This poodle lacks pizzazz, but it’s a decent effort overall.
A personable poodle introduces youngsters to some animal friends and to primary and secondary colors, too.
This Early Concepts volume utilizes engaging and expressive characters, bright hues, an appealing rhyme scheme, and a clear, simple concluding lesson to convey some basic concepts about color. “Would you like to meet my new friends?” asks a wide-eyed, gray poodle, who then presents the rest of the cast: a red bear, an orange cat, a yellow snake, a blue snail, a green frog, and a purple squirrel—and a rat, dog, and hog for good measure. The rhymed introductions are simple and fun: “Red bear braids hair. / Oh, what flair!” (Three braids in different colors suddenly appear atop the bear’s head.) “Orange cat knits a hat. / For a little rat.” (The rat and the cat are already wearing matching hats, but another one is underway.) Sentence structure and punctuation aside, the ideas flow in easily digested bites. At the end is a simple lesson in chromatics: “Did you know,” asks the poodle, “that a branch of science is concerned with colors?” On the final page, the book’s colorful cohorts present the primary colors and mix them to create secondary hues. Companion volume My New Haircut deals with shapes less effectively. The variously shaped haircuts, though silly, resemble hats or helmets more than styled hair, undermining the central conceit, and the concluding descriptions of a five-pointed star and a triangle should state “this star,” and “this triangle,” as not all triangles or five-pointed stars are equilateral.
This poodle lacks pizzazz, but it’s a decent effort overall. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7643-5914-9
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Schiffer
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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