A wee (4” X 4”) trim contains this partially successful introduction to farm animals and their young. Chickens, pigs, ducks, goats and more are all presented in the author’s trademark naïve line-and-color style against mostly white backgrounds with just enough scenery to provide context. This is, regrettably, not one of his stronger efforts. The ducklings’ outstretched wings look rather like spiny reptilian sails, and both owl and owlet look downright angry. Moreover, the author misses some opportunities with his vocabulary, using gender-specific language for the “hen” and the “cow” but eschewing it in the case of the sow, the nanny goat and the ewe. Possibly even more troubling for zoological sticklers is the usage of “bunny” for kit. Taback’s other spring 2010 books, Zoom (ISBN: 978-1-60905-007-8) and 4 5 6 (ISBN: 978-1-60905-006-1), are both superior. (Board book. 1-2)
Pub Date: April 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-60905-005-4
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Blue Apple
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
One of a four-book series designed to help the very young prepare for new siblings, this title presents a toddler-and-mother pair (the latter heavily pregnant) as they read about new babies, sort hand-me-downs, buy new toys, visit the obstetrician and the sonographer, speculate and wait. Throughout, the child asks questions and makes exclamations with complete enthusiasm: “How big is the baby? What does it eat? I felt it move! Is it a boy or girl?” Fuller’s jolly pictures present a biracial family that thoroughly enjoys every moment together. It’s a bit oversimplified, but no one can complain about the positive message it conveys, appropriately, to its baby and toddler audience. The other titles in the New Baby series are My New Baby (ISBN: 978-1-84643-276-7), Look at Me! (ISBN: 978-1-84643-278-1) and You and Me (ISBN: 978-1-84643-277-4). (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84643-275-0
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
In four successive spreads, photographs of three animals appear on bright color fields, appropriately labeled. In the fourth quadrant, another photograph appears in a window, above a question; when readers slide the window up, the answer is revealed in the form of a repeat of its photograph. The format is beguilingly simple—“pig / hen / sheep / Which farm animal lays eggs?”—and it conveys a surprising amount of information in an interactive package bound to appeal to older babies and toddlers. The pages are unusually thick and sturdy, and the equally tough-seeming slide mechanics work smoothly, abetting use in little hands. Bright colors, clear pictures, simple science and a chance to put baby in the driver’s seat—if only it were longer. It publishes with two companions, Trucks (ISBN: 978-0-312-50704-6) and the bilingual Words/Palabras (ISBN: 978-0-312-50729-9). (Ages 1-2)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-50699-5
Page Count: 8
Publisher: Priddy Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2009
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