More lift-the-flap adventure than storybook.
This lift-the-flap board book presents a variety of animals grouped by climate and habitat.
The fun of this one for little readers is the thrill of opening little flaps (sometimes several) hidden beneath larger flaps, acting as a book version of a nesting doll. Each two-page spread shows a different grouping: animals “under the sea” or “on ice,” for example. Some animals are simply identified; others are given more elaborate descriptions. While many of the animals will be familiar to preschool-age enthusiasts, some are lesser known, like the quokka, bilby, and capybara. The combination of recognizable and unfamiliar animals and the element of surprise behind the flaps will keep readers engaged. The backgrounds depicting each habitat are brightly colored and mimic the landscape in each: The jungle is a busy tangle of branches and vines while, in contrast, the forest is grassy and shaded. The animals are softened, cartoon versions of the originals with wide eyes. The images of the animals under the succession of flaps at times appear skewed, like a warthog below a cheetah below a lion, all out of proportion. A polar bear and arctic fox are confoundingly shown inside an igloo, which is not an animal home and helps to perpetuate misunderstandings about Indigenous peoples; bees are inaccurately depicted as residing in a paper-wasp nest. These issues aside, the mechanics and topic of this book will give it high appeal for little readers.
More lift-the-flap adventure than storybook. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68010-604-6
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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