An energizing yoga practice portrayed by lively and diverse characters that should inspire multiple readings.
Morning yoga stretches for children to wake them up and launch their days.
After helping young readers gently end their days in Good Night Yoga (2015), Gates and Hinder return with a salutation for their mornings. Written in first person, the book has two sets of text that can be read separately or in tandem. The rhyming lines in bold describe the primary concepts behind the book’s 12 poses. A red-haired white girl imagines herself as a fiery volcano to illustrate a salutation pose. A brown-skinned boy prepares to ski jump in a variation of a mountain pose. Each pose is accompanied by italicized text that acts as both instruction and an affirmation. The soothing repetition encourages readers to focus on their breathing as they move through their morning stretches. Hinder’s playful illustrations animate Gates’ descriptions and affirmations. Each character fully embodies his or her pose as if ready to leap off the page. The balance of bold and soft colors mirrors the energizing yet focused movements of the stretches. Young readers will easily see themselves in one of the many diverse children in the book. Also included are a recap of the poses with short instructions and a guided visualization that adults can read to children.
An energizing yoga practice portrayed by lively and diverse characters that should inspire multiple readings. (Informational picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62203-602-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Sounds True
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Whether they’re counting scores of peas, enjoying the rhymes and puns or relishing the funny visual quirks, families are...
After an alphabetical, rhyming tour de force (LMNO Peas, 2010), Baker’s energetic pea pack is back—this time, to count by ones and 10s.
Baker sidesteps the trickiness of rhyming the numerals by selecting a repeating word for each short verse. “ONE pea searching—look, look, look, / TWO peas fishing—hook, hook, hook.” Those numerals rise sky-high (to peas, at least) to dominate the digitally composed visuals, often serving as props for the frenzy of vegetative activity. At “TEN peas building—pound, pound, pound,” the peas erect a wooden platform around the numeral—mainly, it would seem, as an excuse for exuberantly hammering dozens of nails. Baker circumvents those oft-pesky ’teens in one deft double-page spread: “Eleven to nineteen—skip, skip, skip!” Then it’s a double-page spread per decade, with peas traveling, napping, watching fireworks and more. “SEVENTY peas singing” provide a bevy of details to spy: A fab foursome (the Peatles) rocks out above a chorus and director. Nearby, a barbershop quartet, a Wagnerian soloist, a showering pea and a dancing “Peayoncé” add to the fun.
Whether they’re counting scores of peas, enjoying the rhymes and puns or relishing the funny visual quirks, families are sure to devour Baker’s latest winner. Totally ap-pea-ling! (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: July 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4551-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2012
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