Not likely to be a longstanding favorite, but good for a brief bit of fun.
A quick game of hide-and-seek with an enthusiastic but easy-to-find hippo.
On the opening page, large, clear, black type reading “Harry is our best friend” appears beneath the image of a blonde-headed boy and a pig-tailed girl sitting astride a big gray hippo. We learn that Harry the hippo’s favorite game is hide-and-seek, but that he’s not very good at it. The subsequent illustrations make the point, depicting Harry attempting to conceal his bulk in a variety of easy-to-spot locations. For instance, he is shown sinking into a big tub of bubbles, cramming himself into the kitchen cabinets, snuggled in bed underneath the covers and crouched behind the doghouse. Luckily, the only thing Harry seems to like as much as hiding is being discovered by his friends, who embrace him in the final spread. Toddlers will enjoy outwitting Harry by quickly finding him in the bright, cheerful illustrations, and they will appreciate the culminating expression of friendship and affection. In Hide and Seek Harry at the Beach, the hippo takes his antics to the shore, futilely hiding, among other places, in the sand dunes, in a hammock and, most absurdly, behind a skinny palm tree.
Not likely to be a longstanding favorite, but good for a brief bit of fun. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6602-6
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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
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