Brief—but surprisingly useful, and adorable to boot.
A cute, purple hippo models winterwear in a variety of colors and makes a snowman an offer it can’t refuse.
This sweet and simple board book engages children on several levels, first by introducing colors and various winter garments, then by encouraging them to review those colors—reading them, if they’re able—and count the number of instances of each. Not bad, given the deceptively simple narrative. The book opens with the unnamed pachyderm protagonist at the window, watching the snow fall. A series of two-panel spreads follows, text on verso, illustration on recto. “Where are my yellow mittens?” asks the hippo with a puzzled look on its face. The question is answered with a turn of the page: “Here are my yellow mittens,” the hippo announces, forefeet snugly fitted inside the protective handgear in question. The rest of the book follows suit, with a green scarf, a red coat, and a blue hat. The charming illustrations of the toddler hippo, buried beneath preposterously thick layerings of scarf on one page or eyes obscured by an impossibly floppy hat on another, should provoke happy giggles. Once bundled, the little hippo runs outside and exchanges all that winter gear with a snowman, making off with its yummy “orange” carrot nose. The final two pages review the colors, spelled out letter by letter, and the names of the pictured items (gloves, scarves, carrots, etc.) and invite readers to count how many times each appears.
Brief—but surprisingly useful, and adorable to boot. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-53411-002-1
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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