It's a cute idea and an obvious choice for a nice Mother’s or Father’s Day present for new parents, but neither title is...
Dads are given gold stars by their young.
Fathers and all the great things they do are at the center of this board book. Each double-page spread features an anthropomorphic animal giving its father a gold star. Each illustration is narrated in a rhyming couplet from the point of view of the child. For example, "Daddy Cheetah, you're so fast—Hooray! You won the race! / Here's a star to celebrate your super-speedy pace!" The illustrations are composed with the round figures and deep colors Galloway specializes in. Each spread incorporates a die-cut star that’s immediately under and a little smaller than the one in the previous spread, making a progressively recessed tactile feature. The fixed placement of the cutout makes it a little difficult to decode exactly who is giving whom the star; although the text indicates that the child penguin is giving Daddy Penguin a sweater with a star on it, it looks as though the exchange might be going in the opposite direction. A similar title, I Love My Mommy, is concurrently published and features similar scenarios in which moms get similarly die-cut flowers from their kids instead of stars.
It's a cute idea and an obvious choice for a nice Mother’s or Father’s Day present for new parents, but neither title is memorable enough to become a storytime staple . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-58925-217-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
