A sweet, relatable book that encourages little ones to appreciate the world around them.
A rhyming board book expressing gratitude.
This story, written in the first person and addressed to the “world,” lists many features of life for which we are thankful, from the sun and moon to familiar faces to a bowl of cereal. The book repeats the phrase “I love you” (“I love you neighbors waving hi / I love you doggy walking by”), with a rhyme and pacing reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon (1947). There is minimal text on each page, which makes this an appropriate length for lap-sitting little ones. The book also has the potential for more complex conversations about gratitude for older toddlers. Though the text lacks capitalization and (with a few exceptions) punctuation, that doesn’t impede read-aloud fluency. The illustrations resemble cut-paper collage: simple images with abundant white space. This makes the pages visually appealing but not overly distracting or busy and helps the words stand out. While the concept of gratitude can be a complicated one for little readers, this book could easily serve as a starting place for building a more personal family thankfulness practice or specific conversation about what it means to be grateful. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet, relatable book that encourages little ones to appreciate the world around them. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64170-727-5
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Familius
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
Useful if uninspired.
A photo-illustrated primer of shapes.
The first double-page spread introduces the forms and invites little fingers to trace around the dotted lines outlining everyday objects illustrating the shapes. In addition to a rectangular door, a square slice of toast (with what appears to be cream cheese and jelly), and a triangular button, there are a heart-shaped candy, a star-shaped cookie, and two notably 3-D objects standing in as two-dimensional shapes: a circular ball and an oval egg. Next up, bright photos of tortilla chips, a “cheese slice,” a (triangular) kite, and more illustrate a spread about triangles. The following page shows a picture of an A-frame house and asks “What shapes can you see?” This pattern repeats until the book cycles through all the shapes. The project ends with a review of the shapes, smaller than ever, as they crowd the page. Most of the illustrations are crisp and bold against the white backgrounds and employ DK’s seemingly infinite photo library. Some of the objects may be a bit of a stretch and may prove confusing or unfamiliar to toddlers (a heart-shaped pizza? Triangular bunting?), but little ones with be pleased to see some favorites in the mix, particularly two pages of colorful doughnuts (circle) and a wonderfully bright blue clutch of robins’ eggs (oval).
Useful if uninspired. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: June 13, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4654-6082-0
Page Count: 36
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
Despite the hard board pages, this project mostly delivers as advertised.
From feathers to a fluffy bunny, a tally of all things soft for little ones.
“Soft is a feather, soft is a cloud, / soft is a whisper, soft is not loud”: So goes the rhyming text, which is accompanied by a mix of spot art and full- and double-page spreads in what looks to be a mix of velvety watercolor and pencil. A diverse cast of wide-eyed children, adult caregivers, and animals acts out the scenes. Most of the illustrations are endearing, particularly one of a brown-eyed, brown-skinned tot bottle-feeding a baby lamb and another of a black father and child enjoying a goodnight kiss on the last spread. However, a couple of scenes don’t scan well due to puzzling visuals (a white kid with long hair reclining to gaze up at the “soft” clouds in the grass with just the top of their head visible) or content (why would one hug a rose?). Nevertheless, the abundance of examples will give caregivers and children plenty of ideas for spotting softness in the world around them.
Despite the hard board pages, this project mostly delivers as advertised. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-936669-63-9
Page Count: 14
Publisher: blue manatee press
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
