An age-appropriate choice for modeling prosocial behavior.
A small child learns the joy of sharing.
“Pretend! Fun! Sit here. Take one.” These opening words come from the imperious brown-skinned toddler wearing a striped shirt on the book’s cover as she invites a darker-skinned female tot in a child care center to play. No sooner has the fun begun than the protagonist starts to feel dissatisfied with her farm animal toy. Displaying a toddler-realistic mood swing, she declares “This is mine!” and grabs the other girl’s toy dog. But her possessiveness doesn’t stop there, as she eventually hogs all the barnyard toys to herself (one amusing illustration shows the stripe-shirted youngster trying to stuff everything into a small dump truck) and commands the second girl to “Go away!” She is content playing alone until she notices the dark-skinned girl having fun with a light-skinned, bespectacled boy, feels envious, and must decide what really matters. Seeboruth’s sparse, rhyming text—consisting of punchy, two-word sentences—delivers its message with aplomb. With clearly delineated areas of strong color, Corrin’s expressive, textured digital artwork ably brings the humorous but believable characters to life. Altogether, the book creates a faithful snapshot of toddler interactions that will make caregivers smile knowingly and teaches an important lesson without being preachy.
An age-appropriate choice for modeling prosocial behavior. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64686-299-3
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Spritely entertainment and gentle encouragement for toddlers.
A pig, cow and sheep attempt to toilet train a brood of boisterous chicks.
In lighthearted dialogue rendered in verse, the three Chickies tell each of their caregivers that they know what the potty is for and can use it independently. This assertion proves to be false, as the chicks splash in the water, play with the toilet paper and jump on the towels. With loving patience, their barnyard companions gently correct this behavior. After three wrong turns, the trio finally “tinkle” in the potty appropriately and enjoy some delighted praise. In the companion volume, Bedtime for Chickies, the threesome have a difficult time getting to sleep. They ask the cow for water, the pig for a trip to the potty and the sheep for a bedtime story. Their keepers are not quite as patient here and in fact fall asleep on the job. The chicks finally nod off, each one cradled in the arms of one of their caretakers. Trasler employs a shaky line to create bold, droll cartoons on flecked and muted backgrounds. The chicks are pleasing in their simplicity: round yellow circles with dots for eyes and sideways V’s for beaks.
Spritely entertainment and gentle encouragement for toddlers. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-227469-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HarperFestival
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
Clarity and humor carry the day.
A piglet toddler learns to walk.
After growing bored, Baby Pig Pig learns to pull himself up, climb out of his playpen and walk out of the living room into the kitchen, all in the course of a day. Simple declarative sentences narrate the adventure. “He stood up and tried to walk. / He fell down. // Baby Pig Pig tried again. / This time he did it!” In companion title Baby Pig Pig Talks, the piglet struggles to say his first word. While walking with his mama, stroller-bound Baby Pig Pig tries to repeat words his mother utters as she points things out to him, to funny effect. She says, “Cat,” and he says, “Duba.” In both titles, when Baby Pig Pig finally reaches his milestone (taking his first steps, saying “Mama”), he receives a loving hug from his mom. An older Pig Pig previously starred in several picture books by McPhail, and here, he employs the same droll pen, ink and watercolor cartoons in muted tones. While the porcine tot progresses through developmental stages much too quickly and parents may wonder about his mother’s parenting skills (she leaves him on his own for extended periods and introduces him to a hissing snake), McPhail understands the simplicity required for a story for the youngest toddlers.
Clarity and humor carry the day. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-58089-596-5
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
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