The lovable chimp, Bobo, of the wilds of Africa and previous title Hug (2000), returns with a desire to be taller than his small stature permits. First standing on top of a rock, his buddies—frog, lion cub, elephant calf and giraffe—help him successively reach greater heights by allowing him to stand on their shoulders or heads. When giraffe’s horned head proves to be a bit too high and unsteady, Bobo wobbles and falls down to Mommy’s waiting and loving arms. Two dominant alternating words, “small/tall,” build to the climatic three word finale, “fall/Bobo/Mommy.” The practically wordless text offers a dramatic scenario of consecutive views with large gouache and marker-pen jungle scenes in greens and pale orange/yellows. Expressive animal caricatures depict the emotions and desires of this cause-and-effect sequence story representing the wish of every child to be as big or as tall as his surrounding older siblings and friends. Endearingly simple and effective for the youngest. (Picture book. 1-3)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-7636-2784-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fun spotlight on a warm-weather treat.
An ice cream truck makes the neighborhood rounds.
Shaped like a truck, this board book shows the pastel-pink vehicle touring various spots—the school, the library, the pool, and the park—before retiring for the night. The rhyming text keeps pages turning and lends itself to a lap-sit read-aloud. Words like mosey and cruise are fresh synonyms for the more obvious go and drive. Surprisingly, there is only a brief mention of the truck’s iconic tune (“You’ll hear me at the park”). The anthropomorphic truck has a warm, welcoming face but no driver. This means there are odd floating ice cream scoops, and children seem to magically receive treats. The thickly outlined, colorful, appealing illustrations are similar to those in other board books. Little ones will enjoy looking for fun details on the various spreads, such as flowers, houses, and animals. The children are diverse in terms of skin tone and hair color, and they and the truck are smiling in nearly every scene. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A fun spotlight on a warm-weather treat. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 9781665932981
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
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