In this compilation originally published as four separate books, a toddler takes readers through a first-person account of a typical day.
In four different vignettes, each with simple chapter headings (“Eating,” “Playing,” “Bathing” and “Sleeping”), a Caucasian tyke, likely male, demonstrates the activities involved in his daily routine. While the text is direct and may strike some as dry, it models talking strategies that are effective in promoting language development: “This is my cup. My cup is filled with water. Look! I am holding my cup with two hands.” The double-page spreads highlight one object on the left-hand page and place the object in a wider scene on the right with the youngster often demonstrating its use. Slegers’ brightly colored cartoons outlined in bold black lines charm, managing to be infinitely recognizable without being boring. The companion, Me and the Seasons, follows the same tot through the four seasons of the year, also working nicely as a bound quartet. The size and shape of both offerings suggest a board book, but the internal pages are thick card stock with rounded corners.
Surprisingly, a book for little ones consisting of four chapters is a developmentally appropriate winner. (Board book. 6-18 mos.)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-60537-191-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING
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In this captivating story of a mouse dentist, Steig sets his stage according to the ludicrous logic of size discrepancy that intrigues children: to treat large animals (such as the pig shown), Dr. De Sore stands on a ladder; and for extra-large animals (a donkey is pictured), he is hoisted up on a pulley contraption by his wife/assistant. Then he gets right into his patients' mouths, "wearing rubbers to keep his feet dry." Understandably, Dr. De Soto refuses to treat animals dangerous to mice—not even "the most timid-looking cat." But one day when a well-dressed fox comes pleading with him to ease his pain, the De Sotos relent. And as the dentist works inside the fox's mouth, the patient goes from a lip-smacking dream under gas ("How I love them raw, with just a pinch of salt, and a dry white wine"). . . to wondering, after the first visit, "if it would be shabby of him to eat the De Sotos when the job was done" . . . to "I really shouldn't eat them. On the other hand, how can I resist?". . . to "definitely" making up his mind to eat them. But the De Sores, though compassionate, are no fools, and so they outfox the fox—coating his teeth with a final preventive treatment that is really glue. And so, with his jaw stuck shut (for just a day or two, the dentist assures him), the defeated fox stumbles down the stairs—which Steig, as a parting reference to the arrangements set forth at the beginning, has divided into the regular flight the fox is using and a narrower one of smaller steps. Simple but sly, a mischievously imaginative rendition of the classic theme.
Pub Date: Nov. 12, 1982
ISBN: 0606146067
Page Count: -
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1982
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING
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After swinging out from the jungle after a long day of ninja-ing, Will makes his way home just in time for a bath. But as all ninjas know, danger lurks around every corner.
Even naughty ninjas get hungry, but Dad says, “Pee-yew,” and insists his little ninja get clean before going near a morsel. Ever the Naughty Ninja, Will follows his dad into the bathroom and immediately spies danger: Poisonous flies that have followed him from the jungle! As any parent would, his dad begs him not to say, “Ninja to the rescue,” because we all know what comes after a catchphrase…chaos! Through each increasingly rough rescue, Dad finds himself more and more defeated in his quest to complete bathtime, but ultimately he starts to find the infectious joy that only the ridiculousness of children can bring out in an adult. The art is bright and finds some nifty ninja perspectives that use the space well. It also places an interracial family at its center: Dad has brown skin and dark, puffy hair, and Mom is a white redhead; when out of his ninja cowl, Will looks like a slightly lighter-skinned version of his father. Kids will laugh at everything the dad is put through, and parents will knowingly nod, because we have all had nights with little ninjas soaking the bathroom floor. The book starts out a little text heavy but finds its groove quickly, reading smoothly going forward. Lots of action means it’s best not to save this one for bedtime.
Good fun for all little ninjas and their parents. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-9433-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
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