While not much of a guessing game, little ones will enjoy the action of interactive elements.
A rabbit, a fox, a horse, a monkey and a pig need help to find their proper tails.
On the first four double-page spreads, the animals appear in their natural habitats sporting a corkscrew-shaped tail. The serviceable text tells readers something is not right here, as on the rabbit page: “I eat carrots. That’s not my fluffy tail! Who am I?” Readers can pull a panel embedded in the page to slide the correct tail into position, while the name of the creature is also revealed. The owner of the curly tail appears on the last spread, and the final interactive feature is a spin dial allowing readers to match the pig up with the proper appendage. The companion book, Who Am I? This Is My Mouth, presents a different assortment of creatures sporting a green snout and in search of the right beak or nose. The text is written in verse here, but readers will hardly notice the forgettable lines when there are panels to slide and dials to spin. Fortunately, the interactive features in both offerings slide and spin easily and seem sturdy enough to stand up to repeated wear and tear. Rinaldo’s cheerful cartoons are done in friendly colors, the thick black lines used to draw the central creatures make them stand out, and subtle patterns within the landscapes provide some texture to the backgrounds.
While not much of a guessing game, little ones will enjoy the action of interactive elements. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: June 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4083-1510-1
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Trafalgar Square
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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