Though not all Papa’s answers will satisfy those of every Christian denomination, the Bible basics are here, and adults can...
Polar bears Papa and Little Cub have an important talk about angels—who and where they are, what they do, and what role they play in our lives—as they explore their Arctic habitat.
Angels pass along messages from God, serve God, sing and watch over all of us. In this latest in the God Gave Us series, Little Cub’s questions and comments are spot-on for a curious child. When Papa tells her that angels serve God and are always worshipping Him, Little Cub asks, “Does all that worshipin’ give them those halo thingies?” Papa’s answers are appropriate for Little Cub’s age, and he does not answer every query concretely—he isn’t sure why God doesn’t send angels to keep us from every hurt and sickness. Papa’s comment that we should be nice to all we meet as they may be angels in disguise nicely brings angels down to Earth and gives children a mission. Bryant’s soft watercolor illustrations show the tender love the father and daughter polar bears share. Many spreads depict an angel watching over the pair—behind a snowy hill, within a waterfall, in the shape of a cloud, flying in the night sky.
Though not all Papa’s answers will satisfy those of every Christian denomination, the Bible basics are here, and adults can tweak the text to suit the faith they want to pass on to their own lap-sitters. (Picture book/religion. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-60142-661-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: WaterBrook
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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