Captivating illustrations that are enjoyable for adults and children alike.
Rich illustrations depict a series of basic opposites.
In this board book, award-winning author/illustrator Jeffers takes inspiration from Here We Are (2017). Opposites like young and old and day and night are shown through simple stand-alone illustrations, through contrasting landscapes, or simultaneously in one layout. The art is compelling—for outside and inside, we see a child’s body, the left side covered in pink skin, the right a skeleton, the ribs hugging the lungs. The sense of curvature and space is playful and adds visual interest. The illustration for above and below is also clever—while a small boat rocks on the water, a world exists below it in the ocean. A nesting sea gull sits above the boat on a cliffside, while below, a shark, a narwhal, a sea turtle, and other creatures swim. Jeffers also includes some scenes as a wink to the caregivers reading aloud, like the pages for asleep and awake, which feature snoozing adults next to a baby in a crib, wide awake and wielding a hammer. Many of the pages are rich with details, like a busy apartment building and a beautiful sloping view of the Earth. This book allows for a range of reader experiences and invites readers to linger on each page. People depicted are diverse in skin tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Captivating illustrations that are enjoyable for adults and children alike. (Board book. 0-2)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-52785-6
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
<p>Perfectly fine but nothing new.</p>
Caregiver-child love abounds in this rhyming board book full of animal puns.
One thing’s for certain, there’s plenty of sweet (and groanworthy) sentiments in this book. Rossner writes, “Giving HOGS and kisses / sends me to the moon!” and, “I’m such a lucky DUCK. / You really QUACK me up!” The book progresses entirely in this fashion, with a new animal pair and pun with each page turn. It reads well as a book for a caregiver to share with a lap-sitting child. On that mark, it succeeds in providing plenty of opportunities for giggles and snuggles. That said, at times the meter is forced, making the cadence a bit stilted, and the cuddles/bubbles rhyme is a dubious one. This is an issue for a book that will almost solely be read aloud. Gibson’s illustrations are very charming; the animals and insects with big eyes and expressive faces have high appeal. The warmth of the animals’ embraces and cuddles translates well from the page, inviting the same snuggles from readers. Decorated eggs appear on each page, and the bunny pair from the cover features prominently. Overall, the concept and message of the book are high interest and age-appropriate, but it doesn’t stand out from the very crowded shelf of “I love you, little one!” books similar to it.
<p>Perfectly fine but nothing new.</p> (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2343-8
Page Count: 25
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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