Intricate die-cut windows and the shaped edges of sturdy pages invite young children to explore careers through play.
Peekaboo windows hint at what the turns of the extra-thick pages will reveal. Simplified illustrations of firefighter equipment and trucks are accurate, incorporating photographs and drawn elements, including photos of two recurring characters: a child of color and a White child who demonstrate the tasks of firefighters. Odd design choices mar this effort. For example, on both the cover and the first page, the same White child appears twice, and in another early spread, the child of color holds a fire hose that is not hooked up to the nearby hydrant; after the initial scenes with children in the firetruck, no people are seen on the rest of the trucks, rendering the illustrations rather sterile. Equipment shown in companion title Let’s Pretend Animal Hospital looks like it came from a preschool dramatic play kit. How the equipment is used is left to the imagination. (How does a veterinarian use safety pins?) The cast of Animal Hospital is larger than Fire Station’s and is about half White and half children of color. The final spread features an Asian child in veterinarian garb while three children in the background cuddle the real stars, a dog, kitten, and bunny. Both books offer the right amount of information for little ones, but exclamatory sentences (“We put out fires and save lives!”) fail to generate excitement.
Useful information passively presented. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68010-657-2
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING
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Youngsters can learn about where and how various animals, domestic and wild, relieve themselves.
Via a pull-tab embedded in each recto (not, thankfully, in the rectum) readers can see the before and after, and a goldfish in a bowl leaves a trail while swimming. The verso asks each creature where it does its business, and then a (sometimes-forced) rhyming quatrain, translated from Italian, answers the question: “And where do YOU poop, mouse? / When inside my tummy / Starts to feel not so good / It’s time for a poop / On these chips made of wood!” The final double-page spread queries readers: “And where do YOU poop?” A redheaded, White toddler’s face is visible below this question; the pull-tab on the right opens a bathroom to reveal a White toddler, this time with medium brown hair, happily and modestly sitting on a blue toddler potty. The accompanying quatrain provides some developmentally appropriate guidance for feeling the signs of a movement coming on. Baruzzi’s art is droll and graphically clean (inasmuch as the depiction of excrement can be described that way). Little fingers may need some help finding the relatively easy-to-open and sturdy pull-tabs, since they blend into each page. It works as both a biology lesson and potty-training encouragement.
A fun, new take on droppings. (Novelty board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-66265-042-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
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This noisy board book is designed to thrill tots fascinated with all things construction.
A tactile backhoe digger is center stage on each of the five cutout pages, complete with flaps. Brief rhyming text describes the machine’s actions as it works throughout the day. Animal characters engaged in manual labor or operating other machinery—a bulldozer, crane, road roller, and dump truck—describe more work that goes on at a construction site in small speech bubbles. Finding the mouse in every scene adds to the fun. On each page, a little bird sporting a hard hat invites young builders to press various parts of the silicone digger to activate a range of distinct sounds. The digger’s track pad sounds different from the sound of its arm moving dirt. The problem is that the digger itself is passive; the track pad and arm don’t actually move. The machine stays in the same place on every spread. The caution light beeps but doesn’t light up. Savvy kids will quickly realize that all the sounds are accessible from the first spread without having to turn the pages. The sound is the most engaging part of the book, but with only five sounds, this feature won’t hold most youngsters’ attention for long.
A disappointing twist on a popular theme. More gimmick than engaging. (Novelty board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68010-684-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
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