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HAVE YOU SEEN BUNNY?

Name: HAVE YOU SEEN BUNNY?
Author: Smriti Prasadam
ISBN: 978-1-40831-499-9

From the Go, Baby! series

by Smriti Prasadam ; illustrated by Michelle Berg ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2013

A fine choice for lift-the-flap fans, but touch-and-feel enthusiasts should try other offerings.

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A lift-the-flap and touch-and-feel peekaboo experience for little ones.
On the left side of each spread, the text poses a variety of questions about Bunny’s whereabouts. One image (a bird, a mushroom, or a dragonfly) from the much busier right-hand side appears front and center. On the right, readers are encouraged to lift a relatively sturdy, shaped flap embedded in the landscape to see if Bunny is hiding underneath. Behind the first four flaps, youngsters encounter a lamb, a hedgehog, a deer and a badger in their habitats, and each creature features a small textural element. On the last page and below the final flap, Bunny nibbles on cabbages behind a garden gate. Berg’s clear, stylized cartoons in rich colors are both simple and detailed, making them easy for little ones who are learning to name their world. Unfortunately, the tactile components are really too small to be satisfying, and the textures do not always connect with their host (a smooth hedgehog and a ribbed carrot?). The sister title, Have You Seen Duck?, follows the same text and layout patterns, but this time, it’s Duck who’s on the loose. The textural elements here are better matched, but they still run on the small side. In both titles, the black text against a dark blue background on a couple pages is difficult to read.

A fine choice for lift-the-flap fans, but touch-and-feel enthusiasts should try other offerings. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: June 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-40831-499-9

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Trafalgar Square

Review Posted Online: May 21, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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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 HALLOWEEN SCARIES
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORRY-WORRY WHALE MADE 32 MISTAKES
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORRY-WORRY WHALE AND THE CLASSROOM JITTERS
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

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LLAMA LLAMA TRICK OR TREAT

From the Llama Llama series

by Anna Dewdney ; illustrated by Anna Dewdney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 2014

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In this board book designed for the littlest llama lovers, adorable-as-ever Llama Llama (Llama Llama Red Pajama, 2005, etc.) gets ready for some Halloween fun.

Dewdney’s characteristic spare, apt rhymes convey a lot of action in effortlessly readable fashion. A charming and simple introduction to Halloween and its associated activities, this title finds little Llama Llama choosing and carving a pumpkin, pouring candy into bowls, picking out a costume and, finally, trick-or-treating. The costume Llama Llama decides to don—pointy teeth and a black mask and cape—is enough to frighten and fool his friends but not readers, who will immediately recognize and smile at the silly little mini-Dracula. With Dewdney’s characters as expressive as ever, young readers will be drawn right into the holiday fun, eagerly anticipating which costume Llama Llama will choose and excited to see him scare his friends and score some candy at trick-or-treat. In the equally appealing companion title, Llama Llama Jingle Bells,the little fellow gets ready for Christmas, baking and decorating some cookies in anticipation of Santa’s arrival. This simple holiday title will win Llama Llama new fans, and old friends will want to add it and its companion to their collections. (Board book. 1-2)