There’s lots to love here.
A little wintery weather can’t dampen these goslings’ love of water.
As the title says, Ruby and Rufus, two anthropomorphic goslings, “love the water!” After being introduced on facing pages, Ruby, sporting a red bathing cap with white spots, and Rufus, a red-and-white–striped one, cavort in the pond. Ruby swan dives, and Rufus back dives. They swim all day, in all kinds of weather. The illustrations, like the text, are spare, with blue gouache restrained by a thin ink line at the bottoms of the pages to indicate water and lots of open, white space on the upper two-thirds. Props, including a striped inner tube and environmental details, such as falling leaves to show windy weather, embellish the changing scenes, and other small creatures create a sense of conviviality amid the pond setting. A shift at the middle of the book shows the goslings scampering across a light green surface with snow falling around them. The facing page reads “The water is frozen!” and shows a mottled blue surface. After testing the ice, Ruby and Rufus find just as many ways to enjoy it as they did their pond in warmer weather—sliding, tubing, and gliding across its surface. A closing image of a snow-gosling with a carrot beak is the cherry on top of this sweet avian friendship story.
There’s lots to love here. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-547-86760-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
© Copyright 2024 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.
bookshelf
