused.
Purchase only if all your other truck books are always out on the road. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4654-5126-2
Page Count: 14
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
Did you like this book?
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
Did you like this book?
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not quite the Polar Express….
Sobel’s rhyming text fails to deliver a clear premise for the eponymous goodnight train’s Christmas Eve progress through the pages, and Huliska-Beith’s acrylic paintings embellished with fabric and paper collage don’t clarify the storytelling. At the start of the picture book, a bevy of anthropomorphic animals decorates a rather rickety-looking engine, and then human children gather around and pile into train cars that look like beds and cribs. The train follows a track, seemingly in pursuit of Santa’s sleigh, but to what end isn’t clear. They travel “through a town of gingerbread” and through the woods to find the sleigh blocking the tracks and the reindeer snoozing while, mystifyingly, Santa counts some sheep. Perching the sleigh on the train’s cowcatcher, they all proceed to the North Pole, where the “elves all cheer. / Santa’s here until next year!” But then the goodnight train just…leaves, “heading home on Christmas Eve.” Was this a dream? It definitely wasn’t a story with a satisfying beginning, middle, and end. Santa’s face is never seen; the human children and elves are diverse.
A Christmas train book that gets derailed by a lacking story arc. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-61840-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
Did you like this book?
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2022 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
