The joy—and angst—of spring, artfully depicted.
A nature-loving pup overcomes seasonal allergies.
The playful dog enjoys everything about spring: romping, rolling around, and making “spring angels” in a blooming field. But when the pooch stops to smell the flowers, a sneezing fit ensues, conveyed in a hilariously over-the-top montage, complete with onomatopoeia: “Hurk! Haaa. Aaaah…CHOOOO!!” The dog returns home and sobs. “Spring is so special. How can I live now?” Happily, the pup’s tan-skinned owner has a solution: protective gear! With a bandanna and a pair of thick goggles, the pup may not be able to smell anything, but no matter. “I STILL LOVE SPRING!” Having experienced winter and Easter in previous outings, Yoon’s goofy, adorable canine approaches spring with the same zeal. Minimal text captures the pooch’s pure lust for life. Yoon’s sketchy, cartoonish illustrations are a necessary part of the storytelling, deftly portraying both action and emotion, from utter despondency to pure delight. The field of flowers looks lush enough to lie in, bursting with color and petals; the dotted tracks across the pages evoke pollen—and sneeze particles—floating in the air. Little readers will giggle at the dog’s silly anti-allergy getup, while similarly afflicted adults will chuckle at its effectiveness.
The joy—and angst—of spring, artfully depicted. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9781536237979
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers.
A board-book ode to parental love as old as the dinosaurs.
A line of text on the left of each spread reads like a dinosaur-themed valentine that a third grader might choose, with punishingly punny wordplay that incorporates dinosaur-related words. On the facing page a dinosaur pair—a baby and an adult—gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes against whimsical, pastel-hued prehistoric-ish backgrounds. In smaller print, in all caps, at the bottom of the left page is the scientific name for the dinosaur referenced by the text and picture followed by a helpful phonetic pronunciation guide. White-outlined footprints appear next to their names, though the white is sometimes difficult to see against the pastel pages. Ten of the best-known dinosaurs are included. Twisting the dinosaur names to fit the loving sentiments succeeds some of the time but more often results in tortured text, well beyond the understanding of the board book audience. The line accompanying two hugging velociraptors, for instance, is just confusing: “Wrap-TOR arms around me, / with you I’ll always stay.” Others are just plain clumsy: “I-wanna-GUANODON you kisses, / I truly just adore you.” Very young children, even those fascinated by dinosaurs, will not get it. Older dinosaur fans will be put off by the babyish format.
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2295-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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