Make sure to see this A+ alphabet book.
Sights unseen define this ABC book.
“A is for Air / B is for Bare // C is for Clear.” These are the first three lines of text on the first two double-page spreads of this clever abecedary. Corresponding illustrations show, respectively: an open window with curtains blowing in the breeze; a child getting into a bathtub, naked backside toward readers; and fish swimming in an aquarium. Ensuing pages continue to use text to name what is invisible, with art somehow evoking the unseen. City-dwelling children will understand the tableau for “D is for delayed,” in which a group of commuters stand at a bus stop, drifting autumn leaves underscoring the absence of the bus; evoking the other side of that particular experience, “J is for Just missed it” depicts a different set of commuters hustling toward the edge of the page, a cloud of exhaust and zoom lines indicating the departed bus. One page, “N is for Nothing,” is utterly empty except for the text, which recalls the “Goodnight nobody” page from Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd’s famed Goodnight Moon. Visual connections among some spreads—such as the bus-stop scenes—lend cohesion to the book as a whole, and Barrett’s vigorously crosshatched pen-and-ink art with orange highlights has an appropriately minimalist look even in crowded spreads. Humans depicted are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.3-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at 37% of actual size.)
Make sure to see this A+ alphabet book. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22277-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
“What’s big?” asks a pleasant pink pig as he compares himself to cows, cars, trucks, streets, the neighborhood, the city, and the earth, and finally to the universe, which “makes everything seem small.” Although the concept of relative size is well taken, the expansion from self to universe is flawed by the incongruity of some of the images. The pig and the cow squeeze into a model T–type car that is stuck in the mud, but are towed by a modern tow truck into a modern city. In the final sequence, the sun seems smaller than the earth. A simple verse pattern carries the lilting text with each verse ending with the repetitive phrase “What’s bigger than . . .” Florian’s double-paged watercolor paints and colored pencil are soft and muted, sometimes too muted, particularly in background areas. Occasional flashes of humor illustrate the text as the cow and the pig travel through a city populated by animals at work and at play. It ends with an amusing image of the pig as a constellation in the universe. Not Florian’s best effort, but a good conversation-starter with a young child about comparative size. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-688-17125-7
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Uplifting seasonal verse focusing on well-known customs and conventions.
A group of children celebrate autumn with activities, holidays, and more.
“Colors bursting, shadows tall. / There’s lots to celebrate—it’s fall!” When a teacher asks a class of diverse students what they love about autumn, they outline their favorite things in an easily recited rhyme: cozy clothes, piles of leaves, scarecrows, corn mazes, apple picking, and, of course, Halloween—“Ringing doorbells… / Trick or treat! / Marching down a spooky street.” What else do the kids enjoy? The sounds of leaf blowers and lawn mowers and traditional Thanksgiving foods like turkey and mashed potatoes. “Fall has treasures to be found / in colors, textures, smells, and sounds. / It’s so much fun—we love it all.” Black-outlined drawings in orange, rust, and yellow hues depict a bustling neighborhood with all the aspects described in the cheerful text. Endpapers provide additional fare in a gallery of childlike crayon-style drawings, ostensibly created by the characters in the book. The activities mentioned within will be familiar to most youngsters. The book ends with a question—“What things do you love about fall?”—that will encourage enthusiastic participation from listeners. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Uplifting seasonal verse focusing on well-known customs and conventions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2023
ISBN: 9780316363990
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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