A pleasant-enough exploration of the outside world.
Little ones learn about their environments.
Lots of different things can happen outside, and this board book provides a solid showcase. Each double-page spread depicts a different scene of people and places little readers might see outside. There are leaves blowing in the wind, clouds, snow, rain, and lots more. Basic descriptive text is positioned at the top of each scene, occasionally encouraging little ones to interact with it. After pointing out a brown-skinned mother-and-baby pair, the text suggests to readers, “Smile at the baby. Smile at her mommy.” The settings emphasize the pastoral, with spreading vistas of fields and forests rather than an urban environment. A concurrently published title, Big Cats, shows little readers lions, tigers, leopards, and other big cats. The formula is similar to Look Outside, employing keenly composed photographs of the cats and simple, straightforward text. While not an essential addition to a child’s bookshelf, these titles are smartly tuned to engage those with burgeoning curiosities in the respective fields.
A pleasant-enough exploration of the outside world. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4263-2702-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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