bookshelf

HIDE-AND-SEEK AT THE CONSTRUCTION SITE

Name: HIDE-AND-SEEK AT THE CONSTRUCTION SITE
Author: Heidi Bee Roemer
ISBN: 978-1-68437-650-6

A HIDDEN PICTURES® LIFT-THE-FLAP BOOK

by Heidi Bee Roemer ; illustrated by Jannie Ho ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2019

There’s lots of detail, but it’s poorly organized.

bookshelf

This oversized lift-the-flap board book is reminiscent of Richard Scarry’s classic titles.

Four lines of rhyming text highlight the function of the equipment seen on each spread. Unfortunately, the rhyme is sometimes forced; “trees” does not rhyme with “debris,” unless “debris” is mispronounced. A concluding couplet—“What is hiding? Take a peek. / Lift the flaps for hide-and-seek!”—repeated on each spread directs readers to eight flaps hidden on each spread. Their small cutouts are almost too small for tiny fingers. Oddly, it is only after opening the flap and revealing the hidden object that readers are asked, “Can you find the _____?” These tiny objects have no relation to either their hiding places or construction. A piece of cake lurks beneath a wheelbarrow; a dump truck hides a pencil. The lack of contextual clues makes this book one to share with somewhat older readers, who may learn some new vocabulary but probably won’t be much challenged. Still, there is much to see and talk about. (Don’t miss the construction worker anxiously waiting to use the port-a-potty. That might have been a flap worth opening.) Animal workers of many species labor on this construction site. One is referred to as “she,” the only pronoun used in the book; two of the three adult caregivers depicted in a final spread wear dresses.

There’s lots of detail, but it’s poorly organized. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-68437-650-6

Page Count: 10

Publisher: Highlights Press

Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
PEEKITY BOO—WHAT YOU CAN DO!
by Heidi Bee Roemer ; illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

bookshelf

A KISSING HAND FOR CHESTER RACCOON

From the Kissing Hand series

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...

bookshelf

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
CHESTER RACCOON AND THE ALMOST PERFECT SLEEPOVER
by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson

- BOOK REVIEW
KAI TO THE RESCUE!
by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Mike Yamada

- BOOK REVIEW
A COLOR GAME FOR CHESTER RACCOON
by Audrey Penn & illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson

bookshelf

FIVE BLACK CATS

by Patricia Hegarty ; illustrated by Julia Woolf ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2013

For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.

bookshelf

A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.

Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.

For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)