Here is one case where more is definitely just right.
Who doesn’t love getting a little more? Otto is an expert at “More!”
“Otto was a very BUSY rhino. / His space station was bigger than Mom. And even bigger than Dad. But still NOT big ENOUGH!” But after he adds extra platforms and towers and rockets, Otto’s cardboard space station goes “CRASH!” More cupcakes are always good, but Grandma and Mom are not pleased Otto ate them all. Otto likes more noisy things (drums and horns) and more quiet things (books at storytime). When he’s invited to his friend’s costume birthday party, Otto makes his own outfit: a huge, wearable spaceship with wings and puff balls and a cone. Everyone thinks it’s amazing…but it slows him down. He can’t play or free himself from the shrubbery, meaning he misses out on the cake! Otto learns more is not always better, except when the “more” is more friends. Corderoy and Warnes team up for a third Otto title in which the young rhino learns the concepts behind his new words. A nice mix of spot, full-page, and double-page-spread images in soft, bright colors depict enthusiastic and smiling anthropomorphic animals. Toddlers will recognize themselves, and maybe they’ll even internalize the message.
Here is one case where more is definitely just right. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-84869-134-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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