Ideal for young listeners and beginning readers who are making their first word associations.
Another oversized picture book by Swedish artist Arrhenius (Main Street Magic, 2017; Animals, 2016) introduces very young children to the sights and colors of the city.
Flat, Lego-like figures of varying skin tones populate the European-inflected city scenes, which include a movie theater, bookstore, port, airport, art museum, construction site, bakery, zoo, pool, park, hospital, and school. Some figures reappear in different illustrations, prompting a seek-and-find game or even a rudimentary narrative. The only word on each page is the title of each scene or activity, which is engagingly integrated with the illustration, designed in a type to match the place or activity to which it refers. “MOVIE THEATER” appears on the marquee; each letter of “soccer” appears on a different ball being kicked around; “dogs” is composed of the leashes that connect the pets and their owners; the word “museum” becomes a tumbled sculpture of letters. Retro, stylish, and elegant in design, with plenty of detail to engage young kids, this big, bright tome will be a great tool for use in a preschool classroom or library reading circle. Two spreads at the end of the book, in the form of one-sided poster pages, provide a picture dictionary of the words illustrated in the book, labeled in clear caps.
Ideal for young listeners and beginning readers who are making their first word associations. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0257-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
A nice addition to the series.
A retelling of the well-known Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale with a Russian setting.
The Once Upon a World series travels the globe setting familiar Western fairy tales in different locales. This latest addition to the series is set in Russia and tells the story of the “lonely young prince who wanted to fall in love” and of his parents’ insistence that the bride-to-be be a princess. After traveling far and wide and meeting many princesses who are not right for him, the prince returns home, disappointed. One rainy evening, a wet and cold, dark-haired princess appears at the castle door. Refreshingly, the prince and princess fall in love not because they are a prince and princess but because they have talked and found they have much in common: they have traveled widely, explored the same places, and had adventures. Mirtalipova’s illustrations have a pleasing folksy feel, many pages decorated with pretty flowery borders. One double-page spread of the princess being taken care of by a host of servants is particularly appealing. (With the exception of one brown-skinned princess, all the characters are white.) Though the text has been simplified and the presentation is in board-book format, the intended audience is not the toddler set. And the prince and princess? As with the traditional telling, the princess passes the pea test and they live happily ever after.
A nice addition to the series. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0019-1
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An appropriately bright and brief introduction, probably better for younger preschoolers than toddlers.
Tour around San Francisco in this most recent entry in the My Little Cities series; follow a young, brown-skinned child with a baseball cap and their adult as they visit iconic landmarks.
Each double-page spread shows text on the recto and an illustration on the verso. The simple text consists of rhyming couplets portraying mainly opposites in the City by the Bay: “Travel high / travel low” show them at the Golden Gate Bridge and in the San Francisco Bay Ferry in front of Alcatraz Island, respectively, while “Stop to eat / and stop to play” show them eating ice cream with the sea lions at Pier 39 and then flying a kite at the Cliff House. Simple digital collage illustrations in bright colors show them all around the city at such top attractions as Lombard Street, the Painted Ladies, and the cable cars. The diversity of the city is well-represented by smiling people, round-headed with round noses and skin of various different shades of brown. The author embraces San Francisco as a “city of parades and protest,” illustrating “Lights at night / flags in day” with the Chinese New Year parade and then a varied group of people with the letters LOVE and a rainbow flag in front of City Hall. On the final spread are brief details on the 10 landmarks featured, useful for all ages. The companion title Paris, with a similar format, features the same child and adult enjoying the City of Light.
An appropriately bright and brief introduction, probably better for younger preschoolers than toddlers. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5391-9
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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