A picture dictionary without much rhyme or reason.
This oversized German import covers a vast range of concepts and topics, both familiar and foreign to young children. Tiny, clean illustrations of objects array themselves on a white background, sometimes including winsome animal characters. From ordinary household items to things seen in the out-of-doors to common foods to modes of transportation to musical instruments to sports to amusements to emotional concepts, this book tries to cover everything. Some items may be recognizable but are unlikely to come up in casual conversation (runner beans), while others (beret, lawn bowling) seem hardly necessary as toddler vocabulary. Slight variations in terminology make for unwarranted repetition; instead of just one bed on display, toddler, single and double beds all make an appearance. Vocabulary provides highly specific terms (“push bike”). Concepts covered include numbers, shapes and emotions, while an alphabet review in an eye-pleasing but developmentally baffling sophisticated design rounds out the comprehensive selection. With some 20 items to the page, spreads overwhelm rather than illuminate.
There are not enough words available to save this jampacked selection from bursting-at-the-seams busyness. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-8775-7905-9
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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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. 6, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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The flaxen-haired tyke makes her infamous visit to the bears’ house in this simplified adaptation.
The classic story is told with minimal text, one or two words per double-page spread. Goldilocks uses speech bubbles to describe the porridge, chairs and beds (“Too hot. / Too cold. / Just right”). The bears look bemused when they find the girl snoozing in Baby Bear’s bed, and they offer an amicable and winsome goodbye when she dashes off. The richly colored cartoons, likely created with the aid of a computer, present friendly-looking characters with oversize heads. The companion release is a stripped-down version of “Little Red Riding Hood” following the same format and style, right down to the sparkly heroine’s outfit and glittery letters employed on the cover. Youngsters unfamiliar with the story may need adult help to understand that the friendly, cross-dressing wolf has actually swallowed Grandma, since all the readers see is a “Woodsman” examining the wolf’s teeth and then sending the predator away in shame.
Out of all the titles in the series, Goldilocks’ adventures are the most cogent and age-appropriate. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9912-6
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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