A pleasant, if one-note, bit of fun, the perfect size for a toddler’s Easter basket.
Bunny hunts for an Easter egg as young readers wag her tail.
When readers pull the large, smoothly moving tab on the right edge of the book, a mechanism inside moves the rabbit’s puffball tail, covered in white felt, that protrudes over the top of the pages. The back cover extends higher than the front and internal pages to protect the tail—and little fingers—as it moves. Bunny finds three eggs, one on each double-page spread, but they belong to a butterfly, a duckling, and a robin, respectively. (The butterfly’s and the duckling’s eggs are brightly painted Easter eggs; the robin’s are its clutch of bright blue eggs in a nest.) The sound that each animal makes is written on the bottom right corner of the previous recto, providing a clue as to who will be appearing on the next page. (“Flap! Flap!” goes the butterfly; “Chirp! Chirp!” goes the robin.) Bunny becomes more and more despondent, with her ears sinking lower on the page. A trio of bees finally brings Bunny her egg, tied up with a yellow bow. While the cartoons are relatively static, using thick, black lines awash in bright colors, Yoon succeeds in showing Bunny’s feelings with deft changes in eye and mouth placement.
A pleasant, if one-note, bit of fun, the perfect size for a toddler’s Easter basket. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4344-0
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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Cute and sprightly but not a standout.
Deck the stalls?
A bevy of barnyard animals, a cat, and some dogs get fully into the Christmas spirit by sprucing up the farm with colorful decorations, including holly berries and sparkling baubles. They have a great time and sing while going about their merry chores in a manner somewhat in keeping with the rhythm of the classic tune “Deck the Halls.” (In fact, a flock of sheep are shown holding song sheets for it.) As might be expected with these particular celebrants, some of the familiar lyrics are altered just a bit; for instance, “boughs of holly” is “translated” as “cows and holly.” Adult readers expecting the rhythm here to work exactly as it does in the original will be disappointed, because it doesn’t—it’s clunky. This is merely a brief, lightweight spoof of the familiar ditty, so it’s recommended that grown-ups read rather than sing this—except for that final line!—to very young targeted audiences, who may be unfamiliar with the actual song anyway. Some fun is still to be had in the illustrations, however. The spirited, wittily expressive animal characters are depicted having a fine time romping about and producing a variety of onomatopoeic sounds throughout. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cute and sprightly but not a standout. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66591-435-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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