by Emma Randall ; illustrated by Emma Randall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021
An adequate addition to an Easter basket.
Four children try to track down the Easter Bunny.
Of the four children searching the grounds of this farm, one is Black (lovely to see the Black child tenderly cuddling a lamb), one is possibly Asian, one has brown skin and brown hair, and the last is White. It’s Easter day, and the mostly rhyming (sometimes straining) text follows the children as they try to track down the Easter Bunny, who “brings chocolate every year[.] / And then hops away again—just watch him disappear!” The children don some truly remarkable Easter bonnets and then are off to find the Easter Bunny. The quartet discovers eggs along the way as they search for the elusive egg-giver over a bridge, through a forest, across a meadow, and finally behind a waterfall—where they find not only the Easter Bunny and his cave full of eggs, but also his egg machine, which makes what appear to be chocolate eggs. Though pastel colors abound, the palette overall is, refreshingly, brighter than what’s seen in many Easter books. The details of the patterns and colors of the eggs will give readers lots to look at as they absorb the Easter Bunny’s lesson that he leaves eggs to remind people of “new life to be appreciated,” embracing the themes of springtime. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 29.6% of actual size.) An adequate addition to an Easter basket. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9333-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014
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
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by Patricia Hegarty ; illustrated by Julia Woolf ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2013
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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