by Jeff Mack ; illustrated by Jeff Mack ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 10, 2016
A simple, fun-filled goodnight book.
How do you get a chimp to sleep?
An appealing towheaded white child in striped pajamas negotiates for bedtime with a wide-eyed pet chimp in this humorous, straightforward, near-wordless story. Colorful pictures with just the right amount of detail energetically depict these charming characters as they tease, scold, and frolic. Young children will delight at the assignment of roles—it’s the child who says it’s time to sleep—as the chimp mischievously insists on staying up to play with toys, juggle, and even hang upside down. The minimal vocabulary—the text includes only the words “bedtime” and “playtime” with varying punctuation—makes this a nice selection for very young listeners who can explore the narrative playing out in the textured mixed-media illustrations, which feature watercolor, collage, and digital tweaking. Now it’s looking like this chimp may never get to sleep! And yet…even as the exasperated child repeatedly informs the simian that it’s time to doze, a toy proves to be too tempting, and the two throw caution to the wind for a happy game of catch. Turns out that’s just what the chimp needed to get ready for bed—or so it seems! A pleasant and action-filled going-to-sleep book, this selection may prove the perfect antidote for a sleepless night.
A simple, fun-filled goodnight book. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17598-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
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by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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by Patricia Hegarty ; illustrated by Julia Woolf ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2013
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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