A gentle blend of storytelling, travelogue, and reassurance and reinforcement for children beginning to explore the world.
The adventures of a sunny-natured pup continue as she adjusts to her new home in Seattle in the second installment of a travel-centered chapter-book series.
The first book in this series by Bender (Lindie Lou, Adventure Series: Flying High, 2016) took a spirited little dog named Lindie Lou through the first months of her puppyhood with her family in Missouri. It concluded with a plane trip that ends where this book begins: Seattle. There, Lindie Lou meets her new human family and sees some Seattle sights, including Pike Place Market, where Lindie Lou reunites with Max, the old dog who reassured her during their flight to Washington, and the Space Needle, where a frightened Lindie Lou inadvertently causes chaos in a gift store. As before, the pup’s lessons learned and emotions speak to her target audience: young readers whose increasing exposure to the wider world can be both intimidating and exciting. The little dog learns lessons about caution and earning trust, and when she feels overwhelmed, she has the comfort of her favorite toy and the arms of human parent Kate. (This effort to be relatable sometimes comes at the expense of responsible canine caretaking; e.g., Kate lets Lindie Lou trot off with Max at the open-air market and allows random children in a park to grab at and play with her.) Willows’ (Lindie Lou, Adventure Series: Flying High, 2016) cartoon-style illustrations, which share space with the well-spaced text, offer bright colors, clarity, and an endearing, cuddly puppy with big paws and fluffy ears. Different lettering styles add reading fun by giving visual emphasis to certain words. The story’s ending sets up Lindie Lou’s next adventure—a trip to an organic farm. In keeping with the series’ travel theme, the author again includes a quiz, fun facts, things to do and places to go in Seattle, and internet resources. (A couple of grammatical fixes are needed.)
A gentle blend of storytelling, travelogue, and reassurance and reinforcement for children beginning to explore the world.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-943493-18-0
Page Count: 172
Publisher: Pina Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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