In a new entry in the popular series, Stinky Face and his mama together imagine all that could go wrong at bedtime.
The young boy weaves a fabulous tale in which his dripping faucet becomes a waterfall, his bed turns into a cricket-powered flying boat, and they sail to an island where the animals host an all-night pajama party. Eventually, with the help of his mother’s patient responses, the boy imagines himself back home tucked into his own bed. Moore’s full-bleed double-page spreads, which look to be colored pencil and watercolor in deep colors, are satisfyingly busy. The playful bond between the blond, white mother-and-son pair is palpable. However, the 5-by-6-inch board-book trim size is a poor fit for these boisterous images and wordy exchanges. Spreads seem oddly cropped, the text overcrowds many pages, and it sometimes looks as if Stinky Face’s head is going to bump against the top edge of the page. The text is too long for most babies and toddlers, who are the core board-book audience.
A delightful read that really needs a larger canvas in a full-size picture book. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-90592-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Rhyming verses about kindness using a consistent metaphor of widening cracks versus blooming plants are amplified by cutouts on each page.
The art and layout are spectacular, from the cover through the double-page spreads near the end. Racially diverse toddlers are shown engaging in various moods and behaviors, some of which create unhappiness and some of which lead to friendship and happiness. Every page’s color palette and composition perfectly complement the narrative. The initial verso shows two children in aggressive stances, backgrounded by a dark, partly moonlit sky. Between them is a slender, crooked cutout. The large-type text reads: “It all / starts / with a / crack / that we can hardly see. / It happens when we shout / or if we disagree.” The recto shows two children in sunlight, with one offering a pretty leaf to the other, and the rhyme addresses the good that grows from kindness. In this image, the crooked die cut forms the trunk of a tiny sapling. Until the final double-page spreads, the art follows this clever setup: dark deeds and a crack on the left, and good deeds and a growing tree on the right. Unfortunately, the text is far from the equal of the art: It is banal and preachy, and it does not even scan well without some effort on the part of whomever is reading it. Still, the youngest children will solemnly agree with the do’s and don’ts, and they may decide to memorize a page or two.
Exciting artwork paired with disappointingly dull text. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68010-229-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Oliver, of first-day-of-school alligator fame, is back, imagining adventures and still struggling to find balance between introversion and extroversion.
“When Oliver found his egg…” on the playground, mint-green backgrounds signifying Oliver’s flight into fancy slowly grow larger until they take up entire spreads; Oliver’s creature, white and dinosaurlike with orange polka dots, grows larger with them. Their adventures include sharing treats, sailing the seas and going into outer space. A classmate’s yell brings him back to reality, where readers see him sitting on top of a rock. Even considering Schmid’s scribbly style, readers can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he ponders the girl and whether or not to give up his solitary play. “But when Oliver found his rock… // Oliver imagined many adventures // with all his friends!” This last is on a double gatefold that opens to show the children enjoying the creature’s slippery curves. A final wordless spread depicts all the children sitting on rocks, expressions gleeful, wondering, waiting, hopeful. The illustrations, done in pastel pencil and digital color, again make masterful use of white space and page turns, although this tale is not nearly as funny or tongue-in-cheek as Oliver and His Alligator (2013), nor is its message as clear and immediately accessible to children.
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for all children but sadly isn’t. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7573-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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