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GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!

While the cheerful, gold-foil–framed sun on the cover is inviting, the meal served inside will leave readers less than...

Youngsters are invited to make and eat their own breakfast as they lift flaps, open gatefold pages and pull tabs.

In the sunny-colored cartoons, readers can flip an egg, juice an orange, open the refrigerator and more. One page per spread hosts the interactive features, while the facing page invites participation with a text that vacillates between rhyme and prose. The final spread includes a double-page gatefold with the text, “Now let’s eat.” Readers open the fold vertically to reveal a smiley-faced place setting with eggs for eyes and a jelly-drawn mouth. The pages and the gatefold flaps, on stock that is somewhere in between typical board-book and hardcover-paper weight, look sturdy enough, but the tabs won’t hold up to routine wear and tear and don’t offer what the text promises. The sliding spatula does not allow for egg flipping, the juice cup has to be emptied via a pull of a tab before it can be filled, and the bread must be raised before readers can make toast. Magsamen’s simple, popular graphics have worked in other books, but her flat style does not lend itself to illustrating food.

While the cheerful, gold-foil–framed sun on the cover is inviting, the meal served inside will leave readers less than satisfied. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-545-43645-8

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013

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I AM A BIG BROTHER

A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an...

A little boy exults in his new role as big brother.

Rhyming text describes the arrival of a new baby and all of the big brother’s rewarding new duties. He gets to help with feedings, diaper changes, playtime, bathtime, and naptime. Though the rhyming couplets can sometimes feel a bit forced and awkward, the sentiment is sweet, as the focus here never veers from the excitement and love a little boy feels for his tiny new sibling. The charming, uncluttered illustrations convincingly depict the growing bond between this fair-skinned, rosy-cheeked, smiling pair of boys. In the final pages, the parents, heretofore kept mostly out of view, are pictured holding the children. The accompanying text reads: “Mommy, Daddy, baby, me. / We love each other—a family!” In companion volume I Am a Big Sister, the little boy is replaced with a little girl with bows in her hair. Some of the colors and patterns in the illustrations are slightly altered, but it is essentially the same title.

A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an older sibling can do to help. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-545-68886-4

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015

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PEPPA'S GIANT PUMPKIN

From the Peppa Pig series

This TV rerun in board-book form has nothing new to offer.

Peppa hopes to join her classmates in a Halloween pumpkin competition in this adaptation of a story from the popular British television program Peppa Pig.

With the help of Granny and Grandpa Pig, Peppa turns her giant pumpkin, which is the size of a compact car, into a jack-o’-lantern. The trio is flummoxed when it comes time to transport the pumpkin to the competition, so they call on Miss Rabbit and her helicopter to airlift the pumpkin to the festivities as Peppa and her grandparents ride inside. Peppa arrives just in time for the contest and wins the prize for best flying pumpkin. The scenes look as if they are pulled directly from the television show, right down to the rectangular framing of some of the scenes. While the story is literally nothing new, the text is serviceable, describing the action in two to three sentences per page. The pumpkin-shaped book and orange foil cover will likely attract youngsters, whether they are Peppa fans or not.

This TV rerun in board-book form has nothing new to offer. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: July 30, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-338-33922-2

Page Count: 10

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019

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