An import from New Zealand details what happens in the waking world when one is asleep.
A sleeping white child’s darkened bedroom is the opening setting, and then a page turn reveals that “on the other side” of the world the sun rises on a new day. Smiling white people and French text on signs suggest that this second scene is set in France or Quebec. This is the one moment when the book departs from the nighttime setting, as the other spreads focus on animals and other people going about various activities while the child sleeps. Like the people in the first two scenes, all the other depicted humans are white with dark hair, though some spreads are populated by nocturnal animals, and in a lovely turn of phrase, “the moon jumps over cows.” At the book’s end, the child is still sleeping, which seems like a missed opportunity for closure indicating a new day dawning. This unsatisfying ending, along with the absence of any people of color in the illustrations, presents a very narrow vision for a book ostensibly aimed at showing the big, busy world around a single sleeping child. Illustrations are largely redundant of text, which is another instance of missed opportunity to enhance the book as a whole.
Yawn. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-76036-010-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Starfish Bay
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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SEEN & HEARD
An interactive egg hunt with turning-wheel and lift-the-flap elements.
This board book begins by directing readers to find the hidden eggs. Each wheel—there are four in all set into the interior pages—has several different eggs on it, and turning it reveals an egg in a little die-cut window. Spinning it further hides the egg behind one of two lift-the-flap panels—two baskets, for example—and readers must guess behind which they’ll find the egg they have chosen to track. A diagram on the back provides instructions for use, likely more helpful to caregivers than to little ones. There is no narrative in this book; it’s simply page after page of different directives along the lines of “Guess which door!” As a result, the focus is really on manipulatives and the illustrations. Fortunately, Kirwan’s spring-themed artwork is gorgeous. The backdrop of each page is flower- and leaf-themed with warm spring hues, echoing the artwork of Eastern European hand-stenciled Easter eggs, two of which appear at the end of the book. The animals, like the smiling snail and mischievous mice, are reminiscent of classic European fairy-tale creatures. The only human in the book is a dark-skinned child with tight, curly hair. The moveable pieces largely work, though at times the necessary white space under the flaps interrupts the illustration awkwardly, as when the child’s hands suddenly develop large oval holes if the spinner is not in the correct position. Overall, it’s more game than book.
There is no real story, but the moving parts are fun, and the illustrations are beautiful. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7457-0
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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