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WHERE ARE YOU, LITTLE FROG?

Name: WHERE ARE YOU, LITTLE FROG?
Author: Kayleigh Rhatigan
ISBN: 978-1-60059-348-2

by Kayleigh Rhatigan & illustrated by Alik Arzoumanian ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2008

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Can the frog (and the reader) deduce its location by the immediate surroundings? Each bold two-page spread is concisely described in a sentence (which forms a couplet with its partner on the next spread), and then asks, “Can you guess where you are, little frog?” There’s a cat chasing a mouse, a dog guarding sheep, a straw-filled coop, a beautiful white horse standing tall, a cow eating grass and hay, etc. The last illustration shows every animal, person and building together “on a farm!” Arzoumanian’s bright colors leap off the page, and his animals are made of big blocky shapes, almost as if drawn by a child, a good match both for the text and book’s target age group. Rhatigan’s first book (she’s 11) is simple, crisp, and attractive, a nice guessing (and learning) game for pre-readers—though any child who’s ever been read a farm book before may get a little sick of shouting out, “On a farm!” with each page turn while waiting for the final payoff. (Picture book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-1-60059-348-2

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Lark/Sterling

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2008

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S POETRY

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GOD BLESS YOU, LITTLE ONE

by Tilly Temple ; illustrated by Sebastien Braun ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 5, 2021

Satisfactory text; irresistibly delightful illustrations.

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A bedtime-prayer board book features a family of badgers.

Speaking in a gentle rhyme, the badgers ask for God’s blessings for family and friends and offer gratitude for the gifts of the natural world. Temple’s stanzas have a lullaby lilt to them, with a cadence that remains consistent throughout. With the exception of the first and last stanzas, which are voiced by the older badgers, the little badger relates the text. The accompanying images show the little badger remembering how much there is to be thankful for, from loved ones like grandparents to the moon and stars. It’s Braun’s illustrations that truly speak to little readers. The badger family is adorable; the softness and simplicity of their features are charming. The same is true of the other woodland creatures and animals. A wintry scene stands out from the rest thanks to the feelings of frostiness and wonder it evokes. There’s the little badger wrapped in a red scarf, nose to the sky, and a tiny mouse leaning on a walking stick, the soft snow floating down around them. Other details, like a lemonade bottle tucked in a picnic basket and a toy boat with a leaf sail, add depth and interest to the scenes.

Satisfactory text; irresistibly delightful illustrations. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-68010-632-9

Page Count: 22

Publisher: Tiger Tales

Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THIS IS YOUR WORLD
by Tilly Temple ; illustrated by Sean Julian

- BOOK REVIEW
I LOVE YOU, LITTLE MOO
by Tilly Temple ; illustrated by Laura Deo

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WHERE DO YOU POOP?

by Agnese Baruzzi ; illustrated by Agnese Baruzzi ; translated by Maria Russo ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 11, 2021

A fun, new take on droppings.

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Youngsters can learn about where and how various animals, domestic and wild, relieve themselves.

Via a pull-tab embedded in each recto (not, thankfully, in the rectum) readers can see the before and after, and a goldfish in a bowl leaves a trail while swimming. The verso asks each creature where it does its business, and then a (sometimes-forced) rhyming quatrain, translated from Italian, answers the question: “And where do YOU poop, mouse? / When inside my tummy / Starts to feel not so good / It’s time for a poop / On these chips made of wood!” The final double-page spread queries readers: “And where do YOU poop?” A redheaded, White toddler’s face is visible below this question; the pull-tab on the right opens a bathroom to reveal a White toddler, this time with medium brown hair, happily and modestly sitting on a blue toddler potty. The accompanying quatrain provides some developmentally appropriate guidance for feeling the signs of a movement coming on. Baruzzi’s art is droll and graphically clean (inasmuch as the depiction of excrement can be described that way). Little fingers may need some help finding the relatively easy-to-open and sturdy pull-tabs, since they blend into each page. It works as both a biology lesson and potty-training encouragement.

A fun, new take on droppings. (Novelty board book. 18 mos.-3)