Both titles are clear and successful in their mission if a little boring. Flashcards in board-book form. (Board book. 2-5)
Starting at one teddy bear and continuing up to 20 jelly beans, readers are encouraged to count clear, stock photos and trace numbers in this tactile lift-the-flap book.
Above the flap, a specific number is introduced (“four penguins”), and under the flap, youngsters are encouraged to count and determine the amount on their own (“How many cars?”). An oversized image of the numeral accompanies the objects to be counted, and a channel in the page allows readers to trace the number. A dotted line with arrows shows young learners how to trace the number with their fingers, with a gray circle showing where to begin and a red one, where to stop. Colorful, tactile dots on the final pages let little ones practice counting as they drag their fingers down the page. This works with numbers one through 10, but gets near impossible with 11 through 20, as the dots shrink to fit the space. The companion title, First ABC (978-1-58925-66-2), follows in kind. One object, animal or person starting with the featured letter appears above the flap (“Bb is for balloons”), and another is revealed below (“Bb is bear”). Again, a channel in the page is provided so readers can trace the uppercase letters, but, strangely enough, not the lowercase ones. The images chosen for each letter, from an alligator to a zipper, are easily recognized, typical alphabet-book fair. The flaps, which could have been sturdier, provide few surprises.
Both titles are clear and successful in their mission if a little boring. Flashcards in board-book form. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-625-5
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale.
The classic picture book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) gets a makeover for Easter as the letters of the alphabet locate and decorate eggs.
The mission is simple: “Chicka chicka peek peek. / Everybody seek seek! / Find all the eggs / in the pretty pink tree.” The letters are making their way up the flowering tree in search of the hidden eggs when a “SNEEZE!” scatters everyone and the eggs fall and crack. Luckily, a bunny hops by with a haul of new ones, which the letters then paint and bedazzle, eventually sharing the newly decorated eggs with a group of bunnies. This picture book is a successfully Easter-fied version of the original: The letters go up; the letters fall down. Truly, though, that’s all the preschool crowd needs. Chung’s illustrations are simple and familiar, a direct echo of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The letters appear in colorful, bold, block form. The book has few added details, just focal images like the tree and its pink flowers, the colorful eggs, tufts of grass, and some friendly rabbits. The alphabet appears in order (both upper- and lowercase letters) at the book’s open and close. The rhyming text follows the iconic cadence of the source material, making for a worthy read-aloud that will keep little hands turning pages.
A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9781665990646
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
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