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SPRING

From the All Around Bustletown series

The details delight—but not the diversity.

In the imaginary city of Bustletown, every season brings new adventures.

As she did in series opener Winter (2019), Berner traces a set of recurring characters through seven two-page spreads: an apartment complex where many of the characters live; a farm-lined road leading to town; a train station; a neighborhood that includes a church, a kindergarten, and a cultural center; a downtown marketplace; a shopping mall; and a park. Readers of this title and its two seasonally publishing companions, Summer (Apr. 21) and Fall (Jul. 21), will see each setting develop with the seasons. The kindergarten, for example, goes from a patch of dirt to a fully functional building. In the outdoor marketplace, a family of storks builds a nest, hatches eggs, and migrates to warmer climes. In addition to these changes, each book features the town uniquely decorated for typical Western European holidays associated with each season (this is a German import). In the spring the cultural center is hung with Easter eggs; in the fall it hosts a pumpkin-carving contest. Each title is brilliantly detailed, and the consistency among them allows readers to imagine stories both within each volume and between them. Bustletown seems to be a mostly white community, and the few characters of color within—such as Santosh from India—dress in ethnic clothing, implying that they are visitors.

The details delight—but not the diversity. (Board book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020

ISBN: 978-3-7913-7409-3

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Prestel

Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

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

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TILDA TRIES AGAIN

From the Big Bright Feelings series

An accessible entrance into the world of social-emotional skills.

What do you do when the world turns upside down?

Freckled redhead Tilda is a happy only child with a rollicking personality. With lots of books and toys and a multiracial group of friends, life is perfect as far as she’s concerned…until her world undergoes a troubling change (a subtle hint in the illustrations suggests that Tilda’s parents have divorced). Suddenly, nothing feels right, everything seems hard, and she doesn’t want to play with her friends. To reflect this emotional disorientation, the artwork shows Tilda in spatially distorted settings, complete with upside-down objects. It’s not until she sees an upturned ladybug struggle persistently before getting back on its feet (despite Tilda’s desire to help, the ladybug needs to help itself) that Tilda gains the courage to start taking baby steps in order to cope with her new reality. There are still challenges, and she needs to persevere, but eventually, she regains her zest for life and reconnects with her friends. Despite this, the ending avoids an easy happily-ever-after, which feels just right for the subject matter. Though a trifle didactic, the story sends an important message about the roles of self-efficacy and persistence when it comes to overcoming challenges and building resilience. Percival’s digital illustrations use transitions from grayscale to color to create symbolic meaning and have psychological depth, deftly capturing a child’s experience of trauma.

An accessible entrance into the world of social-emotional skills. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: March 1, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0822-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022

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