Utterly forgettable.
The interactive app becomes a holiday board book.
A bounty of presents is under the tree, and it’s up to readers to discover the contents of each box by lifting flaps. The book's text is incredibly simple: readers are asked, "What's in the blue box?" and, upon lifting a blue flap, are told "kitten." The absence of an exclamation point under each flap is indicative of the book's larger problems: there's no excitement here. Readers are asked, "What's in the orange box? What's in the pink box?" and on and on till the end of the book, which concludes with "So many presents!” and "Happy Holidays!" against a backdrop of a sea of toys. There are the exclamation points, but they are too little, too late. Tiny tots who love lifting flaps will have no complaints (once they pry the flaps up and before they tear them off), but older readers may be a bit too sophisticated for this blatant app-turned-book cash grab. There's no spark of creativity to the illustrations, no humor or wit in the text. Readers will lift the flaps and move on to far more exciting and worthy holiday reads.
Utterly forgettable. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7567-7
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Exactly what readers want and expect from the board-book master.
Pookie and family celebrate Thanksgiving.
Boynton’s precocious little pig is back in this holiday installment. The family gets ready for Thanksgiving by baking pies, welcoming Nemmy and Boppa for dinner, and sharing gratitude (and pie!). Boynton’s familiar rhyming text and simple, thick-lined illustrations are exactly what readers have come to expect from this series: Pookie is a little silly, the story bounces along, and the artwork is warm and cozy. Though most of the action takes place inside, the passage of day is clear through the window, from daylight to the setting sun. Decorations and a tree with just a few leaves on it indicate the autumnal season. There are two pages where numbers are called out, presented differently from the rest of the typeface (Pookie and their parents prepare apple pie and one pumpkin pie, and there will be five guests at dinner). The only bolded digits are one and five, even though the text does mention that there will be a total of two pies—a stylistic choice that seems to point readers to counting practice but that feels a bit random. Overall, though, this is a worthy new story about one of Boynton’s most beloved characters. True to form, it’s a toddler-friendly read, providing context for the festivities and a sweet representation of gratitude. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Exactly what readers want and expect from the board-book master. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66592-263-0
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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