by Night & Day Studios ; illustrated by Corey Lunn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 2015
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
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by Julianna Bright & illustrated by Julianna Bright & developed by Night & Day Studios
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by Ed Emberley & illustrated by Ed Emberley & developed by Night & Day Studios
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 3, 2023
Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here.
The favorite game of toddlers gets a dino twist.
A large dinosaur tries to outsmart a smaller companion when the duo play peekaboo together. The big dino naïvely believes they won’t be noticed behind or under sundry hiding places, but the little pal always finds their playmate. Young listeners will giggle as the large dino attempts to outwit the little one, but in vain; in every instance, the diminutive, overalls-clad dino calls out a triumphant “Peekaboo!” How come? Is it because thin tree trunks and a potted plant can’t conceal the large dino’s frame? Do the big dino’s bold, flower-print shirts stick out a mile? Even when the large dinosaur attempts an aerial hiding place, they discover that ruse doesn’t, ahem, fly, nor does hiding in a crowd wearing a Where’s Waldo?–esque red-striped cap and T-shirt do any good. In a display of good sportsmanship, the big dino concedes at the end the game was fun. The youngest audiences, all of whom will have likely engaged in marathon peekaboo sessions themselves, will undoubtedly scramble to play again. Besides stimulating playtime, this adorable board book, expressed in lilting rhymes, boosts vocabulary development through the use of some common prepositions (behind, in) and adverbs (here, there, everywhere). The illustrations are sweetly engaging; the round cutout on the front cover invites youngsters to play peekaboo games with adult partners and others. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-840-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton
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by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton
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by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton
by National Geographic ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 11, 2014
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...
An exploration of the human body through colorful photos.
Every other double-page spread labels the individual parts on one major area: head, torso, back, arm and leg. Ethnically diverse boy-girl pairs serve as models as arrows point to specific features and captions float nearby. While the book usefully mentions rarely depicted body parts, such as eyebrow, armpit and shin, some of the directional arrows are unclear. The arrow pointing at a girl’s shoulder hits her in the upper arm, and the belly button is hard is distinguish from the stomach (both are concealed by shirts). Facts about the human body (“Guess what? You have tiny hairs in your nose that keep out dirt”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of kids in action. Baby Animals, another title in the Look & Learn series, uses an identical format to introduce readers to seal pups, leopard cubs, elephant calves, ducklings and tadpoles. In both titles, the final spread offers a review of the information and encourages readers to match baby animals to their parents or find body parts on a photo of kids jumping on a trampoline.
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on the right track despite earlier titles that were much too conceptual for the audience. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4263-1483-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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More In The Series
by National Geographic Kids ; illustrated by National Geographic Kids
by Ruth A. Musgrave ; photographed by National Geographic Kids
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by Lee R. Berger ; Marc Aronson ; developed by National Geographic
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