A sweet welcome for a new baby.
Not just the eponymous Bear, but many friendly animals are headed somewhere special.
Simple, cumulative text translated from Dutch prompts readers to turn the pages as one anthropomorphic animal after another joins Bear on a walk through the forest. Each animal’s arrival on the scene provides a little more information about whom they are going to see. This pattern begins with Bear saying “I’m going to see some sleepy little eyes!” Squirrel mentions “cute little ears”; Fox, “a little pink nose”; Rabbit, a “teensy-weensy mouth”; Cat, “a soft little belly.” It’s Goat who finally fills in the whole picture: They “are going to see Baby Mouse! He was just born!” Diederen’s digital illustrations show the group growing in size and moving through space from left to right with each subsequent double-page spread until they arrive at the conclusion and gather around Baby Mouse, sound asleep in a bed of straw. There are no mouse parents about, which could prompt questions about who takes care of this new baby, but he’s certainly beloved by the crowd of animal friends. This book is all about celebrating a new baby rather than adjusting to its presence; the boldface cues in the text beg caregivers who are reading with children in their laps to point out each body part as they read and cuddle, offering loving tangible reinforcement to the text.
A sweet welcome for a new baby. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-60537-372-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2018
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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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