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ZIP'S NEW BUTTON

Name: ZIP'S NEW BUTTON
Author: Rebecca Purcell
ISBN: 978-1-80036-009-9

From the Zip the Robot series

by Rebecca Purcell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2021

A delight—like Zip itself, the art and storyline are clean and simple but also loaded with warmth and personality.

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Zip, the World’s Greatest Robot, returns, even better than before, with an amazing feature so new even Zip doesn’t know what it does!

Zip, the lovable fire hydrant–shaped robot with an enormous grin and rabbit ear antennae, returns with a brand new, bright-red button on its midsection that’s just begging to be pressed.. When Zip’s friend Cat asks him what it does, Zip indulges a bit of presumptuous fantasizing about the luster this modification will bring to its robotic career: “It makes me even BETTER!” Anticipating instant fame, Zip explains he’ll need to wear sunglasses “to hide from my many eager fans.” Returning to the question of functionality, Cat asks again, “What happens if you PRESS the button?” Zip admits, “I do not know.” This allows for three fantasy scenarios involving space travel, time travel (with a dinosaur!), and invisibility before Zip finally breaks the suspense and presses the button. Handily, the button actually activates “<sleep mode> in 10 seconds.” That, of course, makes this an ideal final read at bedtime, concluding with a gentle press of the buttons in the midsections of the Zip fans at home.

A delight—like Zip itself, the art and storyline are clean and simple but also loaded with warmth and personality. (Board book. 2-5)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-80036-009-9

Page Count: 22

Publisher: Tiny Seed

Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE MONSTER READS A BOOK
by Rebecca Purcell

- BOOK REVIEW
COUNTING WITH OWL AND BIRD
by Rebecca Purcell ; illustrated by Rebecca Purcell

- BOOK REVIEW
CAT HAS ONE SHOE
by Rebecca Purcell ; illustrated by Rebecca Purcell

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IN THE WIND

by Elizabeth Spurr ; illustrated by Manelle Oliphant ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016

A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name.

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A brief rhyming board book for toddlers.

Spurr's earlier board books (In the Garden and At the Beach, both 2012; In the Woods, 2013) featured an adventuresome little boy. Her new slice-of-life story stars an equally joyful little girl who takes pleasure in flying a new kite while not venturing far off the walkway. Oliphant's expressive and light-filled watercolors clearly depict the child's emotions—eager excitement on the way to the park, delight at the kite's flight in the wind, shock when the kite breaks free, dejection, and finally relief and amazement. The rhymes work, though uneven syllable counts in some stanzas interrupt the smooth flow of the verse. The illustrations depict the child with her mass of windblown curls, brown skin, and pronounced facial features as African-American. Her guardian (presumably her mother) is also brown-skinned. It is refreshing to see an African-American family settled comfortably in a suburban setting with single-family homes and a park where the family dog does not need to be leashed.

A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: March 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-56145-854-7

Page Count: 22

Publisher: Peachtree

Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
IN THE RAIN
by Elizabeth Spurr ; illustrated by Manelle Oliphant

- BOOK REVIEW
IN THE SNOW
by Elizabeth Spurr ; illustrated by Manelle Oliphant

- BOOK REVIEW
AT THE BEACH
by Elizabeth Spurr ; illustrated by Manelle Oliphant

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SOME BUGS

by Angela DiTerlizzi ; illustrated by Brendan Wenzel ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 4, 2014

Deceptively simple, with innovative illustrations and a catchy narrative, this book adeptly supplies information, a sense of...

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A picture book that capers with joy in the buggy natural world.

With minimal words cajoled into loose rhyme—they have just enough structure to hold their own within the sprawling illustrations—each page of this ebullient book introduces a different bug’s proclivity (“Some bugs STING. Some bugs BITE”) while a small ladybug saunters past, serving as a cohesive visual element. (“Bug” is loosely construed to include many insects and arachnids.) The mixed-media illustrations play with form and white space, while the artistic-license black-and-white eyes of all the bugs cleverly draw readers’ gazes toward them, encouraging close examination. The second-to-final spread—a long shot—reveals to readers that the earlier illustrations in the book are actually close-ups of a single backyard. This visual surprise encourages the friendly accessibility of readers’ own backyards as habitats to explore. Only one jarring note disturbs the joyful tone of this book, and that is the indirect permission it gives to readers to capture these critters. As there is no textual exhortation to take care and let the creatures go after examining them, adults will need to underscore this independently.

Deceptively simple, with innovative illustrations and a catchy narrative, this book adeptly supplies information, a sense of accessibility, close looking and joie de vivre. (Picture book. 2-5)