A mixed bag.
Standard concepts, tabs to turn, and perennially smiling animal characters are the salient features of this book and its companions.
Hogan's greeting-card background is evident in these peppy titles, but some of her choices may give readers pause. On the page that asks, “What can you hear at home?” there is no evidence of human life. Instead, the brightly hued illustration shows a bird, a cat, and a dog—obviously house pets, but why no people? On a page featuring town noises, the sole woman simply drives a car, while two men drive a train and work on a road. The same unfortunate stereotype creeps into Dinosaur Big, Dinosaur Small. “Daddy lion is loud,” while opposite him, a seraphically smiling “Mommy lion is quiet.” The more successful Early Birds titles are Rainbow Zoo, about colors, and 123 Under the Sea, about counting. These straightforward concepts benefit from the unnuanced treatment. The tabs are closely related to the actual page content, displaying either an iconic image or, in the case of 123 Under the Sea, a large numeral. Hagen's stylized designs have no hint of colors actually seen in nature—pink fish with kissy mouths, a smiley blue hippo and elephant. The same lion, monkey, dinosaur, and frog show up in several of the titles.
A mixed bag. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0183-5
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here.
The favorite game of toddlers gets a dino twist.
A large dinosaur tries to outsmart a smaller companion when the duo play peekaboo together. The big dino naïvely believes they won’t be noticed behind or under sundry hiding places, but the little pal always finds their playmate. Young listeners will giggle as the large dino attempts to outwit the little one, but in vain; in every instance, the diminutive, overalls-clad dino calls out a triumphant “Peekaboo!” How come? Is it because thin tree trunks and a potted plant can’t conceal the large dino’s frame? Do the big dino’s bold, flower-print shirts stick out a mile? Even when the large dinosaur attempts an aerial hiding place, they discover that ruse doesn’t, ahem, fly, nor does hiding in a crowd wearing a Where’s Waldo?–esque red-striped cap and T-shirt do any good. In a display of good sportsmanship, the big dino concedes at the end the game was fun. The youngest audiences, all of whom will have likely engaged in marathon peekaboo sessions themselves, will undoubtedly scramble to play again. Besides stimulating playtime, this adorable board book, expressed in lilting rhymes, boosts vocabulary development through the use of some common prepositions (behind, in) and adverbs (here, there, everywhere). The illustrations are sweetly engaging; the round cutout on the front cover invites youngsters to play peekaboo games with adult partners and others. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-840-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...
An exploration of the human body through colorful photos.
Every other double-page spread labels the individual parts on one major area: head, torso, back, arm and leg. Ethnically diverse boy-girl pairs serve as models as arrows point to specific features and captions float nearby. While the book usefully mentions rarely depicted body parts, such as eyebrow, armpit and shin, some of the directional arrows are unclear. The arrow pointing at a girl’s shoulder hits her in the upper arm, and the belly button is hard is distinguish from the stomach (both are concealed by shirts). Facts about the human body (“Guess what? You have tiny hairs in your nose that keep out dirt”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of kids in action. Baby Animals, another title in the Look & Learn series, uses an identical format to introduce readers to seal pups, leopard cubs, elephant calves, ducklings and tadpoles. In both titles, the final spread offers a review of the information and encourages readers to match baby animals to their parents or find body parts on a photo of kids jumping on a trampoline.
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on the right track despite earlier titles that were much too conceptual for the audience. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4263-1483-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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