by Hee-jung Chang ; illustrated by Sung-hwa Chung ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2015
An effective choice for developing shape recognition mixed with some salty fun.
Bottoms up!
Frog is off to a formal event when her fancy hat flies off her head and most unfortunately settles beneath the rump of an elephant. “Elephant, could you please lift up your bottom?” she politely asks. This unusual premise leads to a rather surprising exploration of two-dimensional shapes, as Elephant requests various foods that are round, triangular, and rectangular, mendaciously promising that then he’ll allow Frog to retrieve her hat. Simple text peppered with plenty of dialogue provides straightforward description, while collage-style illustrations focus on the different shapes as Frog produces various choices for her hat’s captor. Ultimately, it’s up to Frog to find a way to trick Elephant into moving, and when the hefty pachyderm finally does, it’s a sight to behold. While children will have more than one giggle at the repeated references to the titular bottom, shape recognition is the true focus here; the best part of this selection lies in the final pages, which feature extension activities designed to help children gain enjoyment at seeing shapes in real life (in this case, food).
An effective choice for developing shape recognition mixed with some salty fun. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-939248-04-6
Page Count: 34
Publisher: TanTan
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015
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by Owen Hart ; illustrated by Sean Julian ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2017
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender...
A polar-bear parent speaks poetically of love for a child.
A genderless adult and cub travel through the landscapes of an arctic year. Each of the softly rendered double-page paintings has a very different feel and color palette as the pair go through the seasons, walking through wintry ice and snow and green summer meadows, cavorting in the blue ocean, watching whales, and playing beside musk oxen. The rhymes of the four-line stanzas are not forced, as is the case too often in picture books of this type: “When cold, winter winds / blow the leaves far and wide, / You’ll cross the great icebergs / with me by your side.” On a dark, snowy night, the loving parent says: “But for now, cuddle close / while the stars softly shine. // I’ll always be yours, / and you’ll always be mine.” As the last illustration shows the pair curled up for sleep, young listeners will be lulled to sweet dreams by the calm tenor of the pictures and the words. While far from original, this timeless theme is always in demand, and the combination of delightful illustrations and poetry that scans well make this a good choice for early-childhood classrooms, public libraries, and one-on-one home read-alouds.
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender restrictions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-070-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
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