Basic and serviceable.
Build healthy habits with suggestions from your favorite Sesame Street friends.
In a foreword, the editors at Sesame Street Workshop remind readers that “before you can help take care of your family, friends, or neighbors, it’s important to learn how to take care of yourself.” Each ensuing double-page spread features three to five sentences—many voiced by a Muppet friend—that share health tips. Some suggestions are especially timely: “Elmo sings the ABC. Then Elmo knows Elmo has washed [his hands] long enough!” or “Wear a mask when you leave your home. That helps stop germs from spreading.” Other advice, which ranges from wearing sunscreen to eating fruits and veggies, is more general. Along the way, large, colorful pictures of children (a racially diverse cast) and Muppets guide readers by modeling healthy actions. The book doesn’t break any new ground—or even tread old ground in a new and exciting way—but it will be a useful tool for caregivers who need the occasional celebrity endorsement (watching Cookie Monster brush his teeth might boost compliance in a way that adult admonishments can’t) to help reinforce positive behaviors. Rudimentary backmatter is included, but its brevity may undercut the overall usefulness for many.
Basic and serviceable. (glossary, bibliography, index) (Informational picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72842-387-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lerner
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
Adults looking for an easy entry into this subject will not be disappointed.
This book presents a simplified explanation of the role the atmosphere plays in controlling climate.
The authors present a planet as a ball and its atmosphere as a blanket that envelops the ball. If the blanket is thick, the planet will be hot, as is the case for Venus. If the blanket is thin, the planet is cold, as with Mars. Planet Earth has a blanket that traps “just the right amount of heat.” The authors explain trees, animals, and oceans are part of what makes Earth’s atmosphere “just right.” “But…Uh-oh! People on Earth are changing the blanket!” The book goes on to explain how some human activities are sending “greenhouse gases” into the atmosphere, thus “making the blanket heavier and thicker” and “making Earth feel unwell.” In the case of a planet feeling unwell, what would the symptoms be? Sea-level rises that lead to erosion, flooding, and island loss, along with extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, blizzards, and wildfires. Ending on a constructive note, the authors name a few of the remedies to “help our Earth before it’s too late!” By using the blanket analogy, alongside simple and clear illustrations, this otherwise complex topic becomes very accessible to young children, though caregivers will need to help with the specialized vocabulary.
Adults looking for an easy entry into this subject will not be disappointed. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8082-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
The makers of Baby University should take Child Development 101, as this entry is best for those long out of diapers.
Simple graphics and straightforward text introduce little ones to epidemiology.
As in other Baby University offerings, balls are used to illustrate complex topics, here representing people and populations. A disembodied, round head with white skin covered in magnified viruses is shown spreading the disease to other heads with a variety of complexions, from white to dark brown. Next readers see a map of Australia sprinkled with even larger viruses, which spread across the globe. Health-worker heads surveil and trace contacts while the sick circles who are exposed isolate or quarantine. The text provides basic definitions for key concepts, highlighting specialized vocabulary in bright colors (usually red, but in one instance yellow—a poor choice for legibility against the white background). It is a laudable goal to introduce the youngest to this of all topics, but much of the content misses the mark for the intended audience. Youngsters may be confused by the oversized viruses, and the giant swab demonstrating testing is more scary than reassuring. By the same token, there’s not nearly enough attention paid to what children are experiencing every day, like hygiene and distancing. As with many other entries in this series, the book is best suited to preschoolers and early-elementary children—not babies and toddlers.
The makers of Baby University should take Child Development 101, as this entry is best for those long out of diapers. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3416-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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