A truly compelling ticket to slumberland for even the most wakeful nappy-clad night owl.
What to do when even the usual cure for insomnia—views of small, fuzzy animals drowsing off—doesn’t work.
It’s a new suite of impossibly fuzzy, cute, photorealistic baby animals of the sort that continue to render readers of Houran and Hanson’s Next to You: A Book of Adorableness (2016) helpless. A tableau of yawning, cozy goat kids with peepers shuttered or at half-mast accompanies the suggestive line: “I bet you can’t wait to / close… / your…”—but the book immediately upsets expectations with the page turn, offering a contrasting view of a tiny tarsier with huge, bright eyes and the surprised observation: “Oh! / You are WIDE awake.” How about reverse psychology then? “Let’s stay up!” Just try to ignore the “baby ape with the blankie,” the snoozing little fox, and, if at all possible, the bunny and the guinea pig snuggled together. “Come on! / That’s not even FAIR!” the unseen narrator protests indignantly. But the toughest challenge is saved for the end: “PUPPIES. / Argh!” There’s only one way to keep from seeing them. Houran and Hanson once again manage a delicate balancing act, both poking fun at the soft-focus cutesy-animal books that crowd shelves and at the same time unapologetically bathing readers in their gauzy glow.
A truly compelling ticket to slumberland for even the most wakeful nappy-clad night owl. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1271-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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