A cogent reminder that grumpiness is fleeting.
A tortoise who wakes up on the wrong side of the bed finds plenty of reasons to smile in the course of one day.
The titular tortoise starts the day with an easily recognized scowl, but each successive double-page spread shows it enjoying an array of pleasing activities and feeling progressively “a little less grumpy.” It’s a useful lesson in the principle that “this too shall pass,” rather than an exploration of crankiness or its impact on others. The blurb on the back suggests that “friends have a way of making things better.” Each scenario does include other creatures watching the tortoise smell flowers, listen for his echo, eat ice cream in the desert, enjoy the breeze on the ocean, and roller skate, but it’s only clear that they’re socializing in the last two scenes—enjoying a pizza party and watching the sunset. The conclusion is unambiguously positive, however: “What a wonderful day! It was time for bed, and Tortoise didn’t feel grumpy at all!” The artwork is colorful, and the animals are expressive and charming. This is part of a four-book series exploring feelings, and it is one of the more successful. Companion volumes are Careful Chameleon, Scaredy Cat (both muddled), and Steady Sloth, who perseveres while others quit in frustration. Stick with the tortoise and the sloth.
A cogent reminder that grumpiness is fleeting. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61067-890-2
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
An effervescent celebration of play in the early years.
As with Spanyol’s stellar Clive books, Rosa’s favorite activities buck gender stereotypes.
The toddler races toy cars, jumps monster trucks, and builds a car out of a cardboard box with her buddies in what looks like a day care or preschool setting. Spanyol’s childlike lines, soft palette, and chunky figures are as cheerful as ever. The text is mostly straightforward, simple narration peppered with exclamations from Rosa and her chums: “Rosa and Marcel play in the sandpit. ‘Dig-a-dig, dig-a-dig, scoop!’ sings Rosa.” Rosa has brown skin and black, curly hair, and she wears bright yellow eyeglasses. Her friends include Samira, who uses a wheelchair and is likely of South Asian descent; Mustafa, who appears black; Biba, who has light-brown skin and straight, black hair; and Sarah and Marcel, who both present white. Three other equally charming titles accompany this offering. In Rosa and Her Dinosaurs, the heroine dons a purple dress and plays with a collection of toy dinosaurs. Rosa and her buds (all wearing helmets) roll through the pages of Rosa Rides Her Scooter. And in Rosa Plays Ball, Rosa pushes a cart with various kinds of balls to toss about with her friends outside.
An effervescent celebration of play in the early years. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-78628-125-8
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The joys of counting combine with pretty art and homage to Goodnight Moon.
This bedtime book offers simple rhymes, celebrates the numbers one through 10, and encourages the counting of objects.
Each double-page spread shows a different toddler-and-caregiver pair, with careful attention to different skin tones, hair types, genders, and eye shapes. The pastel palette and soft, rounded contours of people and things add to the sleepy litany of the poems, beginning with “Goodnight, one fork. / Goodnight, one spoon. / Goodnight, one bowl. / I’ll see you soon.” With each number comes a different part in a toddler’s evening routine, including dinner, putting away toys, bathtime, and a bedtime story. The white backgrounds of the pages help to emphasize the bold representations of the numbers in both written and numerical forms. Each spread gives multiple opportunities to practice counting to its particular number; for example, the page for “four” includes four bottles of shampoo and four inlaid dots on a stool—beyond the four objects mentioned in the accompanying rhyme. Each home’s décor, and the array and types of toys and accoutrements within, shows a decidedly upscale, Western milieu. This seems compatible with the patronizing author’s note to adults, which accuses “the media” of indoctrinating children with fear of math “in our country.” Regardless, this sweet treatment of numbers and counting may be good prophylaxis against math phobia.
The joys of counting combine with pretty art and homage to Goodnight Moon. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93378-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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