SHAPES

Name: SHAPES
Author: Shanti Sparrow
ISBN: 978-1-76012-331-4

by Shanti Sparrow ; illustrated by Shanti Sparrow ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2016

Simple enough for very young children but intriguing enough for older preschoolers to return to even past their board-book...

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Subtle elements of design are used to introduce more than just basic shapes in this sophisticated board book.

Ten shapes are presented, starting with “diamond” and ending with “circle.” In between are both familiar forms and more-obscure ones: teardrop, parallelogram, stripe, and hexagon. The parallelograms are arranged in an attractive herringbone design, and the teardrops are presented as six-petaled flowers. Rectangles of different sizes are set at an angle. Layered squares encourage readers to study the page to find the basic shape. Intersecting circles are formed by concentric dots. Young children may have trouble identifying the primary shape in these colorful arrays. But on subsequent readings, and after being introduced to the concepts, older toddlers may see the parallelograms and diamonds between the six-pointed stars. The left-hand page of each spread presents a pale outline of the featured shape and its name printed in a shade predominant on the facing design. All are rendered in pastel hues of teal, yellow, pink, and light green, with detailed crosshatching, swirls, and patterning providing a visual treat and more to talk about. The exceptionally thick pages (each a full 1/8 inch thick) and a sturdy binding will help it hold up to repeat reading.

Simple enough for very young children but intriguing enough for older preschoolers to return to even past their board-book days; beautiful for all. (Board book. 1-4)

Pub Date: June 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-76012-331-4

Page Count: 20

Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont

Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

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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 AND THE CLASSROOM JITTERS
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

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

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POUT-POUT FISH AND THE MAD, MAD DAY
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)