Where is Little Fish? He should be on shelves serving young children everywhere.
Little Fish plays hide-and-seek.
A board book should be brief to match a toddler’s attention span, have humor that a young child can appreciate, and provide reasons for caregiver and child to linger over each page. Cousins, best known for the popular Maisy stories, scores on all counts here. On the first page, the smiling Little Fish speaks directly to readers with an invitation to play the familiar game of hide-and-seek. Six possible hiding places are concealed beneath flaps on the subsequent pages. By the second reading, young children will chime in with a satisfying “No” as each flap reveals a different sea creature. Finally, as in Cousins’ earlier Hooray for Fish (2005), the final flap lifts to reveal Little Fish and Mom Fish sharing kisses. The six page turns and six flaps are just enough to ensure that board-book readers will say “read it again.” The creatures have monikers such as “shelly fish” and “stripy fish,” but even though these names are invented, their hiding places hint at real habitats and actual fish behavior. Each flap includes a small cutout to make it clear where it should be opened. This feature may help the rather thin flaps survive frequent tugs from eager little fingers.
Where is Little Fish? He should be on shelves serving young children everywhere. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9486-9
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer...
Seven years after Little Pookie (2011) first appeared, this popular piglet is finally celebrating Christmas.
“Oh Pookie! Come look! It’s beginning to snow,” says a maternal-looking pig. But where did Pookie go? Past the Christmas tree, to put on a snowsuit of course. Pookie’s ever cheerful mama is willing to go out too. After all, “It’s a magical time to be walking with you.” When she observes, “Our noses are frozen. It’s time to go in,” Pookie protests in typical toddler style: “But I’m not c-c-c-cold!” The next three pages highlight indoor holiday preparations—making paper garlands, baking and decorating cookies. The rhyming text mirrors the spare illustrations. A spidery type that emulates handwriting makes it clear when Pookie is speaking. Then “the doorbell is ringing. / Our family and friends have arrived for the singing.” The second-to-last spread shows Pookie, mama, and six other pigs—and Boynton’s requisite chicken—singing (“Con brio”), “MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! AND A HAP-PY NEW YEAR!” Conveniently, this text is placed beneath the musical notation. Finally Pookie hangs a stocking and goes off to bed without any fuss, anticipating presents on Christmas morning.
The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer or an ideal Christmas Eve read to share with other little piggies. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3724-1
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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