Beware, though, kids may want to wear their underwear like the veggies—without any clothes on top.
The vegetables in Farmer John’s garden learn all about underwear in Doodler’s latest.
Those who find underwear funny (mostly kids between 2 and 7) will have no problem overlooking the facts presented here: The veggies aren’t rooted in the ground; they have no hands, legs or butt cheeks to speak of; and they don’t have clothes to wear underwear under. None of this prevents them from checking out the many pairs of tighty whities (all different sizes) on the laundry line above their garden patch, wondering what they are for, and finally trying them on in various ways until Carrot finally sets them straight. Bad fits result in the titular wedgies, so they swap underwear until most are wedgie-free. While adults will surely cringe at the entire package, these veggies will have kids looking at their underwear in new ways. For those making the transition from diapers, this could be a turning point, especially considering the catchy jingle the vegetables sing at the end. Doodler’s characters convey a lot of emotion with just round eyes and simple mouths, though it’s too bad that Carrot, a seeming underwear expert, is stereotypically portrayed wearing glasses. But really, what’s not to like (if you’re very young) about digital vegetables with underwear on?
Beware, though, kids may want to wear their underwear like the veggies—without any clothes on top. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: May 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-9340-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
The soft cadence of the rhyming verses and the joyous pictures of the elephants will make this a bedtime favorite
When a baby elephant is born, “wrinkled and gray,” not just the herd, but the whole world rejoices, from morning to night.
From the proud Mama to the grand Aunts, from the “fertile and firm” Earth to the ancient Banyan tree, everyone and everything around the new baby elephant joins in celebration and care for the Baby “who warms the hearts of the world today.” Glowing with warm golds and greens and shadowed with deep blues and greens, the gorgeous artwork lushly illuminates the day of an elephant’s birth as it is cared for by its family and surroundings. The expressions on the elephant faces are sheer joy to behold; the elephant smiles are realistic and yet radiate affection. Seemingly simple, this gentle rhyming story works on two levels: the playfulness of the young elephant and its friends ensure that young children will be able to see themselves in the story, and given the depiction of the natural scenes, at least some young readers will become fascinated with the lives of elephants as well. An author’s note at the end provides background from the Indian-American author’s own life and also draws attention to the present-day need to protect elephants from poaching and the loss of habitat.
The soft cadence of the rhyming verses and the joyous pictures of the elephants will make this a bedtime favorite . (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-16684-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Sweet.
A caregiving bear shares with its cub how love has defined their relationship from the first moment and through the years as the cub has grown.
With rhymes and a steady rhythm that are less singsong-y than similar books, Stansbie seems to have hit a sweet spot for this offering on the I-love-you-always shelf. Readers follow the adult and child as they share special moments together—a sunset, a splash in a pond, climbing a tree, a snuggle—and the adult tells the child that the love it feels has only grown. Stansbie also takes care not to put promises in the adult bear’s mouth that can’t be delivered, acknowledging that physical proximity is not always possible: “Wherever you are, / even when we’re apart… // I’ll love you forever / with all of my heart.” The large trim size helps the sweet illustrations shine; their emphasis is on the close relationship between parent and child. Shaped peekaboo windows offer glimpses of preceding and succeeding pages, images and text carefully placed to work whatever the context. While the die cuts on the interior pages will not hold up to rough handling, they do add whimsy and delight to the book as a whole: “And now that you’re bigger, / you make my heart sing. / My / beautiful / wonderful / magical / thing.” Those last three adjectives are positioned in leaf-shaped cutouts, the turn of the page revealing the roly-poly cub in a pile of leaves, three formed by the die-cuts. Opposite, three vignettes show the cub appreciating the “beautiful,” the “wonderful,” and the “magical.”
Sweet. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68412-910-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Dolphin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
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