An entertaining, well-designed introduction to the ocean world.
Every page of this pull-the-tab book features weird and wonderful marine life hiding in a vibrantly illustrated underwater environment.
Many of the tabs reveal information about the creatures’ bodies, behaviors, and habitats. Revealed with an upward pull, the father sea horse, for example, cares for his babies “behind the seaweed,” referencing the phenomenon that sea horses carry and hatch the young of the species. Similarly, a squirting squid hides in a “cloud of ink,” referring to the squid’s ink sacs. The bottom of each double-page spread also contains a more explicit fact, such as the fact that squids have three hearts. The illustrations are colorful and detailed, giving young children plenty to look at while they are listening to the text. Some of the text guides readers through the book by posing questions that can be answered by pulling the tabs; other tabs ask readers to do things like identify starfish by their colors or count sea gulls that multiply with the pull of a cleverly telescoping tab. The book is well designed—the tabs are furnished with grommets, and they are large and easy to manipulate—and while the text is sparse, its simplicity makes it perfect for very young children.
An entertaining, well-designed introduction to the ocean world. (Board book. 2-3)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-36004-2
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Just as visually appealing as the app at first glance, and possibly even more durable—but showing considerable fall-off in...
The blue cat that starred in the excellent app A Present for Milo (2010) makes an awful crossover from the digital domain.
Printed on extra-sturdy boards with folded (rather than glued) flaps, the episode sends Milo in search of his missing ball of string. Led by a helpful mouse, he discovers piles of yarn in various geometric shapes that, once each flap is lifted, reveal common items of the same shape. These range from a square slice of cheese to a triangular piece of pizza to a rectangular granola bar. Meanwhile, behind Milo, two other mice roll up the continual line of multicolored yarn that loops through each cartoon scene so that by the end the ball is restored. Not only is the prose numbingly wooden (“Little mouse,” says Milo, “will you help me find my ball of string?”), it is confusingly phrased. Milo rejects the square because it has “four sides,” which doesn’t distinguish it from the rectangle, and the oval egg isn’t like a ball because it’s “sort of round-ish but also long-ish.” Moreover, the concluding general romp comes off less as a resolution to the plotline than filler for the final spread. In marked contrast to his app incarnation, Milo is no more than a static presence in the art, his body shape even duplicated in some scenes rather than redrawn.
Just as visually appealing as the app at first glance, and possibly even more durable—but showing considerable fall-off in narrative quality and awareness of audience. (Board book. 2-3)Pub Date: June 25, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-60905-209-6
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Blue Apple
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The appealing topic combined with easy-to-operate pull tabs and sliders will make this a toddler favorite.
Bizzy Bear learns what it’s like to be a knight as he visits a castle to try his paw at jousting.
This chunky board title features cute Bizzy Bear, and short, simple rhymes tell the story of his day at a castle. Bizzy begins by donning some armor: “Bizzy Bear, Bizzy Bear, here to be a knight. / Bizzy Bear, Bizzy Bear, fits just right!” Readers can help Bizzy by sliding the helmet’s visor up and down with an easy-to-grip tab. Additional tabs on subsequent pages allow little hands to help Bizzy as he brandishes a sword and wins a jousting contest. On the final double-page spread, he is pictured with a trophy, surrounded by friends and enjoying a spectacular feast. The illustrations are vivid and engaging, the storyline appropriately simple, and the interactive features both well-designed and well-constructed. In companion volume Zookeeper, the sliders and tabs enable youngsters to interact with various zoo animals. For example, an easy up-and-down motion makes a crocodile chomp, and the spin of a wheel makes some hungry penguins swim after their fish dinner. The busyness of the illustrations gear both books to toddlers.
The appealing topic combined with easy-to-operate pull tabs and sliders will make this a toddler favorite. (Board book. 2-3)Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7602-5
Page Count: 8
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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