Rich with organic material, this choice is as warm and patient as the ground that nurtures the seeds to new life.
Pine cones. Acorns. Dandelion fuzz. Sunflower seeds. Children are delighted by these natural treasures. But what will become of these little nuggets of life?
Ward and Ghahremani follow up their book What Will Hatch? (2013) with this second rhyming and riddling book on seeds. Hand-lettered descriptions provide bare clues: “Shiny, brown. Bumpy crown. / What will grow?” Gouache-on-wood illustrations in an earthy palette on double-page spreads provide visual hints. In the case of the preceding clue, squirrels hold large, brown acorns underneath the riddle on the verso. The answer page on the recto shows more squirrels skittering around a labeled oak tree with its distinctive leaves. Some of the riddles are intentionally vague, demanding that readers examine the pictures. Four of the answer pages are pull-out gatefolds that provide extra surprises. The page with the tall sunflowers opens up, while the page with the orange carrots growing below ground opens down. (Due to this unpredictable opening scheme, adult assistance may be required to reduce damage to the pages.) Yet beyond the riddles, there is a consistency in the content, the muted colors, even the satisfyingly thick recycled paper on which it is printed that reinforces the philosophy of this nature book. Endnotes provide details on the 13 seeds and their sowing times as well as the life cycle from seed to plant.
Rich with organic material, this choice is as warm and patient as the ground that nurtures the seeds to new life. (Informational picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68119-030-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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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
BOOK REVIEW
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