A playful romp that has lost little in its adaptation and miniaturization.
The black Labrador of picture-book fame makes her board-book debut.
Adapted from the book Sally Goes to the Farm (2002), the titular heroine enjoys a car ride, encounters various farm animals, and meets a new canine friend named Molly. Huneck’s vibrantly colored woodcut illustrations translate well to the smaller format whether on full- or double-page spreads. Most of the images will be easily recognizable to little ones who are still learning to identify farm critters. One or two sentences of very simple text are printed in a bold, black font against a white background on each spread to describe Sally and Molly’s antics. Sally in the Sand, an adaptation of Sally Goes to the Beach (2000), is an equally stripped-down version of the dog’s day playing in the sand and waves. While the ending is a bit abrupt, Huneck’s undulating lines are perfect for the seaside scenes.
A playful romp that has lost little in its adaptation and miniaturization. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: March 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1030-8
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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