A droll mix of science and silliness just right for a bedtime flight.
Who would guess that the wonders of outer space include not only stars and planets, but astro-dogs and cookies and milk?
Printed on heavy, coated stock that unfolds in stages into a wall hanging, this extraterrestrial flight of fancy features a rocket at its center with an enthralled child peering through a large porthole at a succession of marvels. These include but are not confined to ringed planets, a flaming meteor, the International Space Station, a grinning, green-skinned ET flashing a “peace” sign, a mouse nibbling on a ragged moon, and an astronaut calling in an order to a floating pizza parlor. Along with posing the question “Are cookies found in the Milky Way?” Riggs’ five-sentence narrative includes a “Greetings, Earthlings!” from the alien and an exuberant observation at the end: “Many worlds await beyond the stars!” Sheban casts a low, mysterious glow over his crowded starscape, too dim to determine the ethnic identities of his human figures but bright enough to make out, for instance, a pair of canine space travelers and the yummy snack (see above) suspended in space amid the shadowy planets and satellites.
A droll mix of science and silliness just right for a bedtime flight. (Novelty board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-56846-336-0
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
The lack of real excitement will make these helpers fade from memory like sirens on a distant road.
Part emergency adventure, part reassurance that help is on the way—youngsters fascinated by vehicles with sirens will be attracted to this board book.
Straightforward, declarative text and fanciful, somewhat futuristic pictures describe “a big beautiful world, filled with awesome adventures.” The second spread previews the helpers and their vehicles with profile views of six types of vehicles against a clean white background. The final spread shows front views of the same six rescue vehicles. In between, spreads focus on three different emergencies. In a busy spread headlined “Uh-oh, an accident,” readers see a police car, an ambulance, and a tow truck, while a police helicopter hovers overhead. “Uh-oh, a storm!” shows the water-based versions of emergency vehicles against a rain-gray background. “Uh-oh, a fire!” focuses on firefighters, with police and EMTs playing supporting roles. All the vehicles are staffed by smiling animal characters reminiscent of Richard Scarry’s Busytown creatures but without the whimsy of those classics. The final text proclaims that “helpers…are the ones who save the world.” The wordy text and detailed pictures make this board book most suited for older toddlers intrigued by emergency vehicles, but the placid delivery is out of sync with the notion that the depicted world is in peril.
The lack of real excitement will make these helpers fade from memory like sirens on a distant road. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0599-8
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While children may enjoy the inviting art in these pages, the concepts, like sun shining in the sky, will be way, way over...
A baby explores heat and energy through a sunny day and a bite of an apple.
A white, onesie- and hat-wearing baby greets a smiling sun as Spiro’s text, one or two sentences per double-page spread, discusses how the sunshine gives us warmth and helps trees grow. In this case, it is an apple tree. Baby eats one of the fruits, and it gives the little one energy to play and grow. The coda states: “All living things get their energy from the sun.” Chan’s paintings in cheerful colors adroitly capture the young child’s wonder and joy in exploration. While adults may understand that the sun’s energy is fueling the growth of the apple tree and, in turn, providing the energy needed for the babe to develop into a toddler, most board-book readers will not begin to grasp the conservation of energy and thermodynamics as the title promises. The companion title, Baby Loves Quantum Physics! tackles an even more abstract concept: Schrödinger’s cat and quantum physics. A different tyke, with a slightly tanner complexion and brown hair, plays with a kitten. When Cat hides in the box, the child imagines the possibility that the feline is either awake or asleep (not, thank goodness, living or dead). As a game of hide-and-seek, the project is delightfully developmentally appropriate, but it takes a leap of huge proportions for this book to successfully explain to a toddler a concept most adults are hard-pressed to understand.
While children may enjoy the inviting art in these pages, the concepts, like sun shining in the sky, will be way, way over their heads. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-58089-768-6
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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