OK, if aptly titled.
Robot buddies trash the house together and then clean up after themselves.
After charging up their batteries, two colorful robots initiate their play sequence and go to town “squishing,” “crashing,” “twirling,” and “splatting” anything in their paths. The artwork is eye-catching and the sound effects fun to read aloud with children, but the mayhem level is unregulated by any moral or practical concern. The narrative is thin. What the robots are squishing and splatting is never specified, and whether or not they should be doing so also goes unaddressed. Commentary is relegated to the “We LOVE squishing” level. Any complexity in the text arises from the introduction of robot and computer terminology: “Splatting TICKLES our GIGGLEBYTES,” and “Sensors indicate making a mess is FUN!!” Once mired in the mess they’ve created, the two friends scan their surroundings, process the data, and identify a solution, which is, of course, to clean up their mess. That lesson in problem-solving may be the most useful moment in the book. The clean-up scenes involve wiping, slurping with vacuum hoses, squirting suds, and scrubbing until the mess is “terminated.” The message that one should clean up after making a mess is a good one. Unfortunately, the idea of toddlers smearing goo and squirting suds sounds as potentially disastrous as all the squishing and splatting that created the problem in the first place.
OK, if aptly titled. (Board book. 18 mos.-4)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0567-7
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
The slightly didactic message of tolerance and inclusiveness is made palatable by the gardening analogy, and this book will...
This attractive picture book for the very young from accomplished illustrator and debut author Gillingham explores a thoughtful analogy between gardening and friendship.
The parallels between growing things and making new friends are illustrated with simple instructions, matched with Gillingham’s pastel-shaded woodcut-and-collaged illustrations. Just like seeds and plants, friendships need to be sown, tended and cultivated. “A friend needs water… / warm sunshine… // and space to bloom.” It is a two-way process: “To grow a friend, talk / and listen”; “Good friends stand by each other in rain / or shine.” With friendships, as with flowers, things can go wrong: “Sometimes a friend bugs you.” (Bugs literally buzz around their heads on a page where the friends are wrestling for control of a potted plant.) But “[t]o grow a friend, / chase the bugs away together!” The girl finds a solution to their argument by giving the boy a ride in a wheelbarrow. A subtly diverse selection of kids and adults are portrayed enjoying one another’s company and working together to cultivate their gardens. Children, flowers, birds, trees and seasons are skillfully illustrated using multicolored patterns and shapes that will have considerable visual appeal for preschoolers.
The slightly didactic message of tolerance and inclusiveness is made palatable by the gardening analogy, and this book will encourage young friendships to bloom. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37669-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
An irresistible glimpse at the delights of spring.
Kurilla’s latest seasonal tale explores the ways the world comes back to life after winter.
The author/illustrator explores the hallmarks of spring: rainy days, the reemergence of animals and insects, the appearance of buds and blooms, and holidays like Easter, Passover, and Mother’s Day. The rhyming verse bounces along, exhorting readers to take part in all the season has to offer: “Grow flowers for the bumblebees. / Hang a feeder. / Plant some trees.” “Crack a baseball! / Fly a kite! / Enjoy the extra spring sunlight.” The concise text and exuberant tone result in a book that’s just right for the eager ears of the toddler and preschool crowd. Kurilla’s cartoonish illustrations are a standout, too. Filled with greens and blues as well as pops of pink and yellow, they truly evoke spring’s charms. An especially enticing spread perfectly captures the joys of the season: A child bikes through a puddle, a youngster in a wheelchair blows bubbles that rise to the top of the page, and two kids in the background stomp in the mud. Kurilla varies page compositions, alternating vignettes with full-page spreads; her visuals pair well with her text while encouraging readers to linger over details. The cast is diverse in terms of skin color, hairstyle, and ability.
An irresistible glimpse at the delights of spring. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2026
ISBN: 9780316570152
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
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