Alfie and his little sister Annie Rose are back, this time introducing the numbers one through ten in a playful approach to counting. Hughes (The Lion and the Unicorn. 1999, etc.) uses familiar topics, such as birthday parties and visits to Grandma’s, to capture the reader’s attention while incorporating the numbers into an engaging series of vignettes about Alfie, Annie Rose and their friends and family. Prominently placed in the corner of the page is the featured number. Next to each numeral is the corresponding number of dots, giving readers a visual reference to reinforce the concept. Naturally Alfie leaves his individual stamp on the tale as he and readers count everything from inquisitive pigs and birthday balloons to cows munching in a field. In a novel approach, Hughes also provides more than one example for each number along with some simple addition. “Eight people walking to work up Alfie’s street. Are the same number coming home again? If you add one little dog, that makes nine.” Her winning illustrations feature cherubic children doing what comes naturally: playing in the park, snuggling up with friends, etc. The warmly drawn pictures, brimming with detail, beckon to readers, encouraging them to explore their world. Fans of Alfie will savor this newest adventure while the uninitiated will quickly discover why this series has such enduring popularity with children and adults alike. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-688-17705-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cheerful, flashy colors herald this book for toddlers from Murphy (Caterpillar’s Wish, p. 454, etc.). The stout pages depict the doings of a young, boldly outlined penguin, who is making a lot of noise. He (or she) bangs pots, jumps a lot, roller skates around the house, and in each instance, a parent penguin asks for quiet, until finally: “Outside, please!” The youngster waltzes down the garden path, where he meets up with his pals, a piglet and a bunny, for some hopping, rolling, and puddle-jumping. When his mother says he can return to the house, he has an idea: He can dance around in a pair of socks to muffle the noise. “Clever you!” says his mother. The simple, recognizable antics along with the flamboyant blue, yellow, and red should catch and hold onlookers, as will the closing page; the little penguin, now settled in his mother’s lap along with the baby, tells the crying child, “Please be quiet!” What goes around, comes around, in this jolly glimpse of a child’s noisy needs. (Picture book. 1-4)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-97113-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Moonlight’s a night-loving, night-prowling cat, but Halloween night’s her special favorite. She revels in the smiling pumpkins, “straw laps” of neighborhood scarecrows, and costumed children that make Halloween so unique. A carelessly dropped piece of candy doesn’t hurt either, and under Halloween moonlight, Moonlight the cat joyously laps it up. Yet another, though not especially memorable, addition to the Halloween canon, Rylant’s very simple text makes a good holiday read-aloud for the very young. Sweet’s illustrations, mostly double-paged in acrylic and colored-pencil are rich and bold and have loads of child appeal. Surely some will take this as an example of looking differently at the deep darkness of night and all its splendors. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-06-029711-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2003
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