Sweet and insipid.
Two very lucky children have a crafty mother who makes pajamas most children can only dream of.
Two blond, white children—a brother-and-sister duo to judge by hairstyle conventions—wear pajamas created by their mother, and what pajamas they are! Their mama has made them to look like a green dragon, a red fox, a blue elephant, a yellow lion, a brown bear, a sparkling, purple fairy, pink and white bunnies, an orange kangaroo, and white sheep. Each night they choose what they want to be. As they parade the different pajamas in front of readers, each outfit has a touch-and-feel element, though there is not much variety to the textures. The dragon pajamas have “green, bumpy scales”; the red fox pajamas sport a “soft, bushy tail”; and though the elephant pajamas are supposed to be “wrinkly” and “rough,” in reality the texture is just slightly bumpy. The only pajamas without a touch-and-feel element are the kangaroo ones, which instead have a flap that, when opened, reveals a pouch for the younger brother. Predictably, the white sheep pajamas are cuddly and cozy and make the children feel sleepy. As with so many of its ilk, the book seems geared for maximum saccharinity, with little to offer beyond the cute jammies.
Sweet and insipid. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7975-2
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cuddle up with this cheery board book to assure your babies that they too are loved.
Parental love has never been expressed so sweetly and believably.
In this sunny, bright world there is no ambivalence, much less postpartum depression—only positive possibilities. Church offers a model of good parenting, expressing the universal hopes all parents have for their children, that they “see the joy that life can bring.” Her focus is always on the child. The narrator mother is shown only at the very beginning, cuddling her newborn and lifting a sock-clad toddler above her head. On two other pages readers see the mother's hands reaching out to guide and encourage as the baby begins to crawl, stand, and run. The first-person narration might be confusing if the book is shared by a caregiver other than a mother. Toddlers will join in on the reassuring refrain “I will love you forever.” The pants-clad child is shown with tightly curled reddish-brown hair and light brown skin. The mother has a slightly lighter skin tone and straight hair. A faithful brown dog and well-loved teddy bear accompany the child on almost every page.
Cuddle up with this cheery board book to assure your babies that they too are loved. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-94200-3
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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