Sweet and sugary and not much else.
Pirates may not fear the dark, but how do they feel about fairy-obsessed little siblings?
Jack’s entirely pleased when Mommy allows him to camp out in the backyard in his tent for the first time. Everything would be perfect if it weren’t for his annoying little sister, Lily, who insists on following him everywhere. When pirate-loving Jack informs fairy-loving Lily that no fairies are allowed in his tent, little does he realize that when the lights go out and you are all alone, sometimes even a little sister might be a comfort. Fortunately, she soon arrives decked out in full pirate-fairy gear, and later, so does Mommy, with cookies, cocoa and a nightlight. Edgson renders her furry bear heroes all fuzz and twinkling black eyes. There isn’t a sharp edge in sight, the wittiest element being the skull-and-crossbones endpapers with their one pink, witty aberration. As for the writing itself, the story will fit seamlessly into the annoying-little-sibling genre; the camping-in-the-backyard motif is a nice twist. Nonetheless, this is just picture-book comfort food for the toddler set.
Sweet and sugary and not much else. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-58925-165-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
So sweet it’ll have readers heading for their toothbrushes.
Another entry in the how-much-I-love-you genre.
The opening spread shows a blue elephant-and-child pair, the child atop the adult, white hearts arcing between their uplifted trunks: “You’re a gift and a blessing in every way. / I love you more each and every day.” From there, the adult elephant goes on to tell the child how they are loved more than all sorts of things, some rhyming better than others: “I love you more than all the spaghetti served in Rome, // and more than each and every dog loves her bone.” More than stars, fireflies, “all the languages spoken in the world,” “all the dancers that have ever twirled,” all the kisses ever given and miles ever driven, “all the adventures you have ahead,” and “all the peanut butter and jelly spread on bread!” Representative of all the world’s languages are “I love you” in several languages (with no pronunciation help): English, Sioux, French, German, Swahili, Spanish, Hawaiian, Chinese, and Arabic (these two last in Roman characters only). Bold colors and simple illustrations with no distracting details keep readers’ focus on the main ideas. Dashed lines give the artwork (and at least one word on every spread) the look of 2-D sewn toys.
So sweet it’ll have readers heading for their toothbrushes. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Dec. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8398-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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