Chipper and cartoony, but not fertile enough to tempt children to actually try mixing colors themselves.
This introduction to colors and color mixing is cheerful but antiseptic.
“Where did all the colors go?” Zena wonders. Her house is white, black and extremely pale blue (though her face is beige and pink-cheeked). Zena and her dog step outdoors onto a street of yellows and grays; Zena’s hat turns yellow. The next spread showcases red: The Little Red Art Store sits behind red vehicles, highlighted by white and gray (no yellow here). The following spread introduces secondaries: “ ‘I am yellow and red mixed together,’ roars the lion. / ‘I am ORANGE.’ ” Although the lion’s orange color has slight value variations, only in the small area of his mane do yellow and red noticeably mix, and even there, that red is really already orange. As Zena continues through color scenes (her hat adapting like a chameleon), the color mixing consistently receives short visual shrift. Instead of showing how primaries mix to form secondaries, Wellington lets bland text explain the process (“ ‘I am red and blue mixed together,’ rumbles the dragon”), with only the barest visual hints as to how this occurs. For visually clearer color mixing, see Mike Austin’s zippy Monsters Love Colors (2013); for more heart, see Leo Lionni’s classic Little Blue and Little Yellow (1959).
Chipper and cartoony, but not fertile enough to tempt children to actually try mixing colors themselves. (color definitions, recommended activities) (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: July 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3743-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An upbeat Easter outing with a beloved character.
Pookie celebrates Easter with a play date and holiday activities.
Pookie’s friend Bean, a gray puppy, comes over for Easter fun that includes lots of bouncing around and egg decorating. After Bean goes home, Pookie gets excited about the Easter Bunny’s arrival and goes to sleep dreaming of a large chocolate egg. Like the other Pookie books before it, this one is told in rhyme from the perspective of a loving grown-up addressing the little pig, which keeps the pace moving and makes for a great read-aloud. Bean and Pookie are realistically—and endearingly—childlike, from Pookie’s pronunciation of yellow as “lellow!” to the joyful mess they make while decorating eggs. There are plenty of sweet and festive touches, such as the bunny ears that Bean and Pookie (and Pookie’s teddy) wear and the daffodils painted on the end of Pookie’s bed. The illustrations include large, full-page images as well as smaller vignettes against solid backgrounds. One page shows Pookie and parent looking out the window at the moon, anticipating Easter’s spoils. For fans of Boynton and little Pookie, this Easter tale is exactly as expected: a touch of playfulness, a relatable story, and comfort in the familiar. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An upbeat Easter outing with a beloved character. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-838-0
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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