The book, a revision of A Night-Light for Bunny (2004), is only partly successful in execution. Children who want soothing...
When Bunny announces that he cannot sleep because “[t]here’s too much dark at night,” he and Papa go off on the subtitle’s promised “Glow-in-the-Dark Search” for the perfect night-light.
The text presents a comforting, if slight exchange between father and child as Papa points out potential night-lights and Bunny rejects them: The moon? Too bright. Stars? Too twinkly. Fireflies? Too busy. Papa never loses patience as their hunt takes them from their front door to field and shore and all around rabbit town, when Papa finally realizes that Bunny wants a light in his room. They return home again, where Mama solves the problem by unpacking the night-light she used as a child. Each spread is framed by a repeating border of vignettes in soothing indigo blue. The illustrations are suffused with earthy colors and muted pinks, blues and greens, creating such a cozy scene of town and home that children will want to move in. However, the rabbits’ faces are sometimes distorted, and the promised glow-in-the-dark lights are disappointingly dim unless read under the covers, spread by spread, with a flashlight flicking on and off.
The book, a revision of A Night-Light for Bunny (2004), is only partly successful in execution. Children who want soothing at bedtime may do better with House in the Night, by Susan Marie Swanson and illustrated by Beth Krommes (2008), or the classic Goodnight Moon. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-375-86926-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fun format; bland text.
A hefty board book filled with ruminations on the nature of love.
While love is the topic of this board book, it’s the inventive gatefolds and charmingly vintage illustrations that readers will fall for. Brimming with sweeping declarations along the lines of “Love is / strong. // You have my back and I’ll always have yours,” the text sounds like a series of greeting cards strung together. It’s benign enough, but are most toddlers interested in generic proclamations about love? Some statements, like the ones on “unsinkable” hippos or a panda parent holding a cub “steady,” could introduce new vocabulary. At least there’s plenty of winsome critters to fawn over as the surprisingly sturdy flaps tell dramatic little ministories for each cartoon-style animal species. A downcast baby giraffe looks longingly up at a too-high tasty branch; lift a flap to bring an adult giraffe—and the delicacy—down to the baby, or watch an adventurous young fox retreat into a fold-down–flap burrow to learn that “my heart will always be home with you.” At points, the pages are tricky to turn in the correct order, but clever touches, like a series of folds that slow readers down to a sloth’s speed, make up for it. The book concludes with a gatefold revealing a vibrant playground populated with racially and ethnically diverse humans; two are wheelchair users.
Fun format; bland text. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3153-2
Page Count: 84
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Although a bit on the slight side, this offering is infused with a warm, light humor just right for cuddling up with a young...
This title previously published in the U.K. takes a cozy look at all kinds of kisses.
Walsh’s rhyming text is full of cutesy rhythms: “Kisses on noses, kisses on toes-es. Sudden kisses when you least supposes.” Sometimes the phrasing stumbles: “Who likes to kiss? I do! I do! Even the shy do. Why not try, too?” But toddlers and young preschoolers will probably not mind. They will be too engaged in spotting the lively penguin on each spread and too charmed by Abbot’s winsome illustrations that fittingly extend the wording in the story. Patient dogs queue up for a smooch from a frog prince, cool blue “ ’normous elephants” contrast strikingly with bright red “little tiny ants” and a bewildered monkey endures a smattering of lipstick kisses. Be the kiss small or tall, one to start or end the day, young readers are reminded that “the very best kiss… / is a kiss from you!” Perhaps no big surprise but comforting nonetheless.
Although a bit on the slight side, this offering is infused with a warm, light humor just right for cuddling up with a young tyke or sharing with a gathering for storytime. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Dec. 20, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2769-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2011
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