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THINGS THAT GO

Name: THINGS THAT GO
Author: Élisa Géhin
ISBN: 979-1-02760-234-6

From the My First Touch and Feel series

by Élisa Géhin ; illustrated by Élisa Géhin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2017

While there is little to touch and feel, there is much to enjoy and see in the enchanting visuals.

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This French import is a primer on a variety of vehicles, each lightly embossed for tactile exploration.

Within the book, a stroller, bicycle, motorcycle, car, bus, train, boat, airplane, and rocket are featured against white backgrounds accompanied by one-word captions set in clear black type. Géhin’s primary-colored cartoons, with splashes of hot pink and leafy green, are perfectly toddler-friendly: childlike, playful, and recognizable, with rounded corners to boot. While the cover says the project is “An interactive book” and the series is dubbed My First Touch and Feel, readers encountering the large textural swatches embedded in the page may be disappointed. The tactile elements are almost too subtle to notice in many cases and vary from vehicle to vehicle, including spokes of wheels made of raised paper, a canvaslike fabric for boat sails, and foil on the rocket’s exterior. The bus has nothing to feel except a bit of gloss on the windows. Readers content with the striking images, however, will likely be satisfied.

While there is little to touch and feel, there is much to enjoy and see in the enchanting visuals. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)

Pub Date: April 4, 2017

ISBN: 979-1-02760-234-6

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle

Review Posted Online: April 25, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S HALLOWEEN

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2016

Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.

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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 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)