Fun for the smallest critter enthusiasts; will work best as a browser.
Attention, animal lovers!
A feast for budding zoologists, this fact-laden French import contains four main sections—“What Is an Animal?” “Animal Life,” Animal Habitats,” and “Observing Animals.” Within sections, each page highlights a different relevant topic; for instance, under “What Is an Animal?” readers will learn about diet, mammals, and metamorphosis. (A final section, “More To Know,” includes dinosaurs, threatened/endangered species, and footprints.) Throughout, rudimentary data are presented via introductory sentences; charming spot-art illustrations of creatures and accoutrements with accompanying captions and labels, picture dictionary–style; and colorful sidebars that expand on the information and include cross-references to related pages elsewhere in the book. A “Let’s Review!” feature concludes each main section and, through questions and picture games, helps reinforce what children have learned. This mini-encyclopedia of sorts for the very young offers much: basic, accessible information about numerous animals; appealing, colorful, cartoon-style illustrations of wide-eyed animals and racially diverse kids; and opportunities for vocabulary enrichment. Some pages are cluttered or confusing; at times the book adopts a hodgepodge approach, particularly in the “Observing Animals” section, which covers perhaps too many bases, including structured animal environments, e.g., a zoo, a safari park, an aquarium, and a pet store, which depicts cats and dogs for sale—a practice falling largely out of favor. Still, flaws aside, it’s an attractive, well-organized volume. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Fun for the smallest critter enthusiasts; will work best as a browser. (index) (Informational picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-2-408-03356-9
Page Count: 92
Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pretty light fare to share with tots noticing differences among dads.
A rhyming celebration of the way dads are different from one another.
“There are some dads who worry. // And some dads who hurry. // And some dads who get lost on the way.” Bland’s illustrations feature expressive anthropomorphic animals and expand significantly on the clipped text (especially beneficial as the Australian creator’s rhymes can be iffy with an American accent: “sporty” with “naughty”). The worrier (an elephant) fills a pool with red-and-white–striped life rings while his daughter stands on the diving board. The hurrying polar bear bombs down a hill on skis, his little one atop his back. And the two Holsteins who are lost cling to a buoy, their map blowing away. The naughty dad (a sheep) plays with water balloons in the house, and the peacock’s brilliant plumage brightens his chick’s rainy day. Unfortunately reinforcing a sedentary lifestyle, the sporty frog dad, though wearing sweat bands and with a badminton racket and birdie near, is playing a video game with his child (a small frog, not a tadpole). And the ending is rather flat: “Some dads are loud. / And all dads are proud. // And you’ll never forget which is yours.” The simultaneously publishing Some Moms is similarly structured and ends, “All moms solve problems in their own special way. // A day spent with Mom is a wonderful day.”
Pretty light fare to share with tots noticing differences among dads. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7624-6199-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
There are better fish in the board-book sea.
Dramatic stock photos and die-cut tabs are the distinguishing features of this board book.
“Did you know that there are over 400 types of sharks?” is an intriguing opening, but readers primed to find out about those specific types may be surprised that the shark on the facing page is not identified. Instead, the picture of a shark above a school of fish gives a sense of its size. Smaller text explains that shark skeletons are made of cartilage, not bone. Layered die cuts that accentuate the nose and mouth of nine different sharks on the right-hand pages invite children to turn the pages quickly. White type printed against various contrasting colors on the left-hand pages offers tidbits of information but is unlikely to make young children pause long enough to be read the text. A picture of almost 40 sharks swimming together seems to contradict the accompanying explanation that many sharks are endangered. A final full-color spread speaks of sharks’ important role in maintaining ocean balance and includes a picture of a grandfatherly shark scientist. The back cover is devoted to information for adults. While intriguing and scientifically credible, the wordy text and seemingly arbitrary factoids are well beyond the attention spans of all but the most avid young fans of the species.
There are better fish in the board-book sea. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2128-8
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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