Break out the crayons and markers, and put on some dancing shoes—this is sure to inspire on many levels.
The catchy shape song that many will recognize from PBS Kids gets some new verses and some brilliantly colored artwork in this collaboration from SteveSongs and Sim.
Bouncy rhythms and rhymes are sure to get kids singing, and their fingers will itch to draw: “I drew boats out on the water, / I drew a castle on the sand, / I drew a beachside waterslide, / Oh, what a ride! / And I never even had to stand / in line, line, circle, circle, / square, square, square, square, / triangle, triangle…” The premise is that most artwork starts with basic shapes: line, circle, square and triangle. Armed with these four shapes, the things that kids can draw are countless. Sim nicely demonstrates this in his double-page spreads. His busy scenes are full of the four featured shapes, naturally drawing readers’ eyes to them by their placement and color. But he includes other shapes as well: rectangles, ovals and semicircles. As in the PBS Kids video, the illustrations include four multiethnic kids, but here one of them wears a leg brace as well. Quirky, blocky animals that incorporate at least one of the shapes in their body and/or body language also populate Sim’s world. An enhanced CD (not seen) with the song and video is included.
Break out the crayons and markers, and put on some dancing shoes—this is sure to inspire on many levels. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-84686-671-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Ideal for any community where children count.
A difficult concept is simply and strikingly illustrated for the very youngest members of any community, with a counting exercise to boot.
From the opening invitation, “Living in community, / it's a lot of FUN! / Lets count the ways. / Lets start with ONE,” Nagaro shows an urban community that is multicultural, supportive, and happy—exactly like the neighborhoods that many families choose to live and raise their children in. Text on every other page rhymes unobtrusively. Unlike the vocabulary found in A Is for Activist (2013), this book’s is entirely age-appropriate (though some parents might not agree that picketing is a way to show “that we care”). In A Is for Activist, a cat was hidden on each page; this time, finding the duck is the game. Counting is almost peripheral to the message. On the page with “Seven bikes and scooters and helmets to share,” identifying toys in an artistic heap is confusing. There is only one helmet for five toys, unless you count the second helmet worn by the girl riding a scooter—but then there are eight items, not seven. Seven helmets and seven toys would have been clearer. That quibble aside, Nagara's graphic design skills are evident, with deep colors, interesting angles, and strong lines, in a mix of digital collage and ink.
Ideal for any community where children count. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60980-632-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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