More cozy family bonding from the creators of Guess How Much I Love You (1995). When three cubs want to know which is their parents’ favorite, Mama and Papa Bear provide inclusive but satisfying answers. The bears, sporting a subtext-engendering array of hues and markings, pose closely together in various ursine or human postures amid minimal natural settings; Mama and Papa are plainly inseparable, and the young ones, though aware of their physical differences, hold paws on the cover and are, throughout, poster “children” for sibling harmony. McBratney and Jeram again combine to address a common childhood anxiety in a relaxed, irresistibly soothing way, and the competitiveness that mars their bestselling earlier title is much reduced here. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-7636-2442-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Radunsky (Mannekin Pis, p. 961, etc.) tucks plenty of counting practice into this evergreen “family” story rich with Radunsky’s offbeat humor. He’s off and running even before the title page, with a labeled picture of an armadillo, “naked after taking a bath.” This is, of course, so that readers will know for sure what an armadillo is. However, little known to most will be the fact that armadillos “are very fond of fine clothes.” Hence the need to demonstrate certain favorites: ear socks, tail stockings, and “pretty dresses or elegant suits.” Finally, “The Story Begins.” Chattering along, he fills his pages with silly asides about his protagonists, whose names he can’t remember. Head over heels in love, Mr. and Mrs. Armadillo hug and play and finally Mrs. Armadillo becomes as big as ten armadillos. A two-page spread is filled mostly with Mrs. A. overwhelming the car as they race off to the hospital to have their baby. They are both overjoyed and overwhelmed when not one baby arrives, but ten. Because they can’t pick names, the newborns are named One through Ten and they get potties and baseball caps, tutus and pets (cows, mostly) from doting relatives—all of which tumble across the pages for young viewers to count. That’s about it: the babies arrive, receive their presents, then—open the flap—they pile into a boat-turned-carriage for an outing—and “they were all very happy.” Blue-nosed adult armadillos, nattily attired in patterned ear and tail socks, tumble with the infants across monochrome backgrounds in this bright, amiable, universally recognizable episode. (Picture book. 4-5)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-670-03563-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
The toddler and nursery-school sets will delightedly clap and cavort in step with this wide-awake baby, who boogies with a succession of toy animals rather than settle down to sleep. Plecas’s cartoon scenes of young parents in a cozy country home, patiently corralling their exuberant offspring again and again, make inviting backgrounds for an infectious rhyme, modeled on “The lady with the alligator purse,” and with easily guessable punch lines hidden beneath small gatefolds: “While Papa hauled the water / And Mama fixed the chow / Baby danced the cha-cha / With the chocolate-colored . . . COW. / Whoa! Papa’s water! / Whoa! Mama’s chow! / ‘Go!’ Baby giggled with the chocolate-colored cow.” Mama and Papa eventually throw in the towel, and dance along until the setting sun sends Baby at last to dancing dreams. Don’t even try to sit still with this one. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-8037-2587-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2004
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