by Heidi Bee Roemer ; illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 19, 2019
A calm, quiet book that children will find delightful, enjoying the repetition and seeing themselves through the eyes of a...
This rhyming picture book follows a family through their toddler’s bedtime routine.
As caregivers know, the bedtime routine is the cornerstone of a toddler’s day’s end. It is time for bath and books and snuggles and, of course, a little fun with mom and dad. Silly nonsense phrases such as “Blibbity blub” and “Buggity boo!” will make small kids laugh and have them repeating the words. They also ensure that the rhyme proceeds in sprightly fashion; though not all the couplets include them, they ward against forced rhymes, as does the author’s decision to employ assonance on occasion: “There are ears to nuzzle. / Towel to snuggle.” Wohnoutka’s brightly colored illustrations, done in acrylic gouache and showing both mom and dad participating in different bedtime tasks, are sweet and recognizable for kids and will help them embrace their own bedtime activities. While none of this reinvents the wheel, that’s not really the point; the familiarity will strike chords in readers, who will thoroughly enjoy knowing the protagonist is going through the same loving routine that they are. The dad presents white and the mom has brown skin and wavy black hair, making this a mirror for a lot of interracial families.
A calm, quiet book that children will find delightful, enjoying the repetition and seeing themselves through the eyes of a book. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-12232-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Heidi Bee Roemer
BOOK REVIEW
by Heidi Bee Roemer ; illustrated by Jannie Ho
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jimmy Fallon
BOOK REVIEW
by Jimmy Fallon & Jennifer Lopez ; illustrated by Andrea Campos
More About This Book
SEEN & HEARD
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2017
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this.
A lushly illustrated picture book with a troubling message.
Little Lala walks with her father after his successful day of fishing. When Mama calls her home for bed, a host of “good night”s delays her: to the bird, the monkey, and even the rock. As Lala wanders through her village in the darkening twilight, readers appreciate its expansive beauty and Lala’s simple joys. Although it’s been artfully written and richly illustrated by an award-winning author of many multicultural stories, this book has problems that overshadow its beauty. “African veld” sets the story in southern Africa, but its vague locale encourages Americans to think that distinctions among African countries don’t matter. Lala wears braids or locks that stick straight up, recalling the 19th-century pickaninny, and her inconsistent skin color ranges from deep ebony like her father’s to light brown. Shadows may cause some of these differences, but if it weren’t for her identifiable hair, readers might wonder if the same child wanders from page to page. Perhaps most striking of all is Lala’s bedtime story: not an African tale but an American classic. While this might evoke nostalgia in some readers, it also suggests that southern Africa has no comparably great bedtime books for Lala, perhaps in part because American children’s literature dominates the world market.
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-17384-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Rachel Isadora
BOOK REVIEW
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora
BOOK REVIEW
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora
BOOK REVIEW
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.