The importance of giving positive attention to the child who may be feeling overshadowed by a new baby cannot be...
A preschool-age child adjusts to life with a new baby in this emotionally satisfying board book.
Cooing comments about the new baby on the left-hand page are paired with somewhat disparaging observations from an older child in italics on the right. The older child matter-of-factly points to actual skills and accomplishments. So what if the baby has soft skin? The older sibling can count to nine! Dotlich’s poem was originally published in Climb into My Lap: First Poems to Read Together, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Kathryn Brown (1998). It’s just the right length for a board book, but the storyline is more suitable for a picture-book reader. The older sibling is beyond board-book age, as indicated by the line, “Yesterday I lost two teeth.” Young children will also miss the visual humor in Reagan’s realistic watercolors. When the child proudly asserts, “I can tie all by myself,” those shoes are on the wrong feet. A family read-aloud with both the older sibling and new baby is an ideal setting for this story. The illustrations capture the mood of the poem but may throw readers when they notice that the woman reading with the protagonist in the final picture does not look like the grandmother portrayed five pages earlier. Maybe it’s mom?
The importance of giving positive attention to the child who may be feeling overshadowed by a new baby cannot be overstressed, and it’s nice to have the reminder delivered in such a lovely, sensitive package and featuring a loving, brown-skinned family. (Board book. 6 mos.-5)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-56846-321-6
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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
<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
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