A playful, stealth introduction to a familiar tale.
Surprise, it’s a board book about Noah’s Ark, although readers might not immediately recognize the familiar story.
At first glance this cheerful board book seems to be about animal sounds. Pairs of doves, mice, snakes, geese, zebras, monkeys, and tigers move noisily across the pages, two by two. The animal sounds are repeated twice, along with the words they rhyme with, both rendered in uppercase letters. So the mice “SKITTER, SKITTER” and “TWITTER, TWITTER,” while the geese say, “GIGGLE, GAGGLE,” as their tails “WIGGLE, WAGGLE.” Finally, tying this all together, on the second-to-last page, a brown-skinned family in vaguely Middle Eastern dress appears, along with pairs of elephants, horses, sheep, butterflies, worms, and giraffes. Even on the final spread, as the animals troop into the ark, Noah is not named. A rather generic but positive message concludes this abbreviated Bible story: “They know that in STORMY WEATHER / friends like these should STAY TOGETHER!” That “stormy weather” is the only reference to the Flood, and there’s no mention of God. Caregivers who want to disguise their Bible stories may be pleased, while others will be forced to add further explanation on their own. Toddlers will just be happy to repeat the animal noises.
A playful, stealth introduction to a familiar tale. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5124-4443-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Useful for toddling birders in need of board books about colors.
Gorgeous birds amid foliage of similar hues introduce eight basic colors.
The two birds presented on each spread not only are of similar coloration, but also live in the same North American habitat. A scarlet tanager and a cardinal, both male, perch in a red maple tree; a male Eastern bluebird and a blue jay appear with morning glories and blueberries. The name of each color is printed in large font, while the name of each bird is in a much smaller one. Whether the bird shown is male or female, or if the male and female have similar coloring, is also indicated. The names of the trees they perch upon are identified in a note on the back cover. These details will be lost on most toddlers, but caregivers will appreciate being able to answer questions knowledgeably. Colors featured are from the standard box of crayons, except that pink is substituted for purple. Black and white share a spread. The cover image, of a cardinal, goldfinch, and bluebird in a birdbath, is not nearly as inviting as the images within. The final spread shows children (one white, one black, one Asian) assembling a puzzle that includes the same birds. This may serve as a reprise but will probably be skipped over. Bird-loving readers will probably feel that the space could have been put to better use by giving white birds their own page or adding a purple martin.
Useful for toddling birders in need of board books about colors. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-58089-742-6
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The art and writing can stand on their own while the gimmick will likely distract anyone reading aloud even as it delights...
A cow named Cuddly searches for a quiet place to hit the hay in this book with barnyard sounds supplied in an embedded sound chip.
From the cover, toddlers can push a big green button (which doubles as a speaker) to activate the chip, which features a loud moo with other animal sounds in the background; die-cut circles in the lower corner of the cover and subsequent pages ensure its accessibility throughout. Cuddly tries to bunk with the hens, a horse, and the pigs to no avail. She has a brainstorm and counts the sheep in a field and quickly falls asleep. Scheffler, of The Gruffalo fame, uses richly colored gouache to paint scenes with friendly, wide-eyed farm residents against pastoral backgrounds. Young readers may be confused to see a very bright sky in this tale set at twilight. Each one-page scene is paired with a nicely scanning quatrain set in a large font against a brightly colored background on the opposite page. In the companion title, titular Higgly Hen loses her eggs as they hatch, legs first, and then walk away. In slapstick fashion, she chases the walking eggs around the farm until she finds them all in time for them to complete their emergence. This offering sports a large yellow button that clucks realistically when pressed. The battery can be replaced by opening a panel (with a tiny Phillips screwdriver) in the back of the book, but caregivers may choose to let the noisemaker die a natural death.
The art and writing can stand on their own while the gimmick will likely distract anyone reading aloud even as it delights little ears and fingers. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9325-1
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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