Attractive—but as ephemeral as a Christmas card.
Christmas revelries are presented on shaped pages in this French import.
In this “bookscape,” thick board pages form the shapes of: two families making cookies (one on each side of the page), two snow-covered cottages (ditto), a winter landscape featuring animals and snowmen, and, finally, a Christmas tree with a star on top. Terse, forgettable (and uncredited) text is sprinkled throughout, but it is more pro forma than necessary. The droll art in gentle colors employs simple shapes and clean lines. The people, who look like they could be iced Christmas cookies themselves, range in skin color from pink to beige and do not seem to be very diverse. There are a couple of clever moments for the sharp-eyed: A squirrel steals a carrot off a snowman, and a red-nosed reindeer makes an appearance. Safety-conscious adults may wonder why lit candles are being used to decorate the tree or a child is eating cookie dough off a spoon. While the spine is truncated to accommodate the overlapping, shaped pages, the extra-thick pages make it relatively sturdy. While it may physically survive more than one season, however, the slight content doesn’t encourage holiday rereading.
Attractive—but as ephemeral as a Christmas card. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7491-4
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Cute and sprightly but not a standout.
Deck the stalls?
A bevy of barnyard animals, a cat, and some dogs get fully into the Christmas spirit by sprucing up the farm with colorful decorations, including holly berries and sparkling baubles. They have a great time and sing while going about their merry chores in a manner somewhat in keeping with the rhythm of the classic tune “Deck the Halls.” (In fact, a flock of sheep are shown holding song sheets for it.) As might be expected with these particular celebrants, some of the familiar lyrics are altered just a bit; for instance, “boughs of holly” is “translated” as “cows and holly.” Adult readers expecting the rhythm here to work exactly as it does in the original will be disappointed, because it doesn’t—it’s clunky. This is merely a brief, lightweight spoof of the familiar ditty, so it’s recommended that grown-ups read rather than sing this—except for that final line!—to very young targeted audiences, who may be unfamiliar with the actual song anyway. Some fun is still to be had in the illustrations, however. The spirited, wittily expressive animal characters are depicted having a fine time romping about and producing a variety of onomatopoeic sounds throughout. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cute and sprightly but not a standout. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66591-435-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
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Exactly what readers want and expect from the board-book master.
Pookie and family celebrate Thanksgiving.
Boynton’s precocious little pig is back in this holiday installment. The family gets ready for Thanksgiving by baking pies, welcoming Nemmy and Boppa for dinner, and sharing gratitude (and pie!). Boynton’s familiar rhyming text and simple, thick-lined illustrations are exactly what readers have come to expect from this series: Pookie is a little silly, the story bounces along, and the artwork is warm and cozy. Though most of the action takes place inside, the passage of day is clear through the window, from daylight to the setting sun. Decorations and a tree with just a few leaves on it indicate the autumnal season. There are two pages where numbers are called out, presented differently from the rest of the typeface (Pookie and their parents prepare apple pie and one pumpkin pie, and there will be five guests at dinner). The only bolded digits are one and five, even though the text does mention that there will be a total of two pies—a stylistic choice that seems to point readers to counting practice but that feels a bit random. Overall, though, this is a worthy new story about one of Boynton’s most beloved characters. True to form, it’s a toddler-friendly read, providing context for the festivities and a sweet representation of gratitude. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Exactly what readers want and expect from the board-book master. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66592-263-0
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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