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DOGS!

Name: DOGS!
Author: John S. Hutton
ISBN: 978-1-936669-54-7

by John S. Hutton ; illustrated by Doug Cenko ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2017

While it’s a playful and useful offering, readers will wish it were a bit bigger and higher contrast.

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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: April 30, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
ADH-ME!
by John S. Hutton ; illustrated by Lisa M. Griffin

- BOOK REVIEW
BOOK
by John S. Hutton illustrated by Andrea Kang

- BOOK REVIEW
TITO'S INFERNO
by John S. Hutton

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THE MARINE TEAM

by Jason Hook ; illustrated by Madeleine Rogers ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2018

A serviceable exploration of the animal kingdom.

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Little ones learn about sea life.

Animals found under the sea are the focus of this board book. An abcb rhyme scheme is employed to tell little readers about sea turtles, great white sharks (which smile benevolently if toothily), seals, blue whales, and sea horses. Each animal is discussed in two double-page spreads that offer basic facts: sea turtles lay their eggs on beaches; great whites are white only on their bellies; blue whales eat “tiny creatures.” Some facts are impenetrable and even inaccurate: of the seal, the text claims a “deep-sea diving suit of blubber keeps this swimmer dry”; the blue whale is as “big as any jumbo jet.” The illustrations feature smiling animals colored with deep hues that evoke the depths of their environment. The final page of the board book boasts further facts about each creature featured. Similar titles Forest Folk and Sky Guys are concurrently published, introducing little readers to forest critters and winged beasts respectively, using the same abcb format and design. While the graphics in each are appealing, the texts leave much to be desired.

A serviceable exploration of the animal kingdom. (Board book. 2-3)

Pub Date: March 1, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-908985-86-6

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Button Books

Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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ANIMALS

From the Matching Game series

by Stéphanie Babin ; illustrated by Julie Mercier ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2018

While it suffers from redundancy of form, the gamelike structure makes this book a nifty choice for engaging young readers...

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In this game-based book, readers play matching and look-and-find games featuring animals in various habitats.

This book version of the traditional matching game involving playing cards invites readers to find animal pairs, play I Spy, and seek-and-find. Every two-page spread features animals that live in the same habitat: forest, savanna, ocean, polar ice, and field. The left side of each layout features Mercier’s cartoon-cute illustrations of the animals, while the right side shows some of those same animals hidden behind sliding squares. These squares are an unusual inclusion in a board book and provide great motor-skill practice for little readers. Each habitat includes four activity prompts. While “Find a Pair” and “Look and Find” are nearly identical throughout, “Time to Hide” and “I Spy” are tailored to the specific featured animals. The “I Spy” questions do engage readers’ thinking around such concepts as aboveground/underground and colors; however, as a set, the prompts are formulaic and predictable. On the up side, featured animals include the familiar (elephant, squirrel, butterfly) alongside those that may be new to readers (musk ox, moray eel, pangolin), and the structure of the book allows readers to explore and utilize it in ways beyond the obvious.

While it suffers from redundancy of form, the gamelike structure makes this book a nifty choice for engaging young readers during travel or at a restaurant. (Board book. 2-4)