Caregivers will flip over the innovative flaps, warm animal art, and opportunities to interact with little listeners
Just when you thought it couldn’t be done, there’s a new twist—ahem, fold—on a classic guessing game! Read the clues, then open triangular flaps to see animals hidden beneath.
Folded into a robust, surprisingly compact triangle, the book opens into a diamond shape with a simple, animal-sound–related hint, such as “Who says MOO?” printed across. Pull down one flap and then the other to reveal a charming red cow. Giving readers two separate flaps per spread extends the delicious anticipation of discovering who’s hiding, making it a slow, almost theatrical reveal. Underneath are elegant, painterly animals in bold, matte colors embellished with wispy dashes and tiny dots in contrasting colors, all of whom gaze directly toward viewers, making the book equally useful for playing a spirited game of peekaboo as well as guess who. No mere novelty, the flaps are integral to Mroziewicz’s animals, folding upward into perky ears on an impressionistic cat’s face or down for dangling turkey legs. Putting the flaps back in place is fiddly but easy enough, though the book’s eye-catching triangular shape makes shelving difficult. Each of the 11 animals has its own evocative typeface and accent color. Warm pink flaps open to a zany patchwork piggie; the snake’s “HISSSSSSS” is printed in wavering, slithery type.
Caregivers will flip over the innovative flaps, warm animal art, and opportunities to interact with little listeners . (Board book. 6 mos.-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-988-8341-57-3
Page Count: 22
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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