Count on skipping this one in favor of a celebration of winter that has a more obvious storyline.
Even the sparkles on the cover may not be enough to redeem this wintry counting book, the author’s debut.
The almost nonexistent story loosely follows a snowboy as he adventures across the snowy landscape, meeting and playing with friends along the way and escaping from a fox who wants to eat his new rabbit pals. Numbers connect everything as the text counts from one to 10 and back down again in both numbers and numerals. This is a rhyming book, though the rhymes cross page turns: “One snowboy all alone. // Two children unaware. // Three ancient apple trees. // Four apples in the air.” This interrupts the rhythm, particularly for children who wish to linger over Wendy Wahman’s digital illustrations. Sharply defined, stylized shapes and flat, though vibrant, colors mark her distinctive illustrative style, but it may not be to everyone’s taste, with its flower-patterned fish, fixedly-smiling snow people and unkindness of unfriendly-looking ravens. The details that readers are likely to enjoy are often too small to see—the knitting spiders, for instance. Indeed, the tiny Photoshop illustrations will make this difficult to share with even small groups. Also, even the youngest of children may spot the gloves amid what should be the “Eight mittens in a row.”
Count on skipping this one in favor of a celebration of winter that has a more obvious storyline. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8732-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2012
Some things just can’t be done in a book; a three-dimensional toy with similar fastenings will serve the audience better.
A novelty book with a clever concept struggles to overcome the challenges of execution.
The zipper on the cover seen through a bright green frog's die-cut mouth raises expectations of delight, but the zipper is too short to fully unzip, making it an unsatisfying complement to the text (“See it shut, then open wide”). Subsequent pages offer a button that fastens a pig’s snout, a duck's Velcro-flap wing, kitty's snappy collar, and mouse tails that tie in a bow; all have similar problems. They are too fragile to stand up to rough handling, too stiff to manipulate easily, and beyond both the skills and patience of the low end of the suggested audience, “Age 3 and up.” The diagrammed directions on each spread are helpful only to adults who already know how to zip, button, or snap. A mouse on the page about tying a bow admits the difficulty, saying “You might need an adult to help you here.” One strong pull of the strings is liable to tear the page. Young children will enjoy mimicking the animal sounds and lifting the duck's wing, but the rest of the book will just be frustrating. Although the pages are thick, the spine is hollow and will likely be quickly damaged.
Some things just can’t be done in a book; a three-dimensional toy with similar fastenings will serve the audience better. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-58925-554-8
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: April 22, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
Vivid and fun examples cannot make up for fundamental flaws.
The first two entries in the Shapes & Spaces series feature eye-catching and varied photos with lots of kid appeal. Unfortunately, the art, rhyming verse and development of the concepts fail to add up to solid learning tools.
“A square has every / side the same, // and lots of them / can make a game.” From flat squares to cubes, the photos show a wide variety of examples from the everyday world: an empty box serving as a toy house, blocks, the pattern of a soccer net. But even the youngest readers are sure to notice the glaring examples—window panes and a chocolate-covered cookie—that show rectangles instead of squares. The authors then inexplicably move from shapes to an exploration of stripes (a pattern!) about two-thirds into the book. Ladybugs Have Lots of Spots (978-1-55451-557-8), stronger than its companion, focuses only on circles, spheres and cylinders. “Round black tires, / lots of tread, / go on green / and stop on red.” The examples here are just as varied and kid-friendly: buttons, a hula hoop, the inside of a tube slide, polka dots, a cat’s collar, the holes in a watering can. Both books end rather abruptly and lack any note about how to use/extend the concepts with children.
Vivid and fun examples cannot make up for fundamental flaws. (Concept book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55451-580-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
