A plain alphabet picture book that drops the ball.
A simple alphabet book that explores balls from around the world—and a few other round objects, as well.
Using minimal text and stock photos from Getty Images, Snyder (Good Day, Broncos, 2014) has created an abstemious alphabet book. Each page features a capital letter in the upper-left or upper-right corner, in aqua, red, or dark gray. The book’s only words are the names of the balls (in colors that match the letters) and a brief activity section after the final ball. Over its course, the book uses 25 types of balls, the planet Earth, and a marble to populate the alphabet (“B” gets both “baseball” and “basketball”). Three of the 25 use descriptions in order to fit the alphabet paradigm (“quick ball,” “unhappy ball,” and “eXtra small ball”). The remaining 22 are predominantly sports balls, save for “disco ball,” “hamster ball,” “origami ball,” “yarn ball,” and “zoo ball.” The stock photos come in a range of sizes and vary from the cartoonish to the realistic. All are shown on a plain, white background; some include shadows, some don’t, and others have partial, cropped shadowing. Most of the words helpfully include the initial sound (phoneme) for the letter, which will allow young children to begin to associate the letter’s sound with its symbol. (Both “cricket ball” and “golf ball,” provide only the hard versions of multisound consonants C and G.) However, much of the allure of simple alphabet books lies in their illustrations, and the stark images here are unsatisfactory. Likewise, the small letters in the pages’ corners don’t effectively reinforce the images’ connections to the alphabet. In a book as spare as this one, the sole use of the text seems to be to introduce the alphabetic principle, but this simple listing of balls doesn’t approach the level of engagement of other, similar books.
A plain alphabet picture book that drops the ball.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2014
ISBN: 978-0692245286
Page Count: 30
Publisher: PenDragon Press
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves
A young child explores the unlimited potential inherent in all humans.
“Have you ever wondered why you are here?” asks the second-person narration. There is no one like you. Maybe you’re here to make a difference with your uniqueness; maybe you will speak for those who can’t or use your gifts to shine a light into the darkness. The no-frills, unrhymed narrative encourages readers to follow their hearts and tap into their limitless potential to be anything and do anything. The precisely inked and colored artwork plays with perspective from the first double-page spread, in which the child contemplates a mountain (or maybe an iceberg) in their hands. Later, they stand on a ladder to place white spots on tall, red mushrooms. The oversized flora and fauna seem to symbolize the presumptively insurmountable, reinforcing the book’s message that anything is possible. This quiet read, with its sophisticated central question, encourages children to reach for their untapped potential while reminding them it won’t be easy—they will make messes and mistakes—but the magic within can help overcome falls and failures. It’s unlikely that members of the intended audience have begun to wonder about their life’s purpose, but this life-affirming mood piece has honorable intentions. The child, accompanied by an adorable piglet and sporting overalls and a bird-beaked cap made of leaves, presents white.
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves . (Picture book. 2-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-946873-75-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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