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FOOD

From the Say & Play series

As word books go, this set offers nothing new, but the presentation is simple and attractive.

Colorful photos introduce babies and toddlers to some everyday foods and clothing in this set of board books.

On each page a different food is presented with a clear and colorful photo on a white background. Each food item is clearly captioned. The usual food items, such as an apple, a banana, and strawberries, are there. But there are also black beans, quinoa, and sweet potato. Of note are the chicken and fish, here represented not as the animal but as the cooked foodstuff. The bilingual companion volume, Food/Los alimentos, gets into tricky terrain, as the biggest variances in the Spanish spoken among the different Spanish-speaking countries are probably found in food. The Spanish words used here for avocado (aguacate), blueberries (arándanos), and sweet potato (boniato) may not be the ones used by particular readers. In Clothes and its companion volume, Clothes/La ropa, different articles of clothing are presented in the same format as above. Again, the same words of caution apply here. “Shirt” is translated as “jersey,” but it is more commonly referred to as “camisa.” And the Spanish words used for jeans (vaqueros), sneakers (zapatillas), and tights (leotardos) may be unfamiliar to some readers.

As word books go, this set offers nothing new, but the presentation is simple and attractive. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: April 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4549-1973-5

Page Count: 28

Publisher: Sterling

Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

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SPOOKY POOKIE

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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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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