A sumptuous visual delight for all fans of pups and rainbows, with stumbling text.
A dog frolics with colors.
A white dog sleeps in an empty black room. The nubbly texture of the black floor and gray carpet match the nubbly texture of the dog’s poodle-like fur. From the window, yellow light streams onto the black floor, and a barely visible yellow bird—or perhaps an unseen narrative voice—calls, “Wake up, little pup.” The dog emerges outside, and everything’s yellow: landscape, sun, the bird’s swirling flight path. Each spread highlights a new color, in spectrum sequence—yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green—a brief phrase introducing the color (set in all-caps) so they rhyme. Visually, each color makes its way onto the dog’s fur, joining the previous colors there. The colors move along the dog’s fur, staying in spectrum sequence, until barely any white remains. A storm upsets both mood and color, at first dismayingly, but everything will be well. Morley’s cheerful illustrations are both soft and bright, the rainbow hues melding amiably into one another with dotted, nubbly transitions. However, the text is bumpy. While the verbs are playful—“leap, lunge”—the rhyme often takes liberties (“circle. / PURPLE”), and the scansion is sometimes abysmal, requiring incorrect syllable emphases (“Out we go! / YELLOW”) or plunking down a rhyme with no rhythmic path leading to it (“Sniff, wade, splash through. / BLUE”). A few lines do scan and rhyme well across page turns: “Shiver, huddle, stay. / GRAY // Whisper, nudge. Look! PLAY!”
A sumptuous visual delight for all fans of pups and rainbows, with stumbling text. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-399-55945-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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BOOK REVIEW
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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