Put on your slicker and boots. It’s time for a rainy-day romp! (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
The few well-chosen words in this charming board book go straight to the crux of the action shown in the realistic watercolor illustrations.
Unobtrusive rhymes on every other page flow easily off the tongue. The simple, direct language mirrors language patterns of very young children, with one clear idea per page. One stanza says, “Water flows. / Make a boat. // Sail in stream. / Off it floats.” Accompanying pictures of a gutter downspout, a leaf boat, and the rivulet made by water from the gutter hint at details to come and will inspire conversation and simple science explorations. Is the water coming from the rain or from the garden hose lying in the grass? And who will use that hose later? Muted colors match the rainy day until the sun breaking through the clouds reveals a brilliant rainbow that fades at dusk. Where exactly all this takes place is open to interpretation. It could be a modest city neighborhood, a suburb, or a small town. What matters is that this bit of nature is right outside this young black girl’s home. Her glee as she stomps in puddles with her dog is palpable. That her mother seems to share her delight is refreshing.
Put on your slicker and boots. It’s time for a rainy-day romp! (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-56145-853-0
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Is this a nature book? Not really. But with beautiful young faces respecting living creatures, it is a great choice for...
With expressions of wonder and delight, little toddlers explore nature in its tiniest forms, seeing critters and flowers with the curiosity of new eyes.
McPike and Barton have created a companion book to their comforting bedtime read-aloud, Little Sleepyhead (2015). This outing repeats the same rhythmic couplets, bringing together the simplest of flora and fauna with a racially diverse group of toddlers. Barton uses digitized pencil sketches to capture the wide-eyed, breath-holding feeling of seeing a caterpillar for the first time. The children’s delight in the snails, bluebirds, and bunnies is a gentle introduction to quietly observing nature. "Little bitty chipmunks, chattering all the day / Little bitty ladybug always comes to play." (Here a ladybug crawls across a giggling toddler’s forehead.) The illustrations are open and breezy with white space, and the spare text printed in different colors keeps the focus simple. While the repeated phrase of "little bitty" provides a consistent thread from beginning to end, the uniqueness of every child is clear. Yet even the wide range of skin tones and hairstyles is secondary to the universal feeling of wonder.
Is this a nature book? Not really. But with beautiful young faces respecting living creatures, it is a great choice for toddler libraries. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17255-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
Put on those gardening gloves; the fruits of this labor beckon.
A young girl watches her garden grow.
Though she's a bit older than the typical board-book audience, her self-reliance makes her an appealing character for toddlers struggling to assert their independence. The strategic use of sturdy flaps provides both peekaboo fun and structure to the storyline. “Yellow daisy. / Red rose. / A bud blooms. / [lift flap] A flower grows.” Some of the interactive elements clearly connect objects to one another (shovel, pail), while other pairings review the progress of the blossoming outdoors. The child enjoys the results of her hard work (smelling a flower has never been so sweet) and waters her lush plants with her pint-sized watering can. Varied vocabulary extends the text. “Harvest carrots / . . . squash and peas. / [lift flap] Pollinated by the bees.” Perhaps due to their having been printed on recycled paper with soy inks, the matte sides of the flaps tend to be darker than the rest, which are glossy.
Put on those gardening gloves; the fruits of this labor beckon. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-307-93041-5
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
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