The setting of this bedtime tale is a clutter-free child's bedroom, where a boy refuses to go to bed but soon admits to his grandmother that one of his three stuffed toys might be sleepy. The narrator asks, ``So do you know what that grandma did? She took that sleepy bear and she put him into the bed.'' One by one the boy releases the toys to the grandmother's custody, until they are all in bed without him. She begins reading a story ``with no one sitting on her lap.'' Savvy children will predict this outcome: The boy finally retires and falls asleep. Everything in the room is soft-edged, portrayed in blocky shapes and lulling tones of blue and green, except for an alarm clock, whose details of numbers and hands are clear. The pictures are soothing but repetitious; only the conspiratorial tone between the narrator and readers distinguishes this entry from much of the bedtime-story canon. (Picture book. 1-3)
Pub Date: May 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81031-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sure to prompt little fingers into joyful action.
A favorite baby-and-toddler activity receives an upbeat celebration that will get those fingers going. Watch out!
The gang of frazzled felines that populate this outing are truly the cat's meow. Based on Boynton's song of the same title, the text is reproduced in a colored, patterned font that amps the energy right up. A forlorn little kitty, paws clasped in front of his body, appears anxious (though slightly intrigued) when a trio of toms encourages him to join in the fun. “Gitchy-gitchy / Goo Gotta / Ready, Set, Go!” It doesn't take long before the cautious cat jumps in on this chorus line with dramatic leaps and fluttering fingers. A little birdie acts as a square-dance caller, enunciating each beat (“Goo bop. / Gitchy-goo bop”). The shaggy, large-nosed felines are tremendously expressive in their synchronized movements and maintain a rollicking pace. “We can tickle high. / We can tickle low. / We can tickle QUICKQUICKQUICK / as fast as we can go!” (Here, the page is filled with iterations of "gitchy gitchy gitchy" in different colors.) At the end, the gang sprawls on the floor, exhausted, after a truly monumental tickle-fest.
Sure to prompt little fingers into joyful action. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7611-6883-6
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A board book entry in the four-book It's My World series (the others are What I Wear, ISBN 0-688-14147-1; What I See, 14146-3; and What I Eat, 14145-5). Named and illustrated are items relevant to the title (although some preschoolers may need explanation as to what the sun, moon, and flower have to do with where one lives). The illustrations are lively and unsentimental, original in the simple sophistication of the images. The fence and the door neatly employ perspective, the chair and the table show an artisan's touch, the house and window have the detailing of a fine old doll house. The palette is electric: Goennel (The Circus, 1992) puts a blue window on a fire-engine red background and a green table on a bold gold page. While not groundbreaking, these brash board books are visually hypnotic. (Picture book. 1-3)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-688-14148-X
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
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