Invigorating and ebullient.
A killdeer chick bursts from its egg raring to go.
Pecking its way out of its shell in great good spirits, this little plover is seeing everything for the first time. “My feet are verrrry far away. / And WHOA. / The world looks BIG today.” As the chick explores, Esbaum’s verse rhymes and rollicks: “[O]nce my down is fluffed and dry, / I take off running. / Don’t know why!” It zooms through fields, circling cows and trees; it gazes into a pond, figures out the concept of reflections, describes its own features and breaks into song. Mama pauses it for lunch but not for long: “Uh-oh. Gotta run again. / See you later, / don’t know when. / I’m learning—quickly!—how to steer / while darting here // and here / and here.” Using ink, pencil and soft watercolors, Corace shows the killdeer chick from very close up and from far away across a landscape, emphasizing how quickly it zips back and forth. Predominant tertiary colors with only small splashes of bright primaries emphasize the natural environment and balance the text’s high energy. Certain biological discoveries will amuse young readers (“I stop because…look out below! / Something’s falling from my… / Oh”), while adults will appreciate this baby bird’s similarity to human toddlers.
Invigorating and ebullient. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3688-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2013
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an...
A little boy exults in his new role as big brother.
Rhyming text describes the arrival of a new baby and all of the big brother’s rewarding new duties. He gets to help with feedings, diaper changes, playtime, bathtime, and naptime. Though the rhyming couplets can sometimes feel a bit forced and awkward, the sentiment is sweet, as the focus here never veers from the excitement and love a little boy feels for his tiny new sibling. The charming, uncluttered illustrations convincingly depict the growing bond between this fair-skinned, rosy-cheeked, smiling pair of boys. In the final pages, the parents, heretofore kept mostly out of view, are pictured holding the children. The accompanying text reads: “Mommy, Daddy, baby, me. / We love each other—a family!” In companion volume I Am a Big Sister, the little boy is replaced with a little girl with bows in her hair. Some of the colors and patterns in the illustrations are slightly altered, but it is essentially the same title.
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an older sibling can do to help. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-68886-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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