Well-done new sibling books are always welcome, and this one is as cozy as being swaddled.
Another new-baby story joins the cribfull of titles told from the big-sibling angle.
Archie isn’t sure he wants a new baby in the house, and he is “ABSOLUTELY sure he doesn’t like fluffy, frilly, very pink things.” When his mom leaves for the hospital, she promises to bring back a surprise. Surprise, yes, but not a toy—a “fluffy, frilly, very pink bundle” named Olive. Laughing, Archie remarks that she looks just like a marshmallow. Soon, life with Olive becomes rather a lot of fun, as there are twice as many toys as before, plus Archie has someone to play with. He proclaims, “Little sisters are actually really great.” It’s the cartoon-style illustrations reminiscent of Lauren Child’s that create the buoyant spirit. Oversized heads sport small half-circular swipes denoting noses and mouths, and they often fill the page. Blue and pink details on objects and clothing unoriginally if tidily match standard gender expectations: Archie has blue-and-white striped jammies, and Olive wears a pink romper. The clever ending adds a humorous surprise.
Well-done new sibling books are always welcome, and this one is as cozy as being swaddled. (Picture book.2-4)Pub Date: March 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0019-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Invigorating and ebullient.
A killdeer chick bursts from its egg raring to go.
Pecking its way out of its shell in great good spirits, this little plover is seeing everything for the first time. “My feet are verrrry far away. / And WHOA. / The world looks BIG today.” As the chick explores, Esbaum’s verse rhymes and rollicks: “[O]nce my down is fluffed and dry, / I take off running. / Don’t know why!” It zooms through fields, circling cows and trees; it gazes into a pond, figures out the concept of reflections, describes its own features and breaks into song. Mama pauses it for lunch but not for long: “Uh-oh. Gotta run again. / See you later, / don’t know when. / I’m learning—quickly!—how to steer / while darting here // and here / and here.” Using ink, pencil and soft watercolors, Corace shows the killdeer chick from very close up and from far away across a landscape, emphasizing how quickly it zips back and forth. Predominant tertiary colors with only small splashes of bright primaries emphasize the natural environment and balance the text’s high energy. Certain biological discoveries will amuse young readers (“I stop because…look out below! / Something’s falling from my… / Oh”), while adults will appreciate this baby bird’s similarity to human toddlers.
Invigorating and ebullient. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3688-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An intriguing concept, but toddlers and preschoolers will need to be closely supervised if it’s to last beyond a single...
This interactive offering invites little ones to practice taking care of babies, playing with them, feeding them and putting them to bed.
The left-hand pages describe what babies want and need, while the right-hand pages provide opportunities to experiment with caring for babies. The book begins, “Babies love to play! Sometimes babies like peekaboo. Other times babies like to make noise. I like to TICKLE my baby’s belly.” The right-hand page reads simply, “LIKE THIS!” and features a large illustration of a baby with a thin flap that lifts to reveal her belly for tickling. While the opportunities for interaction will engage children, they involve some rather flimsy movable parts and easily lost pieces that are designed to be removed entirely and placed back in their slots, including a bottle for feeding baby and a cutout of baby to tuck in her bed. To boot, the page that asks kids to close baby’s diaper and snap her onesie invites frustration, as it features tabs that won’t stay shut. The illustrations—heavy on blue, pink and yellow and featuring wide-eyed, red-cheeked infants—lend this title the feel of a vintage book of paper dolls, albeit ethnically diverse ones.
An intriguing concept, but toddlers and preschoolers will need to be closely supervised if it’s to last beyond a single reading. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1124-4
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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