by Guido van Genechten ; illustrated by Guido van Genechten ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2017
A good choice to reassure less-assertive children that the world is safe and full of sights to explore solo—or with a friend.
Mother Kangaroo is ready for Little Kangaroo, who is not so little anymore, to leave her pouch and explore the world on her own legs. But Little Kangaroo would rather stay put.
Van Genechten’s story of a small child separating from her parent, first published in Belgium, is a welcome relief in the age of helicopter parenting. The mother’s constant encouragement to view the beauty all around is rejected time and again by the joey. She’s quite content to remain with her mother, who introduces her offspring to butterflies, birds, monkeys, giraffes, and elephants. In the reverse of The Runaway Bunny, Little Kangaroo refuses to leave her mother. She starts out with eyes closed, hugging her parent, plugging her ears to block out the world. But slowly, she turns around and hangs her feet out of the pouch, delighted by the wonders around her. Then, surprisingly, the joey completely changes her mind and hops out of her mother’s warm pouch, never looking back. What caused such a change? All the wild animals are easy to recognize, with clean, black lines and traditional colors and shapes. Accents in the landscape are filled in with graphic patterns, which provide interest to the colorful pages.
A good choice to reassure less-assertive children that the world is safe and full of sights to explore solo—or with a friend. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: June 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-60537-338-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
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by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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by Jody Jensen Shaffer ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
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by Kate Messner ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson
by Audrey Penn & illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson
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by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Mike Yamada
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