Leave these penguins on the ice.
As the title implies, a counting book set at the zoo.
Starting with “ten playful penguins, living in the zoo,” forced rhymes count down in reverse as the penguins meet zoo animals: elephants, chimps, hippos, a bear, parrots, pandas, seals, and a zebra (unnamed but described as “stripy”). With each encounter, one stays to play with that animal. The penguins meet only eight animals, which may confuse some readers, as one remains in the rookery in order to prepare a feast because “she’s so good and kind!” (Really, the one who cooks is female?) The penguins are cute—raised plastic forms peeking through die-cut windows—but the slight story and cartoonish illustrations are trying too hard to match their appeal. The pictures add little new information, and the text attributes human characteristics to several of the animals. (Hippos don't take bubble baths.) The second couplet on each spread, “ ‘Penguins, stay and have some fun.’ / ‘Yes, please!’ says another one,” is meant to provide a predictable refrain but is wordy for young children and scans poorly for adults who must read this to them. The last page has the best illustrations, though why the penguins now sport hats and drink from stemware is unclear. Adding to the book’s woes, Arabic numerals are nowhere to be found.
Leave these penguins on the ice. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-79439-8
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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