Reader engagement saves this from complete unoriginality.
Learn about farm animals and the farmer’s work in this lift-the-flap board book from Belgium and the Netherlands.
This toddler-friendly tale is part picture identification and part prediction. Each double-page spread shows four simply drawn animals or items on the left while the right side poses a question beneath a picture and invites readers to lift the flap on which both are printed. This setup clearly displays the featured items, and the questions invite little readers to practice making predictions about what will happen next. Sometimes there is an obvious answer to the question, as in which animal gets which type of food; other times, the question elicits a yes or no answer. In this way, Slegers keeps the experience of each page predictable without being repetitive. Some questions are confusing: Yes, the farmer appears to be watering the cauliflower, lettuce, and carrots he’s walking past with a watering can, but the answer is he’s not—“he’s watering the tomatoes in the greenhouse.” Others fail to purposefully include all the items depicted on verso, so that something like the pitchfork becomes simply unused background. The illustrations have thick, black outlines, with simple, bold colors and features. There isn’t much detail save the realistic texture of the farmer’s work clothes and the close-up photographed image of straw used in place of drawing on the bales of hay. The farmer presents White and is explicitly gendered male, and there are no other humans in the book.
Reader engagement saves this from complete unoriginality. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-60537-586-1
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In this board book designed for the littlest llama lovers, adorable-as-ever Llama Llama (Llama Llama Red Pajama, 2005, etc.) gets ready for some Halloween fun.
Dewdney’s characteristic spare, apt rhymes convey a lot of action in effortlessly readable fashion. A charming and simple introduction to Halloween and its associated activities, this title finds little Llama Llama choosing and carving a pumpkin, pouring candy into bowls, picking out a costume and, finally, trick-or-treating. The costume Llama Llama decides to don—pointy teeth and a black mask and cape—is enough to frighten and fool his friends but not readers, who will immediately recognize and smile at the silly little mini-Dracula. With Dewdney’s characters as expressive as ever, young readers will be drawn right into the holiday fun, eagerly anticipating which costume Llama Llama will choose and excited to see him scare his friends and score some candy at trick-or-treat. In the equally appealing companion title, Llama Llama Jingle Bells,the little fellow gets ready for Christmas, baking and decorating some cookies in anticipation of Santa’s arrival. This simple holiday title will win Llama Llama new fans, and old friends will want to add it and its companion to their collections. (Board book. 1-2)
Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-0451469786
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lovely, simple lift-the-flap book that will stand the test of many a mighty tot.
Little ones learn about bugs.
The world of insects and like small creatures is the focus of this sturdy board book. Each turn of the page gives readers a close view of a particular habitat. The text asks, “Where’s the ladybug?” or “Where’s the snail?” and little ones are encouraged to find the creatures under shaped felt flaps. A caterpillar poses under a leaf with a few bites taken out of it; a bumblebee flies behind a pink tulip. The flaps are made of a reasonably strong material, secured tightly within the book’s pages. Extremely determined readers may figure out a way to pull the flaps out, but most will enjoy flipping them up and over with ease. The last page of the book contains a mirror hidden behind a bush-shaped flap, and readers are asked “And where are you?” The insects smile with big eyes and are composed of large, circular, clean-edged shapes. The color palette is dulled, making the neon flaps pop effectively for little readers. Concurrently publishing companion Where’s the Giraffe? explores the world of jungle animals.
A lovely, simple lift-the-flap book that will stand the test of many a mighty tot. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9335-0
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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