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IN THE WOODS

From the Push Puzzles series

A cute exercise for little readers learning to play with composition and work on small-motor function.

Little readers explore the woods.

This board book is really a series of sliding puzzles, with each double-page spread featuring a completed picture on the left and a slide puzzle on the facing page. Little readers slide movable panels to reveal foxes, a hedgehog, an owl, and a deer. The puzzle image is slightly different from the clue image, with the animals opening their eyes or being joined by a tinier critter, but little readers should be able to integrate the differences without too much trouble. The smoothly sliding puzzles are very basic, with three rows each of panels that slide aside or up and down. Companion title On the Farm uses the same format and slide-puzzle feature with barnyard animals. The Woods title is a bit more visually appealing, with deep blues and oranges as opposed to Farm’s pinks, yellows, and browns. The board book is sturdily built, so even the most aggressive of readers will have a hard time pushing the sliding parts past their limits.

A cute exercise for little readers learning to play with composition and work on small-motor function. (Board book. 1-2)

Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4998-0349-5

Page Count: 10

Publisher: Little Bee Books

Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017

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HOP! HOP!

As bright and bold as the holiday it celebrates.

An excited little one celebrates Easter.

The Easter Bunny is on its way, and Patricelli’s one-haired tot is thrilled. He prepares for the holiday by painting eggs and making bunny ears. On the big day, he excitedly looks for Easter eggs while his parents watch. The bold, rounded illustrations catch the eye, with a wide range of colors used throughout. The author pays a little lip service toward education by showing primary colors combining to create secondary colors, but the book's main focus is the exuberance that comes with celebrating the holiday, particularly when the traditions are so new and exciting. The enthusiasm is infectious, and read-alouds will most likely lead to little ones’ looking to do some arts and crafts of their very own.

As bright and bold as the holiday it celebrates. (Board book. 1-2)

Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-7636-6319-3

Page Count: 26

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015

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CRUNCH! MUNCH! BUNNY

Sounds like a winner, though the animal chorus is a bit thin.

Bunny hunts for carrots but finds noisy animal babies behind each flap instead.

“Bunny hops out of her burrow, / she’s looking for carrots to eat. / Can you help this fluffy friend / find a tasty treat?” The baaas, quacks, chirps, and horsey clip-clopping—activated by light as each of the first four big, shaped flaps lift—are gratifyingly loud and clear. All of the animal figures in the bright color pictures are intensely cute plush toys inserted into simple outdoorsy mixes of painted greenery and photographed flowers and bugs. Even the heaped carrots hiding behind the fifth and final flap are soft and fuzzy, though you’d never know that from the sound as Bunny hops on them (with a really loud boing) and chows down with crunches so comically amplified and rapid that caregivers too will laugh (at least the first dozen or so go-rounds). As no pressing of buttons is required to cue the sound effects, Bunny’s miniodyssey is suited to sharing at a slight remove with groups of toddlers as well as one-on-one. Batteries are replaceable, and there is (thankfully) an on-off switch on the rear cover.

Sounds like a winner, though the animal chorus is a bit thin. (Novelty board book. 18 mos.-2)

Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4654-7853-5

Page Count: 12

Publisher: DK Publishing

Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019

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