Pfister tackles a common frustration with which youngsters will relate; unfortunately, glittery scales are the only thing to...
Twenty-five years after the original shimmering publication, Rainbow Fish returns to learn a lesson in good sportsmanship.
Rainbow Fish and his friends are playing hide-and-seek. Rainbow Fish is the first to be “it.” He has played this game so many times he believes that he knows all the hiding places in the shoal. Overconfident, he sets off to look. But he can’t find anyone! One by one the fish swim out of their hiding places, much to Rainbow Fish’s chagrin. Then, when Little Blue is the seeker, he finds Rainbow Fish immediately. Rainbow Fish angrily throws a tantrum and swims away. The newest character to the series, Red Fin, gently explains to Rainbow Fish that sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. An apology neatly wraps up this aquatic morality tale. Translated from German, the text is didactic and straightforward; the one textual bright spot is an enthusiastic, “I’ll find you in a fishy flash!” Lending visual sparkle, of course, is the series’ trademark foil scales. Saturated blues and greens, with splashes of yellow and pink, infuse the underwater world.
Pfister tackles a common frustration with which youngsters will relate; unfortunately, glittery scales are the only thing to add shine to these lackluster depths. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4287-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
So sweet it’ll have readers heading for their toothbrushes.
Another entry in the how-much-I-love-you genre.
The opening spread shows a blue elephant-and-child pair, the child atop the adult, white hearts arcing between their uplifted trunks: “You’re a gift and a blessing in every way. / I love you more each and every day.” From there, the adult elephant goes on to tell the child how they are loved more than all sorts of things, some rhyming better than others: “I love you more than all the spaghetti served in Rome, // and more than each and every dog loves her bone.” More than stars, fireflies, “all the languages spoken in the world,” “all the dancers that have ever twirled,” all the kisses ever given and miles ever driven, “all the adventures you have ahead,” and “all the peanut butter and jelly spread on bread!” Representative of all the world’s languages are “I love you” in several languages (with no pronunciation help): English, Sioux, French, German, Swahili, Spanish, Hawaiian, Chinese, and Arabic (these two last in Roman characters only). Bold colors and simple illustrations with no distracting details keep readers’ focus on the main ideas. Dashed lines give the artwork (and at least one word on every spread) the look of 2-D sewn toys.
So sweet it’ll have readers heading for their toothbrushes. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Dec. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8398-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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