Tiny Rabbit should be introduced to David Kirk’s Oh So Tiny Bunny (2013), which also successfully explores the same theme.
Like lots of children and lots of picture-book characters, tiny rabbit wants to be big. Very big.
The little brown bunny wants to be “as huge / as the forest / with legs as TALL / as trees / and eyes the size / of moons.” He describes other animals and natural structures of gigantic size, but despite his intense wishes, he remains small. As time passes, he does grow in stature (slightly), but after he focuses on wishing to be powerful like a gorilla, he does grow in an important way. His ears grow much longer, giving him the power to hear “every loud / or quiet / SOUND / in the forest.” Tiny rabbit can enjoy sounds both loud and soft, and he can notice the sounds of hungry lions and escape back to his rabbit den, “ENORMOUSLY / happy / to be smart and… / small.” Acrylic paintings of tiny rabbit’s environment are filled with jolly, smiling animals, although the huge lion does lick his lips in a slightly sinister way. The short text is integrated within the illustrations, with words indicating size set in different colors and varied types. Though the story isn’t particularly revolutionary, tiny rabbit is an appealing character with an imagination that outstrips his diminutive size.
Tiny Rabbit should be introduced to David Kirk’s Oh So Tiny Bunny (2013), which also successfully explores the same theme. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-547-85286-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
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
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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