A completely satisfying, age-appropriate package.
A clever, deceptively simple board book introduces animal sounds.
Long's board-book debut proves again that he understands children and what appeals to them. With just one animal per page, each with a one-word salutation, this is a board book that will speak to very young children. The greeting for each animal rhymes with that of the critter on the facing page (the owl's “Hoo” rhymes with the cow's “Moo,” for instance). Sometimes the rhymes are a bit of a stretch—cat's “Meow” and dog's “Bowwow”—but since the cat and dog are often associated, it works. It also is perfect preschool logic that the duck's “Quack” would rhyme with the yak’s “Yak”—and who really knows what other word a yak would use when saying hello? The illustrations are simple, stylized versions of each animal. Each picture gives a bit more information about habitat or diet, without cluttering the pages with extra words. Long brings it full circle, as a dove's “Coo” rhymes with the owl's “Hoo.” An additional spread shows all the animals without the words, so children can show off the sounds they remember. The final page shows a child saying, “Hi,” to his mom, who picks him up before she says, “Good-bye,” to the reader.
A completely satisfying, age-appropriate package. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1365-1
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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