Though the book ends with the firm instruction to “sleep tight,” its playful interactivity is rousing rather than soporific;...
Lightning may not strike twice in the same place, but Long comes close with this companion to Hi! (2015).
Long imagines the sounds 14 different animals might make when being tucked in for the night. In his signature cartoon style, he exaggerates what makes each animal distinct, whether it is the pig’s snout or the monkey's large ears. Each pair's large, round eyes are focused only on each other. Although most of the animals are familiar picture-book residents, some are surprising choices— a ticklish hyena, a humming bee (which, oddly, lives in a wasp’s nest). Only a dog and cat are repeats from Hi! This time the words don't rhyme. Instead the sound each infant makes is repeated, then the grown-ups' sounds, slightly different, are likewise repeated. For example, the chick says, “Cheep cheep.” The mother hen replies, “Cluck cluck.” The words from the adult animals are usually a bit on the forceful side, as if they are gently saying, “Good night, go to sleep NOW.” The lion is the exception—the lion cub says “Roar, roar,” while the father lion purrs. Adults and new talkers will enjoy playing with the onomatopoeia and identifying the animals.
Though the book ends with the firm instruction to “sleep tight,” its playful interactivity is rousing rather than soporific; best not to save it for just before bedtime. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1366-8
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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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
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BOOK REVIEW
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