An exceptional bedtime delight that instruct as it composes restless little ones for slumber.
Lull them to sleep as you teach them to count.
Exquisite artwork and charming baby animals teach children to count from one to 10 while easing them toward sleep. Parents and caregivers may find this a perfect union of engaging, soothing words, images, and numeric instruction. The simple series of beautifully rendered two-page tableaux begins with the transition from day to night: “When the sun goes down, / one moon rises, / two stars come out, / three owlets rest high in the treetops,” and so on. After “ten ducklings tuck beneath a warm wing,” the enticingly somniferous action concludes with the suggestion that “It’s time for all babies to sleep. Good night, babies.” The denouement is a scene of a happy, sleeping brown-skinned baby tucked in and sleeping peacefully. In addition to the owlets, the book features fawns, fox cubs, puppies, kittens, chicks, bunnies, and ducklings. Numbers are indicated in numeric form as well as spelled out in the text. There is an elegant flow to author Walters’ text that is gracefully complemented in the lovely renderings by artist Bisaillon. The images blend cut paper, pastels, watercolors, pencils, and digital imaging to an effect at once striking and soothing.
An exceptional bedtime delight that instruct as it composes restless little ones for slumber. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1073-0
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Dec. 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
