Bedtime comfort couched in sleepy make-believe.
Babies are encouraged to fall asleep with a gentle rhyme that asks them to imagine what they see when they close their eyes.
Five racially diverse little ones are told to close eyes and concentrate on the colors behind their eyelids. “What do you see / if you close them tight? / Do you see colors, / bright and light?” Four children who snuggle together under one blanket squinch their eyes shut—except for one, who keeps one eye wide open. (The fifth is visible only as a pair of feet poking out.) Then: “Peep through a half-open eye. / Is the world in black and white? / Not a single color, / just shades of the night.” Here, all five tots peer out through heavy-lidded eyes. Comforting words are designed to lull tired little ones to relaxation, when a dreamlike adventure may occur. Perhaps a cuddly soft polar bear will carry them through the star-filled sky as they swoon into the depths of dreams. Peaceful scenes in pen and watercolor washes dominated by blue hues depict the babes sometimes in bed, sometimes more whimsically, as when they rest in half-moons hanging from a large tree. It’s not quite a lullaby, but the calming (though occasional uneven) poetry will bring on the tranquility necessary for quiet slumber. “Can you keep your eyes closed? Listen and don’t peek. / Let the world rock you gently to sleep.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Bedtime comfort couched in sleepy make-believe. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-912757-76-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boxer Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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