With skin tones ranging from deep brown to paper white, a diverse group of children represents a wide range of temperaments, interests, and characteristics.
The text follows a repeated rhyming pattern for each line: “Calm kids, mad kids / Hugs from mom or dad kids.” Each couplet spans a double-page spread that’s illustrated with a full-bleed illustration or is made up of a collection of smaller panels. Children enjoy outdoor adventures, art activities, and building pillow forts in the scenes. While there doesn’t appear to be a narrative thread that binds these episodes together and there is a new batch of kids with each page turn, Hammer’s two-dimensional cartoons populated with stocky, round figures in medium hues are gleefully toddler friendly. The project ends with the query: “What kind of kid are you?”—and the group of five tykes depicted looks invitingly and cheekily at readers for a reply.
A playful celebration of childhood. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3204-8
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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This upbeat ode to conquering fears will resonate with tots both timid and not.
The sparse text of this sturdy board book is a series of three quatrains, presented one brief line per spread, describing the various fears a little boy has overcome: “I was scared of big dogs. / Then I made a new friend. // I was scared of the water. / Now I love the deep end.” Having also conquered fears of the dark, loud horns and goodbyes, he proclaims on the final pages: “I’m not scared like before. / I am so brave!” The skillful verses read smoothly and depict situations that toddlers and preschoolers will relate to. The illustrations center around a wide-eyed African-American child as the main character, with Caucasian children also populating some of the scenes, including the final spread, which features the narrator leaping boldly into a pit of colored balls. The design and color scheme, mostly bright blues, yellows and reds, give the title a distinctly vintage feel, which will lend it appeal to both adults and children.
A comforting celebration of everyday courage with lots of charm to boot. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0937-1
Page Count: 12
Publisher: abramsappleseed
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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The Pout-Pout Fish brand expands.
Halloween is here, and Mr. Pout-Pout Fish is giving out treats from his submarine home. Those familiar with the blue striped fish will find the usual uncluttered illustrations and rhyming scheme (“Who’s at the helm / of the spooky submarine? // It’s you, Mr. Fish! / Have a happy Halloween!”). New readers may be drawn in by the colorful costumes the various fish wear as they trick-or-treat along the ocean floor. Keen-eyed readers with some pumpkin-carving experience may wonder how a jack-o’-lantern can be lit under water. This board book is a fairly standard look at Halloween, putting a popular character in common holiday trappings and adding nothing else. Fans of the holiday will have to look elsewhere for a more exciting take on Halloween’s thrills.
Another branded entry that offers little beyond the minimum requirements. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30191-0
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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