The well-paced conventionality of this one makes it a pleasant bedtime read.
Each animal in this board book goes to bed with a lift of a flap.
Wan’s distinct, boldly outlined illustrations show each farm animal going to bed. The animals are tucked in with a simple rhyming couplet (“Off to sleep, / little sheep”), and the turn of the flap shows the animal, eyes closed and blanket pulled up, with their animal sound (“BAA”). The opening spread depicts all of the animals, eyes heavy, the moon and stars with sweet faces shining above them. In the pages that follow, there are darling details found in the background and on the animals’ blankets. There are buzzing dragonflies flying in heart patterns behind the frog, for example, and lily pads on its covers. After they’ve worked out some initial stiffness, little readers will enjoy pulling down the flap that transforms the animal’s face into its sleeping version tucked into bed. This say-goodnight-to-the animals concept has certainly been done before, and while Wan doesn’t usher in a new age of bedtime book, this does work as a well-paced, familiar outing, comforting to little ones and caregivers alike. It’s this familiarity that makes the book a suitable choice for winding down before bed, the ever hopeful line, “Ready to sleep / the whole night through,” echoing loudly in all caregivers’ ears.
The well-paced conventionality of this one makes it a pleasant bedtime read. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-33871-3
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
Great for a birthday read and enjoyable all year long.
A little one grabs a pair of shutter shades and gets a major groove on.
"Who loves to party?" The board book kicks off with this question, and each page follows with a different animal enjoying a wild time in increasingly silly ways. Lemurs hang streamers, pheasants wrap presents, and the mole rat wears his party hat. The titular baby makes a grand entrance on the second to last page, answering the original question and taking this party to a whole new level. The rhythmic, internally rhyming lines encourage a thumping beat for little ones to clap or stomp along with. Young readers will delight at all the animals and the funky colors, and adults will snicker at the contemporary quirks of the party. More board books should have parakeets dropping beats and ocelots that rock a lot. Electric colors and busy compositions make for an appropriately frenetic accompaniment.
Great for a birthday read and enjoyable all year long. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2994-8
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
Sounds like a winner, though the animal chorus is a bit thin.
Bunny hunts for carrots but finds noisy animal babies behind each flap instead.
“Bunny hops out of her burrow, / she’s looking for carrots to eat. / Can you help this fluffy friend / find a tasty treat?” The baaas, quacks, chirps, and horsey clip-clopping—activated by light as each of the first four big, shaped flaps lift—are gratifyingly loud and clear. All of the animal figures in the bright color pictures are intensely cute plush toys inserted into simple outdoorsy mixes of painted greenery and photographed flowers and bugs. Even the heaped carrots hiding behind the fifth and final flap are soft and fuzzy, though you’d never know that from the sound as Bunny hops on them (with a really loud boing) and chows down with crunches so comically amplified and rapid that caregivers too will laugh (at least the first dozen or so go-rounds). As no pressing of buttons is required to cue the sound effects, Bunny’s miniodyssey is suited to sharing at a slight remove with groups of toddlers as well as one-on-one. Batteries are replaceable, and there is (thankfully) an on-off switch on the rear cover.
Sounds like a winner, though the animal chorus is a bit thin. (Novelty board book. 18 mos.-2)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4654-7853-5
Page Count: 12
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
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