Relatable toddler fare that brings to life an activity beloved by many children.
Fiona the hippo and her brother, Herbert, join friends in a favorite activity: playing in the sandbox.
Fiona is thrilled about the sunshine, the warm sand, and the opportunity to play with her friends (who include a mouse, a turtle, and a frog) and share the numerous toys available. After inadvertently getting some sand on Herbert (“dig dig whoosh!” “Hey, watch out!”), Fiona pauses when she hits something hard and finds a toy dinosaur. She and Herbert imagine themselves digging for dino bones before coming up with further inventive scenarios, with Fiona creating a satisfying, delicious assortment of sand-based pies, cookies, and cakes. Black-outlined, flat, minimal cartoon drawings filled in with colored pencil in hues of purple, green, blue, and yellow emphasize the camaraderie of this playtime setting. The direct narrative depicts young sibling hippos enjoying their sandbox play. Little ones will have no trouble connecting with the emotionally satisfying outcome of this seamlessly simple storyline with its underlying tones of friendship and sibling companionship. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Relatable toddler fare that brings to life an activity beloved by many children. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781662640100
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hippo Park/Astra Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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