Like the animals’ knickers, there’s not much to this one-joke offering.
“Animals, animals- everywhere— / from A to Z in their underwear!”
So begins this march through the alphabet with a bevy of animals sporting various undergarments. On each page or under a flap, an alligator wears striped drawers, a bat flies with multicolored undies, a chicken dons pink-and-purple panties and so on, with a colorful block letter and a simple label floating nearby. Many of the usual alphabet-book critters are here, such as Elephant, Frog and Goldfish, but there are a couple of surprises, particularly Nanny goat for N. As the letters get more challenging, things grow progressively sillier, ushering in an extra-large pig in heart-decked briefs, a purple yak in blue, yellow, green and red underwear, and a multicolored zebra with no underwear at all. Parr’s signature cartoons using bold colors, thick black lines and childlike forms will be easily recognizable to his fans. The use of flaps here mainly seems to be a space-saving device to compress multiple letters into a spread, since they do not offer any surprises or changes on the inside, as is typical in other lift-the-flap titles.
Like the animals’ knickers, there’s not much to this one-joke offering. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-316-20736-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: LB Kids/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A satisfying friendship story to share with very young children in the days leading up to Halloween.
This board book twists the traditional “Teeny Tiny” tale into a less-scary Halloween treat.
This version uses a singsong-y rhythm and cadence to tell the story. “In the teeny tiny barn / Of a teeny tiny house... / Lived a teeny tiny ghost / and a teeny tiny mouse.” Of course the ghost (being teeny tiny) is not very frightening. “But the determined little ghost / Let her mighty courage through / And with a teeny tiny breath / She said a teeny tiny: boo.” Spoiler alert: After just seven page turns the ghost and mouse become friends: “And now the teeny tinies play / In the teeny tiny house. / Just a teeny tiny ghost / And her best friend, mouse.” Pumpkins decorate the cover and final spread and illustrations throughout are in autumnal hues. The fairly high-for-the-format word count—19 to 21 words per page—may be more than toddlers will sit still for, but the “teeny tiny” repetition and rhymes will help. The size (just 6 inches square) makes using the book with a group a challenge, but with a lap-sitting child, it’ll be a pleasure.
A satisfying friendship story to share with very young children in the days leading up to Halloween. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-31848-7
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Good for a giggle from preschool readers despite its slight imperfections.
A brightly illustrated story told in rhyme about mixed-up robots getting ready for the day.
Holub and Dickason team up for another title echoing the style of their similarly formatted Hello Knights! and Hello Ninjas! (both 2018). Here, the titular robots are having trouble getting ready for the day. They put socks on top of shoes and even forget how to eat their cereal, pouring milk on their heads and flipping their bowls upside down on the table. The confusion comes to a climax in a double gatefold in which the robots realize that they need a reboot, correcting their routines. Young readers will delight in the silliness: underpants on heads, bathing in clothes. Holub’s rhyming text works well for the most part and includes some charming turns of phrase, such as “brushing bolts” in place of brushing teeth. Dickason’s illustrations use a consistent palette of mostly primary colors and feature 1960s-style robots drawn with antennae, motherboards on boxy chests, and wheels for feet. The pages are busy and packed, allowing for new discoveries upon each read, though this busyness argues for use with older toddlers. It’s not entirely clear where the robots are headed (school?) or whether or not they’re also ETs (they fly away on a spaceship), but the story is fun enough to overlook those muddled details.
Good for a giggle from preschool readers despite its slight imperfections. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1871-4
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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