A child-friendly tale packed with all things winter.
A look at hallmarks and celebrations of the coldest season.
Winter’s here, and there are icicles, snow gear, sledding, and snowball fights, of course. Inside, kids make decorations, snuggle under warm blankets, and sip hot chocolate. We also see kids celebrating a variety of holidays. Children play dreidel and enjoy latkes while a menorah sits in the window. Some hang ornaments on a Christmas tree; others observe Kwanzaa. Youngsters also ring in the new year with “fizzy drinks to clink.” Several kids perform a dragon dance on Chinese New Year, and in February, the little ones exchange valentines at school. The scope and vocabulary make this a perfect book to share with preschoolers both in a classroom setting and at home, and the rhyming gives it a read-aloud-friendly cadence. The illustrations perfectly encapsulate the blustery cold of winter as well as the comfort of hunkering down inside, thanks to wisps of wind across windowpanes and cozy, blanketed kids. All the scenes are fully imagined and well drawn, with plenty to observe, from squirrels peeking in at the kids making crafts and a bird’s-eye view of the town where a menorah sits in a house and a car sports decorative antlers. The quality rhymes and meaningful illustrations make this a worthy selection. The kids depicted are diverse in terms of race and ability.
A child-friendly tale packed with all things winter. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780316570138
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
High-quality, inclusive illustrations make this one stand out.
From the changing season to decorations and costumes, children anticipate Halloween.
Little readers will enjoy all of the familiar markers of the season included in this book: falling leaves, jack-o’-lanterns, Halloween costumes, candy, and trick-or-treating. Everett’s rhyming couplets bob along safely, offering nothing that will wow but enough to keep the pages turning. It’s Wen’s illustrations that give the most to readers, full of bustling scenes and lovely details. A double-page spread of the children in town in front of the candy store includes jars with individually drawn treats and other festive delicacies. The townwide celebration features instruments, creative costumes, and a diverse crowd of people. There are three children who appear as the focus of the illustrations, though there are many secondary characters. One bespectacled White child is drawn in a manual wheelchair, another has dark brown skin, the third presents Asian. The child in the wheelchair is shown as a full participant. Readers will enjoy spotting spooks like a vampire, goblin, and werewolf, as they sometimes appear in the background and other times blend in with the crowd. The familiar trappings of Halloween paired with the robust illustrations will have little readers wanting to reread even if the content itself is not startlingly new.
High-quality, inclusive illustrations make this one stand out. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0586-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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