This traditional spiritual is the basis of a new counting book with bright, happy collages of animals entering Noah’s ark. They swing along with a bright blue sky and green grass dotted with flowers as the background. Noah begins the song with the building of a long, gray ark and at the end of the verses is seen drawing up the gangplank with all of the groups of animals represented at the ark windows. He is not seen as the animals enter the ark, the better for small fingers to count each animal, from the elephant chewing a honey bun to the ten hens, the last of which says, “We’re the last ones in!” The groups of animals, kangaroos, polar bears, bulls, llamas, monkeys, flamingoes, aardvarks, turtles, and hens are each given a double spread with the verse in the upper-left-hand corner. The numeral appears before the verse, but the numbers for four and five are barely discernible against the blue sky. The entire text, including that on the jacket, rolls up and down, giving the feeling of a wave. The collage includes handpainted papers using watercolor and crayon giving details and texture to the art. The introduction asks the reader—“Can you count the animals as they come? You may notice that the animals aren’t boarding in pairs! Count and sing along with Noah and the animals—you can even try to make up your own words as you go!” The refrain with the music appears at the front with encouragement to repeat the chorus after each verse. The verses and the animals are completely adapted and, at times, are forced, as in “So then the voyage did begin . . .” and “For forty days and nights they sat . . . Till they finally landed on Ararat.” This song will be thoroughly enjoyed by very young children, with parents or caregivers joining in. Its graphics and design are clear and joyous, and lends itself to a group reading. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-316-60702-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Megan Tingley/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2002
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
Energetic woodcuts accompany playfully simple poems as they give young readers an engaging tour of the barnyard. From the usual suspects—rooster, cow, sheep—to some of the less celebrated denizens of the farm—snake, bees, turtle—each poem varies to suit its subject. The barn cat’s verse is succinct: “Mice / had better / think twice.” The snake’s winds its way down the page in sinuous shape. At their best, Elliott’s images are unexpected and all the more lovely: The turtle “Lifts her fossil head / and blinks / one, two, three / times in the awful light.” Others are not so successful, but Meade’s illustrations give them credence: The rooster “Crows and struts. / He’s got feathers! / He’s got guts!” This rhythmic but rather opaque assertion is accompanied by an oversized rooster who dominates the foreground; eyes shut in concentration, he levitates himself with the force of his crow—the very embodiment of “guts.” Farmyard books are a dime a dozen, but this one is a worthwhile addition, for those poems that reach beyond the ordinary and for the good-natured illustrations that complement them. (Picture book/poetry. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3322-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2008
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