This simple concept board book combines colors and counting.
In a rhyming game of hide-and-seek, a little blue owl finds four brightly colored friends. When it's his turn to hide, he goes back to sleep. Some of the scansion falters: “Little Blue says to the owls, ‘It's my turn everyone! / Now close your eyes and count to 5— / our play time's almost done.’ ” “Everyone” and “done” technically rhyme, but the rhythm is slightly off. The eye cutouts that begin with the front cover and grow a tiny bit smaller with each turn of the page make convenient finger holes for young children to grasp but become increasingly ineffective as owl eyes as they diminish in size. Consequently, Little Blue looks the most like an owl, while Little Purple looks owlish only because he is the exact same shape as Little Blue. The presentation of concepts is more successful. Little Blue counts just five colors—perfect for a baby's attention span. A graphic on the back cover highlights which developmental skills the book aims to address.
The cheerful simplicity and sturdy pages ensure that this offering will both see and stand up to hard use until readers are ready for Pat Hutchins’ classic Good-night, Owl! (1972). (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-58925-595-1
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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Farm animals make realistic noises as youngsters press embedded tactile features.
“Pat the cow’s back to hear her ‘Moo!’ ” Readers can press the fuzzy, black circle on a Holstein cow to hear its recorded noise. This formula is repeated on each double-page spread, one per farm critter (roosters, piglets, lambs and horses). Using stock photography, several smaller images of the animals appear on the left, and a full-page close-up dominates the right. The final two pages are a review of the five farmyard creatures and include a photo of each as well as a review of their sounds in succession via a touch of a button. While the layout is a little busy, the selection of photos and the tactile elements are nicely diverse. The text is simple enough for little ones, encourages interaction (“Can you baa like a lamb?”) and uses animal-specific vocabulary (fleece; mane). The sister title, Noisy Trucks (978-1-58925-609-5), follows much the same format, but, here, the stars are big rigs, monster trucks, fire trucks, backhoes and cement mixers. While the photos will thrill the vehicle-obsessed, the noises are less distinctive, save the fire truck’s siren. The facts about each type of vehicle provide just enough information: “A fire truck has a loud siren, ladders to climb, and hoses that spray water.” Despite the age recommendation of 3 years and up suggested on the back cover, the construction (with the battery secured by screw behind a plastic panel) looks sturdy and safe enough for younger readers.
A happily multisensory exploration. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-610-1
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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A sing-along assurance that this little fox is totally special.
Originally included on Blue Moo, Boynton’s 2007 album of children’s music, this board-book version hits all the right notes. The fact that it lampoons Neal Sedaka’s “Angel Eyes” will no doubt go right over the heads of young children—and possibly even their parents—but they can hear Sedaka himself singing this version via a link on the publisher’s website (noted on the copyright page). That version is slightly longer than the board-book text, but nevertheless, children and adults will happily sing along. Several animals rendered in Boynton’s distinctive style make appearances. Nose-to-nose pairs of rhinos, bears, ducks, pigs, and bunnies accompany the species-inclusive line “everyone can find a way to happiness, I suppose.” But a doting fox and its kit are the book’s main characters. Their expressive eyes make their mutual delight clear, and their noses are very much in evidence. The refrain—“YOUR NOSE!”—is set in a larger font, helping even young children start to recognize the words. This unabashed celebration of this little fox’s uniqueness and the grown-up fox’s unconditional admiration is completely sincere and sure to be appreciated by toddlers.
Boynton knows how to please young kids while also entertaining the adults who will inevitably be asked to “read it again.” (Board book (1-4)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5235-1021-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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