by Lindsay Barrett George & illustrated by Lindsay Barrett George ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011
Short, sweet and satisfying. (Picture book. 2-5)
A pleasant golden retriever puppy finds a stash of acorns in her backyard as well as a new friend in this super-simple tale suitable for toddlers moving from board books into real stories.
The unnamed female puppy is sniffing the fall breeze when she catches an intriguing scent, digs furiously and finds her first buried acorn. She digs up a total of ten acorns in different locations in her yard relating to the fall scene, such as a pile of leaves and a pumpkin patch. In each illustration the squirrel who buried the acorns is watching, but partially hidden behind leaves or fence or wheelbarrow. When the squirrel confronts the puppy about the acorns, the dog agrees to change her game from “find the acorn” to “put back the acorn.” The final pages show the two animals working together to replace the acorns in their hiding places in the yard. The short, easy text is set in large type with just a sentence or a few words per page. Though the plot seems slight at first, there is a real story here about taking things that don’t belong to you and putting things right after a misunderstanding, right on target for younger preschoolers. Gouache illustrations of the appealing puppy and concerned squirrel use simple layouts and lots of white space to convey the amusing antics of the puppy, decked out in a red polka-dot bandana that provides a bright contrast with the pumpkins on the cover illustration.
Short, sweet and satisfying. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-200413-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
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by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014
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
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by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson
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