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IN SPRING / EN PRIMAVERA

Name: IN SPRING / EN PRIMAVERA
Author: Susana Madinabeitia Manso
ISBN: 978-1-936669-56-1

by Susana Madinabeitia Manso ; illustrated by Emily Hanako Momohara ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2017

Unfortunately, not a first-choice purchase.

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A bilingual English/Spanish board book about spring.

This book features photographs of a brown-skinned little tot with a big smile and a head of curly hair. Each double-page spread starts with the repeating opener “In spring…” followed by some feature associated with the season. “Seeds grow. / I want to grow like a seed!” As the little child stretches both arms overhead, the text reads, “Don’t you think I make a good seed?” or, with lips puckered to whistle, “Birds sing. / I want to sing like a bird / Don’t you think I make a good bird?” The Spanish equivalent follows the English text: “En primavera… / Las semillas crecen. / ¡Quiero crecer como una semilla! / ¿A que sería una buena semilla?” Not all the elements explored are necessarily exclusive to spring, though. Rainbows paint the sky, bunnies hop, and birds sing in other seasons beside spring. And things may splash into puddles, but puddles don’t splash of their own volition. So when the text reads, “In spring… / Puddles splash. / I want to splash like a puddle!” it is giving readers misleading information. Though these are not fatal flaws, it is nevertheless a pity, as there is so very little in board-book format that covers the seasons in Spanish.

Unfortunately, not a first-choice purchase. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: April 4, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-936669-56-1

Page Count: 14

Publisher: blue manatee press

Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
IN WINTER / EN INVIERNO
by Susana Madinabeitia Manso ; illustrated by Emily Hanako Momohara

- BOOK REVIEW
IN SUMMER / EN VERANO
by Susana Madinabeitia Manso ; illustrated by Emily Hanako Momohara

- BOOK REVIEW
IN AUTUMN / EN OTOÑO
by Susana Madinabeitia Manso ; photographed by Emily Hanako Momohara

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ANIMALS HIDE AND SNEAK

written and illustrated by Bastien Contraire ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 22, 2017

Handsome but so sneaky as to be frustrating.

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Youngsters are invited to find the object or creature that doesn’t fit in with a similar grouping of animals.

In arrays spread out on (mostly) double-page spreads, a rocking horse hides among a drove of real horses, a cat sits with a variety of breeds of dogs, and so on. The project is wordless except for the introductory text that introduces the game with echoes of Sesame Street: “One of these things is almost like the others….” Some of the groupings are quite clever: a straight belt is placed amid a row of curvy snakes, a mechanical crane is perched between a living crane and two other long-legged birds, and the sole human figure, who looks to be a shirtless white male, is the only being to walk on two legs in a primate troop. To assist guessers, the final double-page spread shows all the outliers from the subsequent groupings. Using only yellow, purple, and a deep and dusky brown that is created when these two shades are mixed, Contraire uses stencils to create his figures against a creamy white background. While many of the animals and objects are instantly recognizable, the contrast of the mostly yellow critters against white backgrounds makes identification tricky for the board-book set. And while the book design is handsome, the lack of color variation in the art gives the offering a one-note feel.

Handsome but so sneaky as to be frustrating. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: May 22, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-7148-7422-7

Page Count: 26

Publisher: Phaidon

Review Posted Online: May 30, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
FOOD HIDE AND SNEAK
illustrated by Bastien Contraire

- BOOK REVIEW
VEHICLES HIDE AND SNEAK
by Bastien Contraire ; illustrated by Bastien Contraire

- BOOK REVIEW
UNDERCOVER
by Bastien Contraire ; illustrated by Bastien Contraire

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LET'S PLAY FOOTBALL

From the Let's Play series

by Nancy Hall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 29, 2017

A passable introduction for little linebackers and half-pint halfbacks, but it will probably please football-enthusiast...

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Football basics for the littlest fans.

Each football-shaped page presents American football–related photos and one to two sentences of descriptive text. Many of the images are heavily labeled and captioned with football terminology, such as “end zone,” “helmet,” “cleats,” and “penalty flag.” One of the few double-page spreads presents a bird’s-eye view of the football field and labels such elements as “pylons,” “50-yard line,” and “1-yard hash marks.” It’s anyone’s guess what toddlers will make of the play diagram crowded with X’s, O’s, and arrows. In the photos, almost all the players, who have skin tones that range from white to black, look to be male. Just enough of the basic moves and plays of football are presented for youngsters, such as passing, catching, and kicking. As the book is football-shaped with faux leather cover and imitation laces, little ones may try to throw or kick the book itself. The project ends by encouraging would-be players to have fun and go play.

A passable introduction for little linebackers and half-pint halfbacks, but it will probably please football-enthusiast caregivers more than it will their children. (Board book. 2-3)