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MOMMY, BABY, AND ME

An enjoyable if not exactly original outing.

Will the new baby muck up the family dog’s way of life?

The pooch sure thinks so. For years, the orange corgi and Mommy were inseparable, having fun and sharing hugs and life’s experiences together—alone. Of course a wrench got thrown into the works when Mommy met an interloper: Daddy. So much for exclusive cuddling with Mommy after that. Worse, after a while, time and space in Mommy’s lap are seriously compromised as the aforementioned sitting area becomes way smaller. And then…there is only room for Baby. To top it all off, Mommy and Baby grow very close. Guess whose life starts to go downhill, what with being scolded and ignored and having to put up with a noisy, smelly, untrained newcomer in the house? The dog’s eventual realization that the infant has become rather canine (crawling on all fours, anyone?) leads to the realization that there’s a very endearing place for a dog in the family’s new pecking order. This story adds nothing new to the familiar dog-adjusts-to-new-baby canon, but it’s narrated by the dog in first, er, person in simple and sweet prose, and it also nicely stands in for many young readers/listeners who may have become new older siblings themselves. The colorful, cartoony illustrations are lively and expressive, with the white parents and infant portrayed with bright smiles and large eyes; the narrator is particularly expressive and winsome.

An enjoyable if not exactly original outing. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4413-2238-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Peter Pauper Press

Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: June 9, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015

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GOOD NIGHT, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK

A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.

Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!

Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.

A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: HMH Books

Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019

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