This premature introduction to a classic character is little more than an excellent bit of marketing to eventual consumers...
Fans of L.M. Montgomery will enjoy the whimsical art and brief text inspired by the Anne of Green Gables novels.
Hill is well acquainted with the characters and scenes. She designed the covers and interior art for the 2014 reissue of the series. As she did in Anne’s Colors and Anne’s Numbers (2018), she reduces iconic scenes familiar to Anne Shirley’s many fans to preschool concepts. Commonplace emotions that can be summarized in one word (“angry,” “scared,” “happy,” “surprised”) become images recognizable to even very young children. More abstract concepts (“calm,” “brave,” “hopeful,” and the oh-so-Anne “depths of despair”) may not be comprehensible to children under 3. Hill’s appliqué technique uses scraps of fabric and visible stitching to create an old-fashioned feel but does not convey the subtleties of complex emotions. As in the original stories, all the characters are white; Anne’s braids are orange bundles of embroidery floss. Anne’s Alphabet (published simultaneously) pairs each letter with a character or plot development from the original novels. Adults with fond memories of the series will be delighted by “K is for kindred spirit” or “L is for Lake of Shining Waters.” Young children will just be mystified.
This premature introduction to a classic character is little more than an excellent bit of marketing to eventual consumers of the original. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6287-4
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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.
