Eye-catching art and simple, clear text plant the seeds for a young gardener.
A great guide to growing young gardeners!
This book lives up to its name with a straightforward question-and-answer format that’s perfect for interested toddlers and preschoolers. Children by a raised garden bed plant lettuce seeds with a “sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle. / Pat, pat, pat.” The first steps of planting peas are different, but all newly planted seeds need a drink. The garden rules of insect etiquette are clear. “How do you say hello to a worm? / Gently, very gently.” And to a ladybug? “Let her crawl onto your finger. / Count her spots. / Say, Hello, Ladybug! before she flies away.” A bee? “Look but don’t poke… / Listen but don’t grab.” As they follow the growth of their garden, the children experience the joy of feeling pea tendrils curling around their fingers, having a tea party inside a play hut made from pea plants and tall sticks, and making mud. Backmatter suggests creating a “dig zone” with a clear border so kids can play and the main garden can stay safe. Finally, the children get to taste the food they’ve grown. In a slight mismatch, the children plant lettuce and peas but carefully and joyfully harvest strawberries, carrots, and peas. Illustrations created with silkscreen and collaged in Photoshop pop against a white background and show children of various ethnicities. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Eye-catching art and simple, clear text plant the seeds for a young gardener. (Picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-22679-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
As with many holiday gifts, the sparkly packaging may interest toddlers more than what’s inside.
Readers can count down eight of Santa's reindeer as they jump up and out of the scene.
In each one of the mostly double-page spreads, one reindeer, from Dasher to Blitzen, plays a central role in a winter activity (sledding, ski jumping, ice skating—and soccer and yoga?) that launches the creature into the air. Glitter-speckled tabs, each with small portraits of a member of Santa's herd, appear at either the top or the right side of each page, which little fingers will enjoy flipping. In what looks to be pencil-and-watercolor cartoons, Rogers uses different facial expressions, as well as collars, bows or other accessories, to distinguish the reindeer from one another. Donner (not Donder) and Blitzen are squeezed together on the penultimate spread, likely to keep the page count down. The verse mostly scans, but the rhyme scheme has become the cliché of counting books: "Eight jolly reindeer / stretching up to heaven. / Up goes Dasher / and then there are... // Seven...." Santa, his iconic sleigh and the eight reindeer in flight make a dramatic and required appearance on the book's final double-page spread.
As with many holiday gifts, the sparkly packaging may interest toddlers more than what’s inside. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-65145-5
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Toddlers are better served by a chorus of the original, accompanied by the finger motions
Yet another remake of the classic fingerplay.
Burton and Rescek need to find a new song to parody or, better yet, come up with something original. As in earlier remakes—The Itsy Bitsy Pilgrim, The Istsy Bitsy Bunny, The Itsy Bitsy Reindeer (all 2016), and The Itsy Bitsy Snowman (2015)—the words are meant to be sung to the tune of the favorite nursery rhyme. In this outing, the rhymes work, but the meter is clunky. Rescek’s characters are cheery enough as they celebrate the transition from winter to spring. The question is why ducklings should replace spiders. “Down came the rain and chased the snow away” is simply not as satisfying as “washed the spider out.” The elements of danger, pluck, and mastery inherent in the original song are missing, as are the actions. A scene of anthropomorphic animals of different species sharing a den confuses rather than enlightens. There is no clear change from winter to spring; the color palette throughout is bright and springlike, and the duckling is about as realistic as an Easter Peep. Sturdy board pages may stand up to lots of handling, but young children are unlikely to ask for it more than once.
Toddlers are better served by a chorus of the original, accompanied by the finger motions . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8655-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© 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.
