by Kyla Ryman ; illustrated by Wangechi Mutu ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2016
Absolutely not the way to introduce very small children to this artist’s work
Surreal imagery is paired to narrative text that prompts readers to interpret it.
This board book challenges readers from the outset by demanding a 90-degree rotation so that the pages turn from bottom to top. In the first double-page spread, readers see parrots flying around what appears to be mauve palm fronds silhouetted against a pink circle. The text is baffling: “I see a person tumbling away! / What do you see?” Readers who squint will discern, above the palm fronds and parrots, the faint image of what appears to be a white woman in a bathing suit tumbling forward. But they will have to squint hard. Subsequent spreads vary in their visual coherence. Readers will probably see the “hummingbird landing gingerly,” but a visual jumble of tendrils that the narrative describes as “triangles falling to the ground” will take quite a lot of staring at to parse. The open-ended “What do you see” that appears on each spread taunts its infant-and-toddler audience to make sense of the developmentally inappropriate visual and conceptual images. A rope resolves into a snake; dark-pink blossoms fade into a mottled pink and purple background. The final image pulls back to present the previous images as details from Le Noble Savage, a monumental 2006 work by Kenyan-American artist Mutu glossed as “a woman standing powerful and strong”; readers will likely interpret the figure as a woman, but the placement of a dark shape where her nose should be makes her face look distressingly like a skull.
Absolutely not the way to introduce very small children to this artist’s work . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9970587-0-3
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Home Grown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2016
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by Kyla Ryman ; illustrated by Nathalie Trovato
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 3, 2023
Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here.
The favorite game of toddlers gets a dino twist.
A large dinosaur tries to outsmart a smaller companion when the duo play peekaboo together. The big dino naïvely believes they won’t be noticed behind or under sundry hiding places, but the little pal always finds their playmate. Young listeners will giggle as the large dino attempts to outwit the little one, but in vain; in every instance, the diminutive, overalls-clad dino calls out a triumphant “Peekaboo!” How come? Is it because thin tree trunks and a potted plant can’t conceal the large dino’s frame? Do the big dino’s bold, flower-print shirts stick out a mile? Even when the large dinosaur attempts an aerial hiding place, they discover that ruse doesn’t, ahem, fly, nor does hiding in a crowd wearing a Where’s Waldo?–esque red-striped cap and T-shirt do any good. In a display of good sportsmanship, the big dino concedes at the end the game was fun. The youngest audiences, all of whom will have likely engaged in marathon peekaboo sessions themselves, will undoubtedly scramble to play again. Besides stimulating playtime, this adorable board book, expressed in lilting rhymes, boosts vocabulary development through the use of some common prepositions (behind, in) and adverbs (here, there, everywhere). The illustrations are sweetly engaging; the round cutout on the front cover invites youngsters to play peekaboo games with adult partners and others. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-840-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton
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by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton
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by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton
by Jane Cabrera ; illustrated by Jane Cabrera ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 17, 2017
It’s not exactly original, but the execution, with familiar, appealing Cabrera illustrations, is attractive and perfect for...
This simple board book invites little ones to greet baby farm animals (including frog, bunny, and bee) with their corresponding sounds.
The first double-page spread greets readers with a bright yellow smiling sun and the text “Hello, Sun. / Hello, Day. / Wake up, babies. / Time to play!” Each succeeding spread has a distinct, gently patterned background, with very brief text on the verso (“Hello Puppy! / Woof Woof”). Filling up the recto is a vibrant illustration of the baby animal’s face, wide eyed and smiling, outlined in black. The final spread presents the face of a cute baby with chalky brown-gray skin, bright black eyes, and short black hair: “Goo Goo.” Babies and toddlers will enjoy looking at the baby faces, animals and human, and repeating the sounds. A companion book, Goodnight Bear, has a similar pattern of text and illustrations, though the palette is suitably darker. The moon, surprisingly, has its eyes shut, and succeeding spreads depict an owlet, a baby bat, a baby hedgehog, and other familiar nocturnal baby animals, all wide-awake and smiling. The final spread depicts a cute baby with pale skin, blond hair, and closed eyes.
It’s not exactly original, but the execution, with familiar, appealing Cabrera illustrations, is attractive and perfect for the target audience. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0430-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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by Jane Cabrera ; illustrated by Jane Cabrera
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by Jane Cabrera ; illustrated by Jane Cabrera
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by Jane Cabrera ; illustrated by Jane Cabrera
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