A lesson on being open to new foods that little ones will eat right up.
It’s dinnertime for those sassy Chickies (Bedtime for Chickies, 2014; Pottytime for Chickies, 2014).
Sheep, Donkey and Pig try to get the three little Chickies to eat a nutritious dinner, but the feisty yellow fellows have their own ideas. For instance, when presented with a noodle dish by Sheep, they respond: “We can’t eat this. It’s too drippy. / We want something chocolate chippy.” When Sheep convinces them to give it a try—“Just one pint-sized, pewee peck? / You might like it. You should check”—they change their tune and slurp it up. The same sequence occurs when Donkey feeds them Mexican food and Pig offers them veggies. Finally, it’s time for treats, and after protesting that they have no more room for goodies, the Chickies again acquiesce: “Well, maybe just one tiny taste. / We’d hate for it to go to waste!” The Chickies are bright yellow circles with simple yet incredibly expressive features, while their big-eyed animal caretakers are endearingly cartoonlike. Wobbly black outlines lend an air of instability and happy chaos to the effort.
A lesson on being open to new foods that little ones will eat right up. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-227470-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HarperFestival
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer...
Seven years after Little Pookie (2011) first appeared, this popular piglet is finally celebrating Christmas.
“Oh Pookie! Come look! It’s beginning to snow,” says a maternal-looking pig. But where did Pookie go? Past the Christmas tree, to put on a snowsuit of course. Pookie’s ever cheerful mama is willing to go out too. After all, “It’s a magical time to be walking with you.” When she observes, “Our noses are frozen. It’s time to go in,” Pookie protests in typical toddler style: “But I’m not c-c-c-cold!” The next three pages highlight indoor holiday preparations—making paper garlands, baking and decorating cookies. The rhyming text mirrors the spare illustrations. A spidery type that emulates handwriting makes it clear when Pookie is speaking. Then “the doorbell is ringing. / Our family and friends have arrived for the singing.” The second-to-last spread shows Pookie, mama, and six other pigs—and Boynton’s requisite chicken—singing (“Con brio”), “MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! AND A HAP-PY NEW YEAR!” Conveniently, this text is placed beneath the musical notation. Finally Pookie hangs a stocking and goes off to bed without any fuss, anticipating presents on Christmas morning.
The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer or an ideal Christmas Eve read to share with other little piggies. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3724-1
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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