Fun and enriching.
There’s plenty to do in this vocabulary-building, question-and-answer, lift-the-flap guide to color.
This well-conceived primer is not a great choice for the youngest toddlers, whose undeveloped fine-motor skills would doubtless lead to torn and missing flaps in no time. But precocious young readers with some dexterity will enjoy solving the riddles and revealing the answers in this colorful effort. The verso of each double-page spread features a patterned field of saturated color. Four flaps on the page pose questions, with answers beneath, about items of that color. The recto names the featured color above a picture rendered primarily in that color. Embedded in that picture is one more flap concealing an item of a different color—“Oops! These flowers are not red! They’re blue!”—setting up the color scheme for the next spread. Each flap features a thoughtful notch to help little fingers gain purchase. This format—four questions and answers, plus one surprise that doesn’t match, every two pages—means the book is a longer read than comparably sized board books, which may well challenge a toddler’s attention span. As there’s no storyline, however, there’s no harm done if a child doesn’t make it all the way through on every reading. The colors pop, as they should; the artwork is pleasant and mostly representational (e.g., foods and flowers) with the exception of animals, who are cartoony, cute, and full of personality.
Fun and enriching. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-948418-19-5
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Clever Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
Lovely, if a bit frustrating.
The double meaning of the title of this French import will likely be lost on young readers who do not know that “plume” means “feather,” since “Plume” is the name of the black cat who stalks mysteriously through the pages, clearly with evil designs on the birds portrayed.
As with her earlier picture book Blue Hour (2017), Simler portrays her subject matter—birds and their feathers—in finely rendered, realistic detail. However, the birds chosen are not always specifically named, and many species are not found in North America, lessening the book’s appeal for readers on this continent. For example, the nuthatch, jay, and kingfisher featured in the book are Eurasian species, so there is little chance of a child in the U.S. finding one of these feathers or being able to identify them. A gull is simply identified as “Seagull,” likewise for the highly stylized owl; the “Eagle” is clearly a bald eagle. The attractiveness of the illustrations compensates in large part for these flaws. The black cat’s presence is charmingly hinted at in each illustration, sometimes just as an ear, a tail, or a whisker peeking from the edge of the spread, sometimes almost hidden behind the bird. On the last spread, Plume is completely visible, clutching a feather and saying innocently, “Oh…me? / I collect feathers… //…because I love overstuffed pillows. / I am a dreamer cat. / They call me Plume.”
Lovely, if a bit frustrating. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5492-6
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
An engaging vocabulary booster that repays careful examination.
A tot spends a day with her parents.
Frankie is a little girl in a big world. This oversized board book introduces little readers to that world and, by extension, perhaps to their own. As Frankie explores double-page spreads of her house, backyard, neighborhood, and more, little ones are encouraged to look for specific items, such as the “(friendly) ghost” in the attic and the colored pencils at the grocery store, in each scene. Objects are labeled in small, lowercase serif type while the book’s narrative is delivered in a bold, uppercase, and multicolored sans-serif. The large pages contain a lot of small details, and little ones won’t be able to resist leaning in close to absorb the colorful scenery. Whimsical touches include a masked “bunny bandit” in the backyard and a sneaky kitty who is represented mostly by the parts that peek out. The book works well as a vocabulary expander, but it may well be just as effective in the back seat on long car rides. Purple-haired Frankie is biracial, with a pale-skinned, pink-haired mom and brown-skinned, black-haired dad. Her world is a comfortable, multicultural, suburban one of stand-alone houses and tidy streets.
An engaging vocabulary booster that repays careful examination. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2824-2
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
