A day’s activities negate the result of a toddler’s morning bath in this delightful counting adventure. The counting begins with one naked baby, fresh from a bath, and continues as he gets dressed and has snack. Then it’s out the door to explore the quintessential spring day (worms, puddles, flowers, sticks, birds), and the numbers descend, back to one muddy baby back in the bathtub. Gentle rhymes and familiar scenes make this good for sharing anytime. “Nine stones for stepping, / Eight robins race, / Seven worms wiggle, / Six chipmunks chase.” Smith’s illustrations are a feast for the eye and the brain, providing lots of linkages between number words and numerals. Vertical stripes list the numerals from one to ten—the featured number is a different color. Number words are also separated by color from the rest of the text. Young children will happily peruse each bright watercolor, appreciating the toddler’s perspective and the up-close view of his comfortable world. The endpapers are a winding path from naked baby back to naked baby, with all the objects that were counted in between. A great addition to any collection. (Picture book. 1-5)
Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2007
ISBN: 0-375-83329-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2007
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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An abecedary of spooky or autumnal delights for the littlest readers.
Each letter of the alphabet is highlighted on a single page, the upper- and lowercase letters appearing in the upper left-hand corner, while the object is named at the bottom or in the upper right. Ho keeps her illustrations simple and places them against plain, brightly colored backgrounds, keeping them accessible to those still learning about Halloween’s many icons. The almost-fluorescent orange cover is sure to attract attention, and the palette of black, purple, orange, yellow, and radioactive green enhances the Halloween mood. But while many of the chosen items will be expected—bats, ghost, haunted house, owl, skeleton, vampire, witch, zombie—others are rather odd choices. J is for “jump,” not jack-o’-lantern (“pumpkin” is illustrated with a jack-o’-lantern); K is for a mostly black “kitten” standing in a coffin; and N is for “nightmare,” which is virtually impossible to express visually for this age group without provoking said nightmare. Here, a lavender-skinned child (zombie?) in pajamas and nightcap has arms raised and mouth open wide in surprise—perhaps in response to the mummy across the gutter? The tough letters use “quiver,” spider-decorated “underpants” on a monster, and “extra treats,” the x underlined.
While the ghoulies here are more cute than scary, “jump,” “quiver,” and “run” will probably get across the idea to even the youngest listeners that Halloween can be scary. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9527-9
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Nosy Crow/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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