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LEARNING WITH SKIP. COLORS

Name: LEARNING WITH SKIP. COLORS
Author: Sam Loman
ISBN: 978-1-60537-752-0

From the Skip series , Vol. 1

by Sam Loman ; illustrated by Sam Loman ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 26, 2022

Suffices as a very basic introduction to colors, but there are better concept books around.

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Kids learn color basics with a cute kitty.

As Skip helps Grandpa with chores in the garden, readers discover colors. When Skip gets wet watering the plants, the text mentions his yellow raincoat. Later, he fills the birdhouse with food and discovers a robin with a red tummy. Four other hues—blue, green, purple, and orange—are similarly spotlighted. On each spread, the name of the color being highlighted appears within an icon shaped like a cat’s head. Later, Skip and Grandpa visit the flower garden, and Grandpa suggests that Skip pick a bouquet of blossoms for Grandma featuring “all the colors of the rainbow.” In this uncredited translation from Dutch, this very simple tale conveys its fundamental concepts in a sweet, though bland manner. The illustrations are lively; protagonists’ facial expressions are appealing. Note some missteps: To introduce blue, Skip is depicted looking up at the sky; right after, he’s seen learning about purple as he eats blueberries and gets purple juice all over his mouth—a potentially confusing moment, given the berry’s association with the word blue. Also, the bouquet that Skip picks doesn’t actually contain all the colors of the rainbow, as a rainbow has seven colors, one of which—indigo, separate from purple (violet, in an actual rainbow)—isn’t represented here. At book’s end, Skip introduces additional colors, some familiar, some less so. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Suffices as a very basic introduction to colors, but there are better concept books around. (Concept book. 1-3)

Pub Date: July 26, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-60537-752-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clavis

Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
WARM CLOTHES FOR BEAR
by Sam Loman ; illustrated by Sam Loman

- BOOK REVIEW
A SPECIAL TREASURE
by Sam Loman & illustrated by Sam Loman & developed by Atmos BV

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SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2014

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORRY-WORRY WHALE MADE 32 MISTAKES
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORRY-WORRY WHALE AND THE CLASSROOM JITTERS
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
POUT-POUT FISH
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

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ALL ABOUT ME

From the Look & Learn series

by National Geographic ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 11, 2014

Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...

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An exploration of the human body through colorful photos.

Every other double-page spread labels the individual parts on one major area: head, torso, back, arm and leg. Ethnically diverse boy-girl pairs serve as models as arrows point to specific features and captions float nearby. While the book usefully mentions rarely depicted body parts, such as eyebrow, armpit and shin, some of the directional arrows are unclear. The arrow pointing at a girl’s shoulder hits her in the upper arm, and the belly button is hard is distinguish from the stomach (both are concealed by shirts). Facts about the human body (“Guess what? You have tiny hairs in your nose that keep out dirt”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of kids in action. Baby Animals, another title in the Look & Learn series, uses an identical format to introduce readers to seal pups, leopard cubs, elephant calves, ducklings and tadpoles. In both titles, the final spread offers a review of the information and encourages readers to match baby animals to their parents or find body parts on a photo of kids jumping on a trampoline.

Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on the right track despite earlier titles that were much too conceptual for the audience. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)