Delightful and right on target.
Egg will not hatch in spite of all the fun things he could do with Peep. What will it take to get him to hatch?
Peep is a cute little chick with a pink gingham bow on her head, and she would love Egg to hatch. There are so many things they could do together, if only he would. But Egg is being ornery and finds something he doesn’t like with every proposal. “Too high,” he says of watching the sunrise from the roof of the henhouse. “Too wet,” of splashing in puddles. “Too far,” of strolling to the pond to say hi to the ducks. And “Too buggy,” of taking a nap in the tall grass. But when Peep proposes a blueberry-muffin picnic, Egg has had enough, yelling in no uncertain terms “I’M NOT HATCHING!” As Peep gives up and waves “See ya later,” matching stubbornness for stubbornness, Egg hatches! Rendered with thick lines, flat colors, and simple cartoonlike shapes, Wan’s illustrations are a joyous complement to Gehl’s text. Children will listen in anticipation of what will make Egg finally hatch; their adult readers will smile in recognition of the predictable toddler stubbornness.
Delightful and right on target. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30121-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2015
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
A soothing bedtime reminder of a parent’s unconditional love.
Grammy Award–winning singer/songwriter Monét’s picture-book debut reassures the very young that their caregivers are always watching over them.
A smiling yellow star watches the equally cheerful moon; both are heavily anthropomorphized, with eyelashes for the moon and pink cheeks for the star. A page turn reveals the star, now downcast and in the corner of a mostly dark spread: “Sometimes the sky is dark and you can’t see the moon at all.” The following spread, depicting a sparkly sky with both characters back in view, reminds children that the moon is there, even when it’s not visible: “Think of me as the moon / It’s always in the sky / Just like I will forever be / a bright light in your life.” Both orbs beam. “I’ll always be your moon / You’ll always be my star / Just keep me in your heart and / I’ll be everywhere you are.” This becomes the refrain after a few more verses that continue the theme of the moon as a metaphor for emotionally present, ever-loving caregivers. Little ones will happily repeat the words as they’re lulled to sleep. The book ends with a heartfelt dedication from the author to her daughter and to parents who balance caregiving duties with careers. Monét notes that she set out to show children that their parents’ devotion endures no matter what—a goal achieved by both text and art.
A soothing bedtime reminder of a parent’s unconditional love. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780593698419
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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