Getting ready to face the day has never been so fun.
Creative design elements enhance the story of a young rabbit getting dressed.
When Rabbit awakens, only her head and part of a foreleg are visible through a die-cut hole that allows readers to peer through the foliage of the first spread onto the right-hand page of the second. After the page turn, the scene shifts from outside to inside Rabbit’s cozy home; the die cut has now flopped to the opposite side to show the sun shining through from the first spread onto her home. Her full body now visible, Rabbit wears no clothing, but as an anthropomorphic animal, there’s no sense of silliness or shame over her nudity as she declares, “I must get dressed” and immediately notes that she can find only one sock. This problem propels the rest of this joyfully interactive book as Rabbit seeks her sock, finding other garments along the way. Each item is first spied through additional die cuts from one page turn to the next, and the outfit she assembles would make Ian Falconer’s Olivia proud. One by one, Rabbit dons a teal pompom hat found under the bed, a pink tutu from the wardrobe, a green plaid scarf that she spies over the tub, and, finally, her lost yellow-and-orange-polka-dotted sock, found in the bushes outside by friends Squirrel and Mouse.
Getting ready to face the day has never been so fun. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9781536241303
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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