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MY DYNAMITE DAD

A serviceable but uninspired salute to parenthood.

A variety of little ones express love for their dads.

All the wonderful things dads do are the focus of this simple board book. Each turn of the page presents a nature shot of a fully grown animal with its young accompanied by a reason fathers are “dynamite!” While they are all good reasons, they don’t always make sense with the pictures they’re paired with. An elephant “defends me from bad guys” while standing over its child protectively, but it’s hard to figure out how a lion “laughs at all my 'knock-knock' jokes.” In the latter picture, a cub nuzzles its father’s face; there’s nothing to imply either laughter or the telling of jokes. Animal lovers will enjoy pictures of chameleons, penguins, turtles, and other creatures, but that's the only thing in the book's corner. A concurrently published companion, My Marvelous Mom, is presented in the same fashion, with the only difference being the obvious one. For readers looking for something to prime the pump for Mother's or Father's Day these will do in a pinch, but they will both be quickly forgotten.

A serviceable but uninspired salute to parenthood. (Board book. 1-2)

Pub Date: April 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4549-1875-2

Page Count: 22

Publisher: Sterling

Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

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LLAMA LLAMA TRICK OR TREAT

From the Llama Llama series

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)

 

Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014

ISBN: 978-0451469786

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015

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BABY LOVES TO PARTY!

Great for a birthday read and enjoyable all year long.

A little one grabs a pair of shutter shades and gets a major groove on. 

"Who loves to party?" The board book kicks off with this question, and each page follows with a different animal enjoying a wild time in increasingly silly ways. Lemurs hang streamers, pheasants wrap presents, and the mole rat wears his party hat. The titular baby makes a grand entrance on the second to last page, answering the original question and taking this party to a whole new level. The rhythmic, internally rhyming lines encourage a thumping beat for little ones to clap or stomp along with. Young readers will delight at all the animals and the funky colors, and adults will snicker at the contemporary quirks of the party. More board books should have parakeets dropping beats and ocelots that rock a lot. Electric colors and busy compositions make for an appropriately frenetic accompaniment.

Great for a birthday read and enjoyable all year long. (Board book. 1-2)

Pub Date: May 5, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4814-2994-8

Page Count: 30

Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015

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