A simple, playful story underscoring the importance of valuing oneself and others.
Young readers learn about the most valuable treasure in Schustrin’s picture book.
The narrator explains that somewhere on Earth “exists a secret treasure / That is available to all.” Equipped with binoculars and magnifying glasses, a diverse group of kids with varying skin tones explores a diamond mine, bodies of water, and other places, looking for the mysterious treasure. The narrator offers clues about it, such as how it’s “more valuable than gold” and the “wildest dreams” of “1000 sleeping queens,” shown slumbering in bedazzled crowns. As the kids examine colorful jewels with magnifying glasses and scope out mountains with binoculars, the narrator explains that there’s “one sure thing to do” if one wants to locate the treasure: “Look in the mirror / That secret treasure is YOU!” This lively tale highlights the importance of positive self-esteem while reminding readers that all human beings are precious and worthy. Lucci’s cartoonlike, multihued illustrations feature busy scenes with sparkly diamonds; saturated, gradient skies; and cheerful critters. Some scenes effectively literalize the narration; for example, after the kids visit a bank, the text explains that the secret treasure makes “the world’s biggest banks / With all the cash in their stash” seem worthless; the image shows a truck unloading money onto a trash pile.
A simple, playful story underscoring the importance of valuing oneself and others.Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Ava Bear Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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