A lovingly packaged collection of songs worth singing.
A collection of songs and rhymes for infants featuring an accompanying music CD and analysis of developmental benefits.
In her second book, Cobb (I’m a Little Teapot!, 1996) explains how this compilation borrows from 12 years of experience teaching preschool programs for infants, toddlers, parents and caregivers, paired with her research into cognitive science and language acquisition. Introductory information on child development serves as the supportive springboard for soon-to-be-singing parents. Cobb provides a short but fascinating look at the development of some of the brain’s processes, both before and after birth, several of which she refers to as brief “windows of opportunity”—the crucial periods of time when external stimulation can help the brain develop into its greatest potential. At these times especially, according to Cobb, rhymes, songs and stories can nurture an infant’s physical and emotional growth. A timely song can soothe and relax a crying newborn, engage and encourage creative playtime or build memory skills and introduce vocabulary words to foster early literacy. Because hearing is the first sense to develop—after about six months in the womb—a mother’s voice becomes supremely comforting to her child, so Cobb encourages even the tuneless among us to persevere because “[y]our voice is the voice your baby loves best.” For readers interested in teaching this parent-child program, Cobb also includes four helpful and detailed examples of classroom instructions with suggestions for recruitment, setting, pacing, record keeping and registration. The delightful and expansive collection of over 350 rhymes and songs—36 featured on the accompanying CD—and 10 stories will add to any parent or caregiver’s repertoire.
A lovingly packaged collection of songs worth singing.Pub Date: May 10, 2007
ISBN: 978-0969866619
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Black Sheep Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A lushly illustrated homage to librarians who provide a welcome and a home away from home for all who enter.
A love letter to libraries.
A Black child, with hair in two puffballs tied with yellow ribbons, a blue dress with a Peter Pan collar, and black patent leather Mary Janes, helps Grandmother with the housework, then, at Grandmother’s suggestion, heads to the library. The child’s eagerness to go, with two books under an arm and one in their hand, suggests that this is a favorite destination. The books’ wordless covers emphasize their endless possibilities. The protagonist’s description of the library makes clear that they are always free to be themselves there—whether they feel happy or sad, whether they’re reading mysteries or recipes, and whether they feel “quick and smart” or “contained and cautious.” Robinson’s vibrant, carefully composed digital illustrations, with bright colors that invite readers in and textures and patterns in every image, effectively capture the protagonist’s passion for reading and appreciation for a space where they feel accepted regardless of disposition. In her author’s note, Giovanni states that she spent summers visiting her grandmother in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she went to the Carnegie Branch of the Lawson McGhee Library. She expresses gratitude for Mrs. Long, the librarian, who often traveled to the main library to get books that Giovanni could not find in their segregated branch. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A lushly illustrated homage to librarians who provide a welcome and a home away from home for all who enter. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-358-38765-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Versify/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems.
Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.
Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5078-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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