A great addition to libraries’ and teacher’s shelves for units on community helpers.
Rhyming verses and illustrations of hands working give readers the opportunity to guess what community jobs people do.
“Stop and go, these hands are waving. / Catch that guy! He’s misbehaving! / These hands help us keep the peace. / Hold yours up, it’s the… // police!” The richly colored and nicely textured illustrations show a hand holding a radio, a pointing index finger, hands writing a summons, and a hand holding a stop sign. From the commonplace to those that rarely appear in picture books, the other occupations include farmer, cook, scientist, potter, news reporter, mechanic, architect, referee, and physician. The final puzzle reveals the hands of teachers, a perfect segue to the final spread, which shows a classroom full of tots dressed as community helpers before an adult audience of the same. In both the pictures showing only hands and in the full-page reveals, people of all genders, ages, and ethnicities are displayed. Backmatter includes two double-page spreads describing each of the careers—what that job entails and the education/experience needed for it.
A great addition to libraries’ and teacher’s shelves for units on community helpers. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4677-5214-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
Leave this on the shelf and take the kids outside to really move.
An interactive board book promises a variety of experiences.
A book that gets kids up and moving sounds like a great idea. The half-circle cutout of the spine and large handle formed by another die cut on the right side are intriguing. Unfortunately, the rhyming instructions for using the book as an exercise prop are confusing. Even adults will find themselves puzzled when told to “paddle the floor,” or to “hang on the handles. Step over the book. / You're a turtle in its shell! Go peek out and look.” The busy pictures shift perspective according to each scenario presented but give few visual clues. For example, the only hint of a dinosaur on the page where readers are told to “put this book to your mouth and let out a roar” like a dinosaur are the teeth that line the edges of what is meant to be a gaping maw. It’s not always obvious whether the book is meant to be facing readers or turned away from them, adding another layer of confusion. Furthermore, many of the instructions run counter to how young children are typically taught to treat books, as when they are told to step on it and then waddle or to lift it with their feet. The relatively thin board pages and weak handles will soon be torn by normal handling; following the directions in the text will only hasten the destruction.
Leave this on the shelf and take the kids outside to really move. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-8733-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
A bedtime read-aloud that young kids and caregivers will have a ball with.
Everybody needs a bath sometimes, even hippos! But how do they manage it?
McMullan offers a rhyming bathtime book that looks at all the different ways our animal friends keep themselves clean. From kittens licking themselves to monkey mamas combing through fur, all animals approach their cleaning routines differently. But what about those lovable little humans in our lives? They can’t let fish nibble on them as turtles do or wallow in mud with the piggies! Kids will enjoy seeing pictures of animal favorites getting clean, but they will really laugh as they see children trying to bathe themselves in the same ways as their animal counterparts. Three different children are portrayed, of different gender and race presentations, giving many kids the opportunity to see themselves in the pages. The illustrations are bright, with a cartoonish feel to them, showing not only different animals, but their habitats as well. Both the animals and children are delightfully expressive, which brings everything to life. The rhymes sometimes feel a little clunky, but that’s a small quibble in an otherwise charming book.
A bedtime read-aloud that young kids and caregivers will have a ball with. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6517-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
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