Learn about the treasures museums hold in this intricately shaped board book.
Each page in this tiny handful of a board book is a dynamic silhouette that mimics the shape of an exhibit inside, ranging from a narrow, rounded sarcophagus page to the square of a glass-windowed diorama. Pages are thick and solid, and all together they look swell, multilayered and three-dimensional, though those unusually shaped edges also lead to quick fraying. Unfortunately, the pages’ thickness limits the length, and with only five double-page spreads, it’s short even by board-book standards. Related in alliterative descriptors, lines such as “discover details in dioramas and dinosaurs” are tongue-twistingly fun to read aloud, but heavy reliance on fairly complex vocabulary (“artifacts,” “architecture”) seems oddly mismatched to a toddler audience. Approachable, vividly colored art features stylized, nonthreatening versions of T. rex, animal dioramas, statuary, masks, and paintings rendered in a bold, graphic style with minimal detail and no shading. Child art patrons have a wide variety of skin hues, and their interactive poses, including one making eye contact with a taxidermied bear (all the art appears to peer back) or another imitating a mummy, make the experience of visiting a fine art museum feel accessible to younger audiences.
This sophisticated title will be a boon to adults planning a museum trip with young children. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7492-1
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A familiar song repackaged as a board book doubles as a finger puppet.
Many a caregiver has sung this refrain to a newborn or toddler, ignoring the decidedly sad lyrics of the original. Magsamen lays claim and sweetens it up. She uses only the chorus and changes the last line to “I’ll give you lots of hugs… / and kisses every day” instead of the expected “Please don’t take my sunshine away.” Her cheery artwork, reminiscent of applique, recalls the song’s country-music roots and is anything but sad. The pages are decorated with hearts and cuddly-looking caregiver-child animal pairs—foxes, skunks with sunny yellow umbrellas, bunnies, raccoons, and squirrels. The thick, heart-shaped pages include a circular die-cut hole through which readers might poke the smiling felt sun puppet attached to the back cover. A finger inserted from the back makes the sun wiggle and will capture even the youngest baby’s attention. The puppet feature does not obstruct the initial page turns, but when a toddler says, “Do it again” (as they doubtless will), quickly re-positioning the finger puppet is somewhat challenging.
A fun but inessential novelty, as much toy as book. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-30576-0
Page Count: 6
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A favorite baby-and-toddler activity receives an upbeat celebration that will get those fingers going. Watch out!
The gang of frazzled felines that populate this outing are truly the cat's meow. Based on Boynton's song of the same title, the text is reproduced in a colored, patterned font that amps the energy right up. A forlorn little kitty, paws clasped in front of his body, appears anxious (though slightly intrigued) when a trio of toms encourages him to join in the fun. “Gitchy-gitchy / Goo Gotta / Ready, Set, Go!” It doesn't take long before the cautious cat jumps in on this chorus line with dramatic leaps and fluttering fingers. A little birdie acts as a square-dance caller, enunciating each beat (“Goo bop. / Gitchy-goo bop”). The shaggy, large-nosed felines are tremendously expressive in their synchronized movements and maintain a rollicking pace. “We can tickle high. / We can tickle low. / We can tickle QUICKQUICKQUICK / as fast as we can go!” (Here, the page is filled with iterations of "gitchy gitchy gitchy" in different colors.) At the end, the gang sprawls on the floor, exhausted, after a truly monumental tickle-fest.
Sure to prompt little fingers into joyful action. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7611-6883-6
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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