A purr-fectly good touch-and-feel book.
Help Scratchie the cat sharpen their claws using a variety of textured surfaces.
While this board book might seem in the same vein as Pat the Bunny, this cat takes it to a new, slightly subversive level. Mischievous Scratchie, a charcoal-colored feline, likes nothing more than to “scratch stuff to keep my claws super sharp,” and as the deadpan narrator, Scratchie actively invites human readers along to “scratch things together!” With a determined expression, glowing golden eyes, and a body often posed in unusual angles, Scratchie isn’t an especially adorable cat. Yet kids will empathize with Scratchie’s intense desire to seek out new and novel experiences and textures. The touch-and-feel surfaces are nicely variable, including “rough paper towel” (oddly, rather soft fabric), a raised shiny silver pot, and corrugated cardboard pieces. The tactile elements are constructed well enough to stand up to little hands. The ending, in which a startled human enters the now-trashed kitchen and an unrepentant Scratchie wonders what “we should scratch tomorrow,” will serve as a sort of Rorschach test. For those familiar with the chaos cats can bring, this riotous ending might bring giggles, but it could leave more order-seeking toddlers unsettled. Everyone will leave satisfied by the very last page, though, as Scratchie invites readers to touch one final pleasant texture—Scratchie’s own luxurious fur.
A purr-fectly good touch-and-feel book. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3765-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer...
Seven years after Little Pookie (2011) first appeared, this popular piglet is finally celebrating Christmas.
“Oh Pookie! Come look! It’s beginning to snow,” says a maternal-looking pig. But where did Pookie go? Past the Christmas tree, to put on a snowsuit of course. Pookie’s ever cheerful mama is willing to go out too. After all, “It’s a magical time to be walking with you.” When she observes, “Our noses are frozen. It’s time to go in,” Pookie protests in typical toddler style: “But I’m not c-c-c-cold!” The next three pages highlight indoor holiday preparations—making paper garlands, baking and decorating cookies. The rhyming text mirrors the spare illustrations. A spidery type that emulates handwriting makes it clear when Pookie is speaking. Then “the doorbell is ringing. / Our family and friends have arrived for the singing.” The second-to-last spread shows Pookie, mama, and six other pigs—and Boynton’s requisite chicken—singing (“Con brio”), “MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! AND A HAP-PY NEW YEAR!” Conveniently, this text is placed beneath the musical notation. Finally Pookie hangs a stocking and goes off to bed without any fuss, anticipating presents on Christmas morning.
The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer or an ideal Christmas Eve read to share with other little piggies. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3724-1
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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