Lively interactive fun.
A small boy loses his dog—and readers help him find it.
Doug, a black-haired Asian child, sits forlornly on a park bench, an empty leash hanging limply from his hands. A few dogs frolic nearby; one wallows in mud. The narrator sympathizes, then invites readers to help Doug out and poses the first of several questions, in boldfaced type: “What does your dog look like, Doug?” This evokes the answer “scruffy,” rendered in fuzzy, dark type. On subsequent pages, questions to Doug, his responses, and successive instructions to readers are all boldfaced. All these highlight new vocabulary and act as identifiers so children may distinguish from an array of depicted dogs, as in the directive to “Call ‘Here Scruff!’ to all the scruffy dogs.” Will children take this bait? Of course, and on the following spread, the scruffy dogs come running. And so it proceeds. The narrator asks questions, and Doug responds—but only in speech balloons, offstage. After the opening spreads, the story isn’t so much about Doug as about children’s following irresistible instructions—patting, tickling, kissing dogs!—while exercising visual acuity and honing vocabulary and sentence-meaning skills. A final instruction delivers a surprise, a joyous reunion, and the narrator’s gratitude. An empathic, easy-to-understand situation and sturdy pages make this a good choice for the very young, and the rollicking watercolor, pencil, and digital-media illustrations will provide plenty of entertainment at sharing time.
Lively interactive fun. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: April 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-78285-320-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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