A zippy art style doesn’t completely mitigate awkward choices, making this one to safely pass on.
Superhero community members are featured in this board book.
Going beyond the usual suspects (firefighters, doctors), this book nicely features some less-obvious superheroes: an author, a music teacher, and a physical therapist, to name a few. There is also the odd inclusion of parents who design toys as heroes, presumably because kids love toys, but it feels odd juxtaposed with the nurse and the firefighter. Just how exactly do “they save the day, every day”? Each double-page spread features a different superhero, generally following the same repeated text structure. The bright, neon-colored illustrations that accompany each page of text feature the hero engaged in their work in a child-friendly, animation-inspired style. There are nice little touches of traditional superhero garb on each illustration, such as chest insignias, capes, and boots. While the featured superheroes are fairly diverse, some fulfill stereotypes (the author is a white, bespectacled woman; the nurse, a black woman; the zookeeper, a black man). A few of the characters are described as a mom or a dad, while others are not, which reads like a messy attempt to demonstrate that parents are superheroes, too. The concept of community helpers as heroes is a familiar one, and while it’s nice that some atypical occupations are included, it’s not enough to make this one stand out.
A zippy art style doesn’t completely mitigate awkward choices, making this one to safely pass on. (Board book. 18 mos-4)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-947458-24-6
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Duo Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Not much to share or sink one’s teeth into here.
Rhyming text from a little girl delivers an idealized vision of big sisterhood.
Sometimes her mother prompts her to share with her baby brother, and she does, but she’s understandably displeased by how he treats her favorite things. Nevertheless, she good-naturedly continues sharing; she even starts offering him some of her waffles and her drink, soon realizing that the baby can’t chew waffles and just makes a mess when he tries to drink from a cup. The siblings end up happily sharing a bath and then a snuggle in bed with their mom, resulting in a picture book that fails to deliver much of a story and instead provides an idealized glimpse of a day in the life of young children. Why does sister just go along with baby’s wishes? Readers don’t know. Flat, cartoonish art in bright colors reveals the sister’s subtly changing feelings throughout, but there’s little detail to help determine how and why her feelings, if not her actions, change from one interaction to the next. By day’s end, instead of feeling tuckered out and grouchy, the siblings are simply happy to snuggle with each other and their mom. While perhaps a nice vision, this risks seeming more like parental wish-fulfillment than typical earlychildhood sibling dynamics.
Not much to share or sink one’s teeth into here. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4549-1403-7
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A meandering tale about a special day that Tucker fans will gobble right up.
This brief introduction to Thanksgiving stars a winsome white terrier named Tucker (Ho, Ho, Ho Tucker!, 2005, etc.).
Tucker wakes up to the smell of turkey on Thanksgiving Day and hangs out in the busy kitchen, hoping to sneak a bite. Later, he helps to clean and prepare the house for the day’s festivities. When Tucker’s canine cousins Tiger and Murphy arrive, they beg for food before being shooed outside to play football. Finally, the big meal is served. The dogs wait patiently, their rear ends and tails shown sticking out from under the table, until they are served their own feast at the end of a wonderful day. The story is best suited to toddlers and preschoolers just being introduced to the holiday, as the very simple plot highlights the bare bones of the celebration, including careful preparation and the coming together of family and friends for a special meal. Oddly, there is no mention of giving thanks. The illustrations, rich with vibrant fall colors, gently falling leaves, and cheerful pups and people, help to set a warm atmosphere of familiarity and fun.
A meandering tale about a special day that Tucker fans will gobble right up. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6887-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
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