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DEEP IN THE FOREST

Name: DEEP IN THE FOREST
Author: Josef Antòn
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2351-3

by Josef Antòn ; illustrated by Lucie Brunellière ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 7, 2017

A pleaser for younger lovers of animals and visual puzzles alike.

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In a series of forest scenes, dozens of animals hiding within foliage, in treetops, underwater, and belowground challenge sharp-eyed viewers to pick them out.

Some are easier to find than others: among the creatures that flit in and out of view in the course of a day, a panda, for instance, and the hyena (this is not a real forest but a sort of tropical composite) stand out in several scenes. Also, along with direct hints (“watch out for that mosquito!”), the accompanying comments feature questions like “But where is the wood louse?” that prompt young explorers to look under the one large, shaped flap on each spread. The underside of the flap provides further prompts: “See the centipedes running? The scarab and tarantula in their holes?” Brunellière depicts both flora and fauna using bright colors, flattened perspectives, and similar lines and shapes to make spotting the animals a decent challenge. They are all easily recognizable, though, and overall create a sort of community—particularly toward the end, as they uniformly drowse off at sunset and become dimly visible shapes with glowing eyes in the moonlit close. Though this oversized book consists of but 14 board pages, this is not a book for infants, but patient toddler- or preschooler-and-adult pairs should find plenty to enjoy.

A pleaser for younger lovers of animals and visual puzzles alike. (visual index) (Board book. 2-5)

Pub Date: March 7, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4197-2351-3

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Abrams Appleseed

Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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A KISSING HAND FOR CHESTER RACCOON

From the Kissing Hand series

by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...

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A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.

As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.

Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: April 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing

Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
CHESTER RACCOON AND THE ALMOST PERFECT SLEEPOVER
by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson

- BOOK REVIEW
KAI TO THE RESCUE!
by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Mike Yamada

- BOOK REVIEW
A COLOR GAME FOR CHESTER RACCOON
by Audrey Penn & illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson

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FIVE BLACK CATS

by Patricia Hegarty ; illustrated by Julia Woolf ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2013

For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.

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A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.

Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.

For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)