While the book is undeniably playful, toddler readers won’t come away from the experience with much hope of identifying any...
Youngsters can see what their peers eat around the world.
The first double-page spread features lunchboxes from around the globe arrayed in an arc over a smiling planet Earth; each has a flap for readers to open. The subsequent eight pages give readers a closer look at dishes from Brazil, India, and Italy, to name a few. One line of a rhyming couplet floats at the top of each page: “In China, some lunches are steamed and some are stir-fried. / In France, we have a bit of fruit and cheese on the side.” Below each line, six or seven containers appear with more flaps that open to reveal a variety of signatures dishes from the featured nation. South Korean lunchboxes, for example, may contain simmered seaweed, kimchi, and gimbap (glossed parenthetically, as are many non-English terms, as “vegetable roll”). Elio’s cheery, whimsical cartoons in vibrant colors are fun to look at, but many foods may not look much like what the captions say they are; the stylized peanut-butter–and-jelly sandwich and dinosaur-shaped chicken tenders on the American page come immediately to mind. The whole, oblong package includes a die-cut handle at the top to give it a lunchbox look and feel.
While the book is undeniably playful, toddler readers won’t come away from the experience with much hope of identifying any of these foods in the real world. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1594-2
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
Given the dearth of board books about community helpers, caregivers and libraries will be happy to deliver this Tinyville...
The latest in the Tinyville series extends the field of board books about careers.
A smiling and determined mom has a job to do—deliver the mail, whatever the weather. Her first stop is school, where she delivers her children; her final task is reading them a bedtime story. In between, and despite the rain, she cheerfully delivers letters and packages all over a refreshingly multicultural Anytown (our protagonist has brown skin). Her work ethic is shown, not explained. A mustachioed gentleman asks, “Any packages for me today?” to initial disappointment. Three pages later, the expected package is found in the almost-empty mail sack. Back she goes, waving off his thanks matter-of-factly: “It’s my job.” Biggs’ background in comics and advertising is apparent. The mail carrier tells her own story, with conversational speech bubbles used when she interacts with customers. Black-lined illustrations are consistent from page to page, with her purple umbrella providing a contrast to her blue uniform. All but two of the simple pictures span a full spread. Unfortunately, adjacent illustrations collide in one. Apparently, Biggs had more pictures than pages and more information than would fit easily into a 22-page board book. This design flaw is not fatal but suggests an audience of older toddlers and preschoolers rather than babies.
Given the dearth of board books about community helpers, caregivers and libraries will be happy to deliver this Tinyville title to their young readers. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2833-4
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Say the words: “Warm…chocolate chip…cookie.” Oh, heaven.
The Julia Child of the Cookie Monster set sallies into the kitchen afresh.
Returning to form after dishing up disappointing Tacos! (2017), Nieminen pictorially explains step by step how to make chocolate chip cookies, while Oshkosh-clad sous-chef readers can join in using the sturdy volume’s moving parts to rattle a sifter, add an egg and vanilla, fold ingredients until they blend, and pull a tray of sweet treats from the “oven.” A final platter with die-cut cookies to pry up helps bring the experience at least partway from the abstract realm to yummy reality. Now, on to the real ones! Though her art is so simplified that a ¾ cup pile of light brown sugar and ½ cup pile of granulated are the same size and the inclusion among the assembled ingredients of “2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted” probably should come with an advisory note, overall the (uncredited) recipe is feasible, not too fussy about measurements, and, with some attention, perfectly liable to produce the intended result: “Delicious!”
Say the words: “Warm…chocolate chip…cookie.” Oh, heaven. (Informational novelty board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7148-7773-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Phaidon
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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