Not much by way of text, but the high-appeal photographs and downright cuteness of the dogs make this entertaining overall.
Photographs of dogs accompany descriptions of their actions, moods, and appearance.
This board book reads like a coffee-table book of dog portraits for babies and toddlers. Each page features another gorgeous photograph of an adorable dog with a short descriptor: “spotted dog,” “dirty dog,” and “shy dog,” to name a few. The photographs truly stand out, as the dog itself is shown against either a distance-dappled natural background or a starkly contrasting color without any other images or distractions. Readers won’t be able to help but grin right back at the contagious smile of “happy dog” or the little furball that is “fluffy dog.” While by and large the photographs do accurately depict the text, the character descriptions could be confusing for the intended audience of young readers. For example, the “curious dog,” despite its cocked head, appears sad, with droopy jowls and sorrowful eyes. The “shy dog” could equally be interpreted as feeling blue. The companion board book Cats & Dogs features the same gorgeous, “aww”-inducing photography with similar short descriptors. While there isn’t much difference in the cat-and-dog relationships featured on the “silly friends” and “happy friends” pages, the unbelievably adorable kitten and puppy on “tiny friends” certainly make up for it.
Not much by way of text, but the high-appeal photographs and downright cuteness of the dogs make this entertaining overall. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4867-1581-7
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Flowerpot Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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