by Rindert Kromhout ; illustrated by Annemarie van Haeringen ; translated by Bill Nagelkerke ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013
Sweet and definitely out of the ordinary.
A counting book and a cautionary tale, translated from Dutch.
Anthropomorphic animals appear fully clothed, in bright outline, on solid-color pages, each of which faces its number and text. “1 / shopping bag / Look what Mama’s brought!” appears opposite Mama, carrying a full pink-striped tote that coordinates with her green-striped gown and hood (shaped nicely to accommodate her ears). The protagonists are Little Donkey in blue coveralls (and eared hood) and Bobby, a little bovine in red pants. The two find 3 bags of treats, and 4 eyes gaze pleadingly at Mama, who puts the treats on top of 5 kitchen shelves. But the two find a ladder with 7 steps, with predictable results (8 hooves flying). Mama soothes them both with 10 kisses. The pictures are clear enough so that children can count the treats and hooves and even the 9 tears themselves. Very young children will probably not find the shapeless outfits or Little Donkey’s and Bobby’s tails odd, but slightly older children might. Little Donkey’s cover image is a raised and shiny figure, and the effect of the flat but saturated color backgrounds (including hot pink endpapers) makes for some engagement.
Sweet and definitely out of the ordinary. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-8775-7934-9
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
Share your opinion of this book
More by Rindert Kromhout
BOOK REVIEW
by Rindert Kromhout ; illustrated by Annemarie van Haeringen
BOOK REVIEW
by Rindert Kromhout & illustrated by Annemarie van Haeringen & translated by Marianne Martens
by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jimmy Fallon
BOOK REVIEW
by Jimmy Fallon & Jennifer Lopez ; illustrated by Andrea Campos
More About This Book
SEEN & HEARD
by George Shannon ; illustrated by Blanca Gómez ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2015
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts.
A playful counting book also acts as a celebration of family and human diversity.
Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.”
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-30003-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
Share your opinion of this book
More by George Shannon
BOOK REVIEW
by George Shannon ; illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann
BOOK REVIEW
by George Shannon ; illustrated by Mark Fearing
BOOK REVIEW
by George Shannon ; illustrated by Julie Paschkis
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.