A pack of playful dogs cavorts through the pages as little ones and their grown-ups are encouraged to engage through gentle prompts.
Panels of bold blocks of color zero in on a variety of dogs, sometimes as many as three in one 5 ½–inch-square page. When the text is not describing each canine (“BIG dog. / Little DOG”), it is encouraging youngsters to fill in blanks (“____ dog” next to a picture of a hot dog in its bun) or repeat back words and simple phrases (“Let’s say YELLOW, FURRY dog!”). On the back cover, the author, a pediatrician, states that the rationale for these prompts is to promote brain growth, build vocabulary, and encourage early literacy skills in young children as well as to bring grown-ups and children together. Parents new to reading with toddlers may need a little more guidance than Hutton provides, but his approach is novel and engaging. Cenko’s richly colored paintings, in what looks to be acrylics, are winsome, imbuing each pup with a distinct personality. However, some of the panels are too small and others are too dark. A dark-brown dachshund is lost against a dark-purple background, a dark-blue sky makes the beach scene look moonlit, and it is difficult to figure out what a cone-wearing dog is up to due to the lack of contrast and the size of the panel.
While it’s a playful and useful offering, readers will wish it were a bit bigger and higher contrast. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-936669-54-7
Page Count: 14
Publisher: blue manatee press
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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A riff on the familiar lullaby depicts various animal parents, and then a human father, soothing their sleepy little ones.
An opening spread includes the traditional first verse of the titular lullaby, but instead of depicting a human baby in a treetop cradle, the accompanying illustration shows a large tree as habitat to the animals that are highlighted on subsequent pages. First the perspective zooms in on a painterly illustration rendered in acrylics of a mother squirrel cuddling her baby with text reading “Rock-a-bye Squirrel, / high in the tree, / in Mommy’s arms, / cozy as can be.” In this spread and others the cadence doesn’t quite fit with the familiar tune, and repeated verses featuring different animals—all opening with the “Rock-a-bye” line—don’t give way to the resolution. No winds blow, no boughs break, and the repetitive forced rhythm of the verse could cause stumbles when attempting a read-aloud. The final image of a human father and baby, whose skin tone and hair texture suggest that they are perhaps of South Asian descent, provides pleasing visual resolution in a book with art that outshines text.
Ho-hum. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3753-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S POETRY
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Dramatic stock photos and die-cut tabs are the distinguishing features of this board book.
“Did you know that there are over 400 types of sharks?” is an intriguing opening, but readers primed to find out about those specific types may be surprised that the shark on the facing page is not identified. Instead, the picture of a shark above a school of fish gives a sense of its size. Smaller text explains that shark skeletons are made of cartilage, not bone. Layered die cuts that accentuate the nose and mouth of nine different sharks on the right-hand pages invite children to turn the pages quickly. White type printed against various contrasting colors on the left-hand pages offers tidbits of information but is unlikely to make young children pause long enough to be read the text. A picture of almost 40 sharks swimming together seems to contradict the accompanying explanation that many sharks are endangered. A final full-color spread speaks of sharks’ important role in maintaining ocean balance and includes a picture of a grandfatherly shark scientist. The back cover is devoted to information for adults. While intriguing and scientifically credible, the wordy text and seemingly arbitrary factoids are well beyond the attention spans of all but the most avid young fans of the species.
There are better fish in the board-book sea. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2128-8
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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