Pictures of animals clustering in a variety of characteristic settings offer toddlers chances to identify one by sight and another (with the push of a button) by sound on each spread.
Kim poses six to 10 smiling, infantilized animals with dot eyes and rounded foreheads in each of eight appropriate locales, beginning with livestock in a farmyard and going on to house pets in a domestic interior, a variety of “Mountain Animals” (including a rescue Saint Bernard with a cask of spirits) on piney slopes, and meerkats and more on an African plain—occasionally with children or other members of an all-white human cast in attendance. Along with visual cues to prompt picking out a particular animal from each group, a repetitive instruction (“PRESS THE BUTTON”) directs attention to eight pictorial buttons on the audio panel mounted next to the block of sturdy board leaves to help in spotting another. Though the lion just emits a dispirited grumble and the wolf sounds startlingly ghostly, the calls at least faintly resemble natural ones. Confusingly, there is no “tiger” button to go with the prompt on the final page…leaving it, deliberately or otherwise, to caregivers to chime in with a live roar. The audio panel, which includes three replaceable button batteries, does not have an on/off switch.
Similar galleries with better sound tracks abound—but a (probable) flub at the end allows some extra interactivity. (Novelty/board book. 1-5)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2019
ISBN: 978-2-7338-6741-9
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Auzou Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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Dramatic stock photos and die-cut tabs are the distinguishing features of this board book.
“Did you know that there are over 400 types of sharks?” is an intriguing opening, but readers primed to find out about those specific types may be surprised that the shark on the facing page is not identified. Instead, the picture of a shark above a school of fish gives a sense of its size. Smaller text explains that shark skeletons are made of cartilage, not bone. Layered die cuts that accentuate the nose and mouth of nine different sharks on the right-hand pages invite children to turn the pages quickly. White type printed against various contrasting colors on the left-hand pages offers tidbits of information but is unlikely to make young children pause long enough to be read the text. A picture of almost 40 sharks swimming together seems to contradict the accompanying explanation that many sharks are endangered. A final full-color spread speaks of sharks’ important role in maintaining ocean balance and includes a picture of a grandfatherly shark scientist. The back cover is devoted to information for adults. While intriguing and scientifically credible, the wordy text and seemingly arbitrary factoids are well beyond the attention spans of all but the most avid young fans of the species.
There are better fish in the board-book sea. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2128-8
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s plenty of information and instruction crammed into this 5 ½-inch-square board book.
Hutton starts with the opening lines of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” leaving blanks to indicate where readers should fill in key words. Caregivers of toddlers who do not know the song will need to supply the words until their children are familiar enough with it to play the game. On the third page the tone shifts to conversational questioning, providing a model of dialogic reading. The adult reader speaks directly to the child: “Did you just see a bug? What kind of bug was it?…Was it BIG or small? Inside or outside?” The next six pages continue in that vein, providing information in response to the questions. Pages 11 and 12 refer to the rhyme again: “What’s that spider doing? Yes, it’s climbing! Climbing up a water spout! Climbing up a water spout at Grandpa’s house!” This method of repetition and expansion on an idea is excellent practice for beginning readers, but again, toddlers may need time to adjust. The final spread returns to a question likely to engage toddlers, with no practice necessary: “What’s your favorite kind of bug?” Colorful illustrations in shades of blue, green, and brown are only semirealistic; they emphasize a friendly look instead of a creepy one, potentially disappointing for young entomologists fascinated by the real thing.
For very young children already buggy for bugs. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-936669-80-6
Page Count: 14
Publisher: blue manatee press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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