1 2 3 Count With Me ($12.95; Sept. 1, 1996; 24 pp.; 0-689-80828-3): From one to twenty, this bright, basic counting book puts forth a given number of items for each number, e.g., four ponies. Lifting a flap reveals related items of the same number: Four horse shoes show up one pony's saddle. The grand finale is twenty presents, each just a lift of the flap away from being ``unwrapped.'' Should the sturdy little doors and flaps fall off— as inevitably they will—the book still works. (Lift-the-flap. 2-4)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-689-80828-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1996
Blackstone uses her old standby style of inconsistent rhyming verse to describe the beasts a young boy met when he dreamt he was a dinosaur. The animals are anthropomorphized with names, and little is to be learned about them from the text itself, which lacks a storyline: “Here is Sammy Stegosaurus / Busy foraging for food. / He likes Kay Camarasaurus, / But she’s in a grumpy mood.” While not all the dinosaurs are identified within the text, there is picture dictionary in the back with a pronunciation key and a few facts about each prehistoric beast. Beaton’s illustrations are what make this stand out from others on the shelf. They are a collection of materials: Felt makes up the dinosaurs and backgrounds, with antique fabrics, sequins, beads, buttons and bric-a-brac lending details. Children will take pleasure in identifying the various materials, as well as the textural element their inclusion adds to the pictures. Enjoyable for the illustrations, not for the mediocre text. (Picture book. 2-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-84148-238-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2005
Lucy, unable or unwilling to go to sleep, takes out crayons and paper and begins to draw. An oval body, square head, rectangle legs, circle eyes and several triangles form themselves into a not-so-scary and very playful green Monster. Drawing away, Lucy and her alter ego build castles, fly an airplane, march in a parade and have a stomping, jumping, grand time. Now Lucy is tired but Monster refuses to go to bed. Delaying the inevitable with all the familiar excuses of thirst, hunger, bathroom needs and storytime wishes, weary Lucy uses her artful ability to place her dreamy-eyed, sleepy Monster into a cozy bed before closing her own drowsy set and finally falling asleep. Child-like drawings and lettering done in crayon colors using oil paints and pastels accentuate the time-honored premise through Monster’s exaggeratedly droll expressions. Knowing toddlers will eagerly reach for their own box of crayons. (Picture book. 2-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-15-205775-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2007
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