While quirky, unconventional, and artfully designed, this has more novelty factor than readability.
A young hero quests for a diamond in this alphabet book for the vintage-gaming set.
In pixelated, retro video game–style art, a plucky adventurer journeys through classic settings and scenarios. Each double-page spread presents one or two letters printed in a box along with the words starting with the letter. The majority indicate items to be found hidden in the image (genre-expected words such as “armor,” “potion,” and “skull” as well as all-around less-conventional words including “antenna” and “invaders”) with occasional action words (“exercise,” “heal,” “jump,” “upswing”). A few letters lend themselves less successfully to illustration (such as the forced “Q” page’s options of “quit” or “quest on”). The story is told through the art, as the hero is joined by a band of fellow sprites to cross the various video game maps. While some page turns offer logical transitions, some feel arbitrary, undermining story cohesion. Violence in the battles is mostly depicted through splashes of nonthreatening color denoting speed or magic attacks. The protagonist has brown hair and racially ambiguous light-brown skin and is joined by a white-presenting Viking type, a dark-skinned adventurer, and a light-skinned adventurer with floppy pink bangs. The fuzziness of the pixelated illustrations and crowded compositions make this a particularly poor offering for use with the typical board-book audience.
While quirky, unconventional, and artfully designed, this has more novelty factor than readability. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7030-5
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
An inventive and extensive counting experience that will delight youngsters.
Shaped pages help youngsters count to 10 and beyond.
Two stylish double-page spreads are devoted to each number one through 10 and then, counting by 10s, to 100. In the first spread, the right-hand side is a page-high, die-cut numeral that spills off the page; to its left, a squirrel holds an acorn. With the turn of the page, there’s a transformation. “One acorn becomes… / one oak tree!” A portion of the object, animal or person being altered is visible through the die-cut openings; a sand castle peeks through the “0” of the number 10, for instance. Once the page is turned, the background from the previous left-hand page merges with the full double-page spread. As in the earlier Alphablock (2013), the helpfulness of these visual hints is uneven. After 10, 20 caterpillars become 20 butterflies, 30 baskets of cucumbers become 30 jars of pickles, and 40 eggs become 39 chicks and one dinosaur. The whole shebang ends with 100 puzzle pieces fitting together into “one big puzzle!” in the book’s only double gatefold. Peskimo’s muted color palette and droll cartoon style works well with the playful concept. The same worries about the binding that arose with Alphablock are an issue here, but the conceit will likely appeal to older children anyway.
An inventive and extensive counting experience that will delight youngsters. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1374-3
Page Count: 94
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
There is always room in the Easter basket for a counting book, and many readers may appreciate having another simple,...
A cheerful brown bunny hiding behind the edges of an Easter basket looks just as surprised as young children will be to find the chicks revealed as each egg “hatches.”
With help from a reading partner, young children are encouraged to count down the eggs as they disappear with each page turn. Alternatively, they can count up as the chicks are revealed. A simple phrase at the top of each right-hand page states the number of eggs in the basket. The line at the bottom (half of a rhyming couplet) tells how many chicks readers should look for. The numbers are spelled out, requiring young children to recognize the word instead of the more familiar numeral. On the left-hand page, the spaces previously occupied by an egg begin to fill with meadow plants and critters, eventually becoming a scene as busy and cheerful as a greeting card. This book begs to be touched. Each egg is made of shaped plastic that protrudes through die-cut holes on the verso; they can be pressed but seem to be securely anchored. The pastel chicks are lightly flocked, providing an additional tactile experience. Although the pages are thicker than paper, young fingers may find the holes a convenient way to grip (and possibly tear) the pages.
There is always room in the Easter basket for a counting book, and many readers may appreciate having another simple, nonreligious holiday book. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-74730-1
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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