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MOTOR GOOSE

Name: MOTOR GOOSE
Author: Rebecca Colby
ISBN: 978-1-250-10193-8

by Rebecca Colby ; illustrated by Jef Kaminsky ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2017

A partial misfire.

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Mother Goose gets a mechanical makeover in this gear-inspired nursery-rhyme collection.

Twenty-three familiar rhymes are rewritten with a wide range of vehicles in mind. As nursery rhymes are such a flexible form, they easily lend themselves to Colby’s motorized reimaginings. Whether it’s “Little Miss Mixer,” “This Little Steam Train,” or “Bumpty Dumpty” (about a dump truck, naturally), caregivers should have no difficulty singing, chanting, or rhythmically reading the verses on display. Each scans perfectly, never requiring readers to engage in any verbal gymnastics. There are even helpful hints for caregivers below each poem’s title, indicating its original name (“Little Jack Junker” references “Little Jack Horner,” for instance). While most of the poems in this collection pass muster, the same cannot be said for Kaminsky’s digital art. His cartoony anthropomorphic vehicles are rendered with little sophistication in their depictions and as much attention to scale. The media notes tell readers outlines were drawn with a digital piece of soft vine charcoal, but the inconsistency in their thickness between the vehicles and animals depicted gives the compositions a cut-and-paste quality. The result is a book with aural but not visual charm.

A partial misfire. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: July 11, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-250-10193-8

Page Count: 34

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION | CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
CROCODILES NEED KISSES TOO
by Rebecca Colby ; illustrated by Penelope Dullaghan

- BOOK REVIEW
CAPTAIN BLING'S CHRISTMAS PLUNDER
by Rebecca Colby ; illustrated by Rob McClurkan

- BOOK REVIEW
IT'S RAINING BATS & FROGS
by Rebecca Colby ; illustrated by Steven Henry

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DEEP IN THE OCEAN

by Lucie Brunellière ; illustrated by Lucie Brunellière ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2019

Quibbles won’t prevent readers from diving in and marveling

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Follow a silver submarine through grand adventures in this French import.

When readers open the durable, oversized cardboard pages they’re immersed in gorgeous, sweeping digital renderings of colorful ocean ecosystems. There’s only a smattering of plot: A tiny submarine plunges underwater to explore but is whisked off course by a violent storm, ultimately traveling to the Arctic, along coral reefs, down to the ocean’s dark trenches, and back up to the sunny surface. Conversationally narrated as though readers are riding along, the text names the species depicted and provides clues to help locate and identify most from among the busyness, though some specimens are missing any contextual hint and would benefit from a label or key. The teeny, thin type is also tricky to see against the large pages. An accompanying, digitally accessible ocean soundtrack is nicely atmospheric but also suffers from vagueness, as without track markers, it’s challenging to match the page with specific movements. But the immersive, multilayered art teeming with intricately drawn crowds of sea creatures set on ethereal backgrounds and the feeling of grand scale admirably capture the majesties under the sea. Variegated background shades of blue and green make the colorful underwater flora and fauna glisten, especially the metallic-inked silver sub and dynamic neon pink and Day-Glo yellow highlights.

Quibbles won’t prevent readers from diving in and marveling . (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: May 28, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4197-3356-7

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Abrams Appleseed

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
ANIMAL PORTRAITS
by Lucie Brunellière ; illustrated by Lucie Brunellière

- BOOK REVIEW
DEEP IN THE FOREST
by Josef Antòn ; illustrated by Lucie Brunellière

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ZOOM!

From the Matching Game series

by Stéphanie Babin ; illustrated by Ben Newman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 6, 2019

More game than substance.

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A large-format board book with sliding, matching-game–style panels featuring things that move on land, sea, and by air.

This one is fodder for young readers who love everything on wheels. As in Babin’s Animals, illustrated by Julie Mercier (2018), this book includes a series of panels that allow for a matching game, wherein four sets of matching pairs are hidden behind sliding windows. The left-hand side of each double-page spread shows brightly-colored cartoon animals riding in or on the vehicles while the game is presented on the right-hand side. Each transportation set includes directives for ways to engage with the book (“Can you name and find all the vehicles that are yellow, red, or green?”), but they vary little from page to page and mostly follow the same predictable format. The “In the Sky” page features some unusual modes of transportation such as a hydroplane and paraglider, likely unfamiliar to younger readers (and not included in the matching game). The book provides opportunities to point to and name items, similar to a picture dictionary. It’s really less book and more game, which, while entertaining, does become repetitive for adults. It’s a good choice for travel and even for keeping little hands busy at a restaurant, because it is really something to play with rather than something to read.

More game than substance. (Board book. 2-4)