by Miriam Hathaway ; illustrated by Jill Labieniec ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2017
A gentle, hopeful collection of aspirations for a new life
An adult bunny lovingly contemplates what life will be for a newly arrived baby.
As the seasons change, the adult bunny ponders a series of questions, wondering what baby bunny will be, have, know, find, and do. The six-line, rhyming text between questions offers optimistic ambitions, such as to have “hopes of dreams come true,” to know “peace under a tree,” and to “feel loved every day.” Though readers may assume the adult bunny is female, this is never made explicit. Baby bunny is also gender-neutral, making this a book that will work for many diverse families. The serene illustrations adopt a seasonal color palette for each section—moving from the cool tones of winter through the delicate emergence of spring and a vibrant summer that passes too quickly into the earthy warmth of fall and back to winter’s stillness—deftly employing white space to balance the color saturation throughout. Lovely and simple in both imagery and text, this title is sure to become a bedtime favorite. It perhaps falls a bit short of its potential by offering only wishes for a life unrealistically filled with positivity and ease rather than also incorporating desires for resilience to overcome the challenges that baby bunny will inevitably face.
A gentle, hopeful collection of aspirations for a new life .(Picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-15-3
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
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by Samantha Lizzio ; illustrated by eOne ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 30, 2019
This TV rerun in board-book form has nothing new to offer.
Peppa hopes to join her classmates in a Halloween pumpkin competition in this adaptation of a story from the popular British television program Peppa Pig.
With the help of Granny and Grandpa Pig, Peppa turns her giant pumpkin, which is the size of a compact car, into a jack-o’-lantern. The trio is flummoxed when it comes time to transport the pumpkin to the competition, so they call on Miss Rabbit and her helicopter to airlift the pumpkin to the festivities as Peppa and her grandparents ride inside. Peppa arrives just in time for the contest and wins the prize for best flying pumpkin. The scenes look as if they are pulled directly from the television show, right down to the rectangular framing of some of the scenes. While the story is literally nothing new, the text is serviceable, describing the action in two to three sentences per page. The pumpkin-shaped book and orange foil cover will likely attract youngsters, whether they are Peppa fans or not.
This TV rerun in board-book form has nothing new to offer. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-33922-2
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
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by Genevieve Santos ; illustrated by Genevieve Santos ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 10, 2019
Mindfully executed (mostly).
In this rhyming board book, 13 cheerful children move through a day of yoga postures, from a morning sun salutation to a bedtime “sleeping pose.”
The opening lines mirror the cadence of the old song “Skinnamarink”: “I love you in the morning / when you salute the sun. // I love you when you stretch out straight. / Our day has now begun!” Unfortunately, the rhyme and scansion deteriorate as the verse continues. “I love you in the garden / when we say hello to plants and trees” is fine, but it’s followed by the tortured “I love you when you make me laugh— / you’re full of such sillies,” and rhyming “down” with “proud” is a huge stretch. Still, the 13 children shown incorporating yoga into everyday play are a diverse bunch. The adults helping the children dress, garden, play, meditate, fly, manage emotions, and explore are equally varied in terms of age and race, though there are no characters with visible disabilities. Any book lover will appreciate the penultimate stanza: “I love you / when we read book… / after book… / after book until the end of the day.” The final line abandons the meter completely. “It is time for bed, sleepyhead. / Namaste.” The last spread labels the poses modeled by each of the children. Clear backgrounds, a large clean type, and thick pages turn this simple paean to love into a useful instruction manual for the youngest yogis.
Mindfully executed (mostly). (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5489-7
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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by John Lennon & Paul McCartney ; illustrated by Genevieve Santos
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