Concisely addresses familiar toddler behavior in a meaningful way.
Kit and Grandma work through frustrations at the Critter Tot Lot.
Kit experiences all kinds of challenging situations while at the playground, such as not being able to zip up their jacket and getting stuck in a tunnel slide. Grandma is there to calmly provide support each time Kit feels frustrated, and finally, when Kit feels frightened while crossing a bridge, they calm themself down and make it across. Showing off those newly acquired skills, Kit helps another playground friend. Silverstein’s rhyming text gives the book a zippy cadence ideal for read-alouds, and the dialogue grounds the story. The note for parents at the end provides useful, basic tips on helping toddlers problem-solve and manage difficult situations and emotions. Paprocki’s illustrations are sweet and match the tone of the book. All of the critters are anthropomorphized; Kit and Grandma appear to be oversize chipmunklike creatures, and there’s a bespectacled mouse and a raccoon wearing a hat, for example, all with expressive faces and movements. The book demonstrates the concept of guiding a child through sticky circumstances and unpleasant feelings while reassuring little ones that tough situations have resolutions. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Concisely addresses familiar toddler behavior in a meaningful way. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-62354-285-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As warm as a hug from Grandma.
Grandma is the star in dozens of picture books for older children, but seldom is the special bond between a toddler and their grandmother portrayed in a book for very young children.
This sweet, but not saccharine, board book fills that gap. Thankfully, this grandma does not have Alzheimer’s and is not dying. She simply delights in spending time with her cherished grandchild. The narrator, a charming bear cub, is not identified as male or female, which makes it easy for both girls and boys to insert themselves in the story. Each of the six rhyming couplets is spread across double-page spreads: “I love the fun we have each day, / And all the funny things you say.” Even in its small board-book trim size, there is still plenty of room for the winsome watercolors to highlight the familiar yet memorable rituals of a day spent with a loving and patient grandma. Note: “Rory Tyger” is the collective pseudonym for the British artistic team of Richard Greaves, Tracey Simmons, and Gabrielle Murphy. Their illustrations were originally used in Good Night, Sleep Tight by Claire Freedman (2003). In that story, the little bear is resisting bedtime. This reworking is a gentle and conflict-free ode to the special love between little bear and a doting grandma.
As warm as a hug from Grandma. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-524-7
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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