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COLORS

Name: COLORS
Author: John J. Reiss
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7643-0

by John J. Reiss ; illustrated by John J. Reiss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 25, 2016

Basic yet striking, this book and its companions make fine additions to the ever expanding concepts bookshelf.

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A concept board book invites little ones to explore and name colors; companion volumes do the same for shapes and numbers.

Eight colors take center stage in this visually appealing book. Red, yellow, blue, orange, green, purple, brown, and black are each given four pages, each filled with bold and stylized but readily recognizable representations of objects in the corresponding color. There are some interesting choices for a few of the objects. The lobster and crab are red, for instance—their cooked color, not their living color; gooseberries, a fruit not many children are familiar with, are green. Companion volume Shapes shares a similarly pleasing design aesthetic. Here, squares, triangles, circles, rectangles, and ovals are the main characters, with a fox and a mole playing the role of presenters. Going a step beyond most other shape concept books, Reiss introduces three-dimensional forms, such as squares making cubes, triangles making pyramids, and circles making spheres. And in Numbers, typical (six birthday candles; 10 toes) and not-so-typical (a five-lobed horse-chestnut leaf; 16 pigeons) objects that demonstrate numbers are arranged cleanly on the page. Humans of a variety of skin colors share the pages. All books will be looked at and looked at again by children with their adult readers or on their own.

Basic yet striking, this book and its companions make fine additions to the ever expanding concepts bookshelf. (Board book. 1-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4814-7643-0

Page Count: 34

Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

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SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2014

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.

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This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.

Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
POUT-POUT FISH
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POUT-POUT FISH AND THE MAD, MAD DAY
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
EQUALITY'S CALL
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Magdalena Mora

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PEEKABOO REX!

From the Boynton on Board series

by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 3, 2023

Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here.

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The favorite game of toddlers gets a dino twist.

A large dinosaur tries to outsmart a smaller companion when the duo play peekaboo together. The big dino naïvely believes they won’t be noticed behind or under sundry hiding places, but the little pal always finds their playmate. Young listeners will giggle as the large dino attempts to outwit the little one, but in vain; in every instance, the diminutive, overalls-clad dino calls out a triumphant “Peekaboo!” How come? Is it because thin tree trunks and a potted plant can’t conceal the large dino’s frame? Do the big dino’s bold, flower-print shirts stick out a mile? Even when the large dinosaur attempts an aerial hiding place, they discover that ruse doesn’t, ahem, fly, nor does hiding in a crowd wearing a Where’s Waldo?–esque red-striped cap and T-shirt do any good. In a display of good sportsmanship, the big dino concedes at the end the game was fun. The youngest audiences, all of whom will have likely engaged in marathon peekaboo sessions themselves, will undoubtedly scramble to play again. Besides stimulating playtime, this adorable board book, expressed in lilting rhymes, boosts vocabulary development through the use of some common prepositions (behind, in) and adverbs (here, there, everywhere). The illustrations are sweetly engaging; the round cutout on the front cover invites youngsters to play peekaboo games with adult partners and others. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here. (Board book. 1-3)