For the youngest of unicorn fanatics; others may want to look for their magic elsewhere.
A young unicorn frolics with friends and family to the tune and lyric structure of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
Predictably, the singable text reads: “Twinkle, Twinkle, unicorn, / sparkle with your magic horn. // Leaping over clouds so high, / like a diamond in the sky.” Each double-page spread shows the titular creature, yellow and with a rainbow mane, tail, and horn, leaping over rainbows, cavorting with bumblebees, and dancing with a pink bunny, among others. As night falls, the unicorn enjoys a story from what are likely parental figures, an older pink unicorn sporting a necklace and a blue unicorn with bow tie (it seems gender stereotypes exist among legendary creatures, too). Waring’s childlike art is a candy-colored explosion, with big-eyed critters, both legendary and real, all with chunky, toddler-esque physiques. While the verse is nothing new (“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” has arguably been rewritten more than any other children’s song) and there is little substance, it scans and sings relatively easily. Youngsters will be drawn to the sparkly rainbow on the cover.
For the youngest of unicorn fanatics; others may want to look for their magic elsewhere. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3973-3
Page Count: 7
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Similar to Lenny Hort’s Seals on the Bus, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (2000), this treatment populates the bus with a...
Cabrera continues to adapt nursery rhymes and children’s songs (Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, 2010, etc.) into interactive picture books for the young preschool set, here taking on that beloved bus ride.
Similar to Lenny Hort’s Seals on the Bus, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (2000), this treatment populates the bus with a menagerie of African animals ranging from the common lion and zebra to lesser-known flamingos and bush babies. Most animals make a trio of sounds, like the monkeys’ “Chatter, chatter, chatter” or the hyena’s “Ha, ho, hee,” but on occasion there is action: The chameleon “plays Hide-and-seek.” The tale ends as the giraffe driver delivers the wild riders to a watering hole with a satisfying “SPLISH! SPLASH! SPLOSH! All day long!” Readers will enjoy the journey Cabrera illustrates with her easily recognizable style—bright hues outlined in black, with a finger-paint–like texture.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2350-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2011
A bit of a turkey itself.
A board-book twist on “This Little Piggy” has turkeys making the preparations for the family feast.
The text echoes the familiar rhyme, even beginning with “This little turkey went to market.” Readers already introduced to standard animal-sounds books will wonder what happened when they get to the end and the turkeys sound a lot like the final piggy, singing, “We…we …we... / …wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!” What happened to “gobble-gobble-gobble”? Furthermore, the in-between activities feel selected to suit the rhyme scheme rather than logic: why would a turkey knit a sweater, and what does that have to do with Thanksgiving? Blanco distinguishes the turkeys from one another with clothing and comb style, but they all have the same wattle and chubby wings/arms. Gender stereotyping is incompletely avoided. A turkey in a fedora goes to market, while a turkey wearing a baseball cap and trousers with suspenders “swept the floor.” Both male and female birds help set the table, but turkeys in dresses and pompadoured combs mind the little turkeys until supper is served, knit that sweater, and eventually call everyone in to eat.
A bit of a turkey itself. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0302-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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