SO SMALL! YOSEMITE

Name: SO SMALL! YOSEMITE
Author: Melissa Iwai
ISBN: 978-1-930238-86-2

illustrated by Melissa Iwai ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 7, 2018

This introduction to Yosemite may work well in conjunction with a visit, but as a book to learn about what is small, it...

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A bear and a chickaree enjoy small treasures in Yosemite National Park.

As a companion to So Big! Yosemite (2017), this board book features the same question-and-answer format accompanied by Iwai’s illustrations, this time featuring tiny natural resources found in Yosemite National Park: the chickaree squirrel, a sequoia cone, an alpine shooting star flower, and others. On each recto is the question with the object shown on its own. On the verso of the next double-page spread is the unchanging answer (“SO SMALL!”) and the object shown with a jovial black bear for size contrast. “How small is a Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog? // SO SMALL!” Including the bear in each answer illustration gives some sense of scale (the granite pebble is shown in the bear’s paw, for instance), but it may be difficult for toddlers to get an idea of just how small the object in question actually is without direct familiarity. It does not help that some of the objects, the frog, for instance, are shown in different sizes on different pages, and there is no comparison between familiar objects, most toddlers never having gotten up close and personal with a black bear.

This introduction to Yosemite may work well in conjunction with a visit, but as a book to learn about what is small, it misses the mark. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-930238-86-2

Page Count: 15

Publisher: Yosemite Conservancy

Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW THIS BOOK GOT RED
by Margaret Chiu Greanias ; illustrated by Melissa Iwai

- BOOK REVIEW
GIGI AND OJIJI FOOD FOR THOUGHT
by Melissa Iwai ; illustrated by Melissa Iwai

- BOOK REVIEW
ZEN FOR KIDS
by Laura Burges ; illustrated by Melissa Iwai

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SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2014

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
POUT-POUT FISH
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POUT-POUT FISH AND THE MAD, MAD DAY
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
EQUALITY'S CALL
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Magdalena Mora

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PEEKABOO REX!

From the Boynton on Board series

by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 3, 2023

Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here.

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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)