A feast for the eyes and ears, this beach and bedtime story will be read and reread often.
The protagonists of What Does Little Crocodile Say? (2021) return for a sound-filled day at the beach.
Big Crocodile and Little Crocodile are on a camping vacation near the beach. As they ride their bike, “the bell goes dring dring.” “The sunscreen goes squirt.” “The fish go blub.” “The hermit crab goes snip-snap.” Adult readers who enjoy reading with expression will have fun creating the sound featured in each scene, and young listeners will soon understand the story’s pattern and chime in with a “splash” for an incoming wave, a “tick tock tick” as Big Crocodile checks the time, and a “toot toot” when the ship in the harbor signals. “And what does Little Crocodile say” when it’s time to leave? “WWWWAAH.” As the day winds down, readers will notice a familiar bedtime routine. The pair shower and struggle with pajamas, dine al fresco with a cricket companion, and finally wish on a shooting star before retiring to their tent and sleeping bags. “And the moon says ‘good night.’ ” Reflecting the text well and adding details like seaside friends, veggie kebobs, and night sky constellations, delicate and whimsical colored pencil and chalk pastel illustrations of the pair stand out against generally neutral backgrounds with minimal details; each enchanting page highlights a different activity in this lovely day. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A feast for the eyes and ears, this beach and bedtime story will be read and reread often. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781774881552
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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
A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale.
The classic picture book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) gets a makeover for Easter as the letters of the alphabet locate and decorate eggs.
The mission is simple: “Chicka chicka peek peek. / Everybody seek seek! / Find all the eggs / in the pretty pink tree.” The letters are making their way up the flowering tree in search of the hidden eggs when a “SNEEZE!” scatters everyone and the eggs fall and crack. Luckily, a bunny hops by with a haul of new ones, which the letters then paint and bedazzle, eventually sharing the newly decorated eggs with a group of bunnies. This picture book is a successfully Easter-fied version of the original: The letters go up; the letters fall down. Truly, though, that’s all the preschool crowd needs. Chung’s illustrations are simple and familiar, a direct echo of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The letters appear in colorful, bold, block form. The book has few added details, just focal images like the tree and its pink flowers, the colorful eggs, tufts of grass, and some friendly rabbits. The alphabet appears in order (both upper- and lowercase letters) at the book’s open and close. The rhyming text follows the iconic cadence of the source material, making for a worthy read-aloud that will keep little hands turning pages.
A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9781665990646
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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