Mail Duck delivers delight, and toddlers will clamor for more.
From a mail truck, a friendly, overalls-wearing white duck delivers variously shaped parcels—triangle, circle, square, oval, rectangle, and heart—to a corresponding critter who happens to be a lover of said geometric figure.
Each shape-and-animal pairing is allotted a double-page spread on which Mail Duck delivers the package to a grateful recipient. Pink owl Omar, for example, lives in a hollow tree trunk with an oval opening, and readers can peek behind flaps to view all the ovals in the owl’s house. Mail Duck hands over an oval-shaped package to the owl that readers can view the contents of behind a flap, which reveals it to be an oval-shaped balloon. This pattern is repeated with Scout the beaver, Cecil the snail, Trudy the mouse, Rosie the snake, and Harry the cat. The simple text declares the preferred shape of each animal, and Mail Duck ponders what could be inside each package via thought bubble. The final spread features gatefold flaps that open up the post-office exterior to reveal those friends with the contents of their packages, which happen to be party supplies in honor of Mail Duck. Sirotich’s art steals the show, with smiling faces and hidden shapes throughout in gentle greens, cotton-candy pinks, and highly saturated blues. While the 16 shaped flaps are easy for little fingers to lift, they won’t withstand robust play.
Mail Duck delivers delight, and toddlers will clamor for more. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3989-7
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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
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In this board book designed for the littlest llama lovers, adorable-as-ever Llama Llama (Llama Llama Red Pajama, 2005, etc.) gets ready for some Halloween fun.
Dewdney’s characteristic spare, apt rhymes convey a lot of action in effortlessly readable fashion. A charming and simple introduction to Halloween and its associated activities, this title finds little Llama Llama choosing and carving a pumpkin, pouring candy into bowls, picking out a costume and, finally, trick-or-treating. The costume Llama Llama decides to don—pointy teeth and a black mask and cape—is enough to frighten and fool his friends but not readers, who will immediately recognize and smile at the silly little mini-Dracula. With Dewdney’s characters as expressive as ever, young readers will be drawn right into the holiday fun, eagerly anticipating which costume Llama Llama will choose and excited to see him scare his friends and score some candy at trick-or-treat. In the equally appealing companion title, Llama Llama Jingle Bells,the little fellow gets ready for Christmas, baking and decorating some cookies in anticipation of Santa’s arrival. This simple holiday title will win Llama Llama new fans, and old friends will want to add it and its companion to their collections. (Board book. 1-2)
Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-0451469786
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
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