by John Perkinson illustrated by Ken Woodall ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2017
A fun storytime pick that emphasizes child participation and sensory skill development.
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A cow explores a farm and encounters animal friends in Perkinson and Woodall’s debut board book.
As she roams her farm, a friendly cow watches other farm animals in their natural habitats—a running colt and a horse, a “lamb jumping a fence,” “piglets playing in mud,” and ducklings swimming and splashing in a pond. The cow even watches as chicks hatch. Lastly, she comes across a farmer and his son riding a tractor. The bovine is visibly enthralled by all she sees, and upon each encounter, she says: “Wow!” Woodall’s lively, graphic illustrations are charming, featuring bold colors. Many pages include wide expanses of textured green grass juxtaposed with a blue sky. All animals depicted have similar cartoonish eyes and cheerful smiles. The pictures also include fun details, like a reoccurring airplane flying in the sky. Although barnyard scenes are commonly featured in children’s literature, the interactive elements here make the book more unique. The book includes a red sound button that emits the word “Wow” when pressed. The story ends abruptly after the cow’s encounter with the farmer and his son; it would’ve been satisfying to see the cow and her animal friends gather together at the end. Still, the sparse text using simple language and repetitive phrasing (“and the cow said…Wow!”) will appeal to very young audiences.
A fun storytime pick that emphasizes child participation and sensory skill development.Pub Date: July 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-692-76227-1
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Wow Cow Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 2, 2018
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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