An approachable concept book for very early beginning readers with word pairs and illustrations sure to inspire grins—and...
A dandelion seed goes on a journey after being blown by a child’s wish in this delightful, simply worded, brightly colored concept book by Susskind (So You Think You Babysit Monsters?. 2013, etc.) and illustrated by Tadić.
On the opening two-page spread, the word “Wish!” commands a young girl to blow the dandelion she holds in front of her. With a “Whoosh” and “Wee” on the next spread, the journey of the dandelion seed begins. The computer-designed images, with the simple facial expressions on the dandelion seed hero, are in bold colors and incorporate the very few vocabulary words into the imagery well. Susskind chooses related, alliterative word pairs for each spread, and the combinations are often clever and occasionally truly delightful. The dandelion flies farther away from its original home, dancing in the air past farms and mountains, bumping into—and sleeping on—clouds. In the “drip / dry” pair, a poor, soaked seed is caught in a storm, but after the rain ends, it quickly spins dry. Finally, after tickling a baby and beckoning a dog to chase it, the seed falls to the ground, where it can “rest” and “root.” In a quick development, the seed plants itself and grows into a dandelion with a huge yellow tuft. But that golden crown doesn’t last, and soon the adult dandelion’s head is full of a brand new batch of seeds, just waiting for a child to come along and wish them onto their own journeys. The illustrations throughout are always cheerful; even when soaked, the seed looks like it’s having a tremendous amount of fun, and the happy expression it has when, as a growing dandelion, it’s chatting with a bee will make readers want to smile right along. The faces of the children are not quite as approachable as the cartoonish seed, and the background details are often rudimentary, but young readers may be satisfied with the basic, soft illustrations. It’s the words and word pairs here that inspire the most fun, however, and Susskind’s selections, sometimes obvious and other times surprising, will let newly independent readers gain confidence while experimenting with sounding out words on their own.
An approachable concept book for very early beginning readers with word pairs and illustrations sure to inspire grins—and maybe some wishes of their own.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9857032-8-8
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Good Manners Kids Stuff Press
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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