Note: This title was redesigned in 2011 and reissued with a set of paper dolls.
Another addition to the series for beginning readers checked against the Therndike Word List. The three little girls go skating in this one and rescue a little boy who had crashed through the ice. Then they help Bertie get over his chill at his house, and the next day receive nice presents from Bertie and his family. Our only serious objection is the matter of the very dangerous method by which Bertie is pulled from the water—a method used unthinkingly by too many children. Some information as to the correct method seems in order.
Note: This title was redesigned in 2011 and reissued with a set of paper dolls.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1950
ISBN: 978-0807524916
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
A charming book to remind kids that they are loved.
Rafa and his papá love measuring—but maybe some things can’t be quantified.
The two measure just about everything. Rafa’s train? Check. How many branches do Rafa and Papá need to climb to get to their favorite one? Fourteen! How high can their dog Euclid jump? There’s a way to figure that out! But how do you decide how puffy the puffiest cloud is or which ball is the bounciest? More important, how do you measure love? Maybe it’s as scrumptious as the best sandwich you ever ate or “as long and floaty” as a boat. How much does Rafa’s dad love him? Rafa thinks maybe his dad’s love is as perfect as pancakes and as deep as the Grand Canyon. Papá knows that it is that and so much more, because some things cannot really be measured. This is a sweet book about a father and son who simply love each other. Rendered in oils over acrylics, the illustrations are bright and expressive while the text is simple yet joyful. The pleasure that this father-son duo take in being together is palpable. Kids will get a kick out of all of the contraptions Rafa and Papá make to measure everything they encounter. The pair are brown-skinned and cued Latinx. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A charming book to remind kids that they are loved. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: May 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-54089-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
The book is available in just about every format--but this is the perfect one.
It's hard to believe that a pop-up wasn't the creators' original intention, so seamlessly do moveable parts dovetail into this modern classic's storyline.
In contrast to the tale's 1998 pop -up version, the figures here move on every page, and with an unusually graceful naturalism to boot. From pulling down Big Nutbrown Hare's ears on the opening spread to make sure he's listening to drowsily turning his head to accept a final good-night kiss in a multi-leveled pull-down tableau at the close, all of Little Nutbrown Hare's hops, stretches and small gestures serve the poetically spare text—as do Big Nutbrown's wider, higher responses to his charge's challenges. As readers turn a flap to read Big Nutbrown's "But I love you this much," his arms extend to demonstrate. The emotional connection between the two hares is clearer than ever in Jeram's peaceful, restrained outdoor scenes, which are slightly larger than those in the trade edition, and the closing scene is made even more intimate by hiding the closing line ("I love you right up to the moon—and back") until an inconspicuous flap is opened up.
The book is available in just about every format--but this is the perfect one. (Pop-up picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5378-1
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2011
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