Constructed with extra thick pages, the book probably won’t wear out quickly, but that doesn’t justify its purchase....
Lai uses a simple counting book to introduce the board-book set to the picture-book adventurer met previously in Tomo Explores the World (2016) and Tomo Takes Flight (2017).
After a promising start—“1 bright day on Half-Moon Bay / 2 best friends go on their way”—the story becomes just a list of what the friends see (“3 big bears,” “4 funny frogs”) rather than an artful incorporation of counting into the plot. Though Half Moon Bay is an actual place in Northern California, the animals featured in this story seem to have been chosen at random; polar bears don’t live there. Similarly, Tomo and his friend are not anchored in a particular place or ethnicity. They are shown in a hot air balloon, wearing furred parkas in a boat, and on an island dock. Both are black-haired with pink skin. Latinx? Asian? Indigenous? It’s impossible to know. Except when the girl friend looks horrified at the sight of jellyfish, they are always smiling, often with tongues visible. In companion title Tomo and His Animal Friends the girl is given a name, Maya. It features the same bland digital art and suffers from the same weaknesses.
Constructed with extra thick pages, the book probably won’t wear out quickly, but that doesn’t justify its purchase. Toddlers deserve better. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 17, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-11989-6
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Imprint
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here.
The favorite game of toddlers gets a dino twist.
A large dinosaur tries to outsmart a smaller companion when the duo play peekaboo together. The big dino naïvely believes they won’t be noticed behind or under sundry hiding places, but the little pal always finds their playmate. Young listeners will giggle as the large dino attempts to outwit the little one, but in vain; in every instance, the diminutive, overalls-clad dino calls out a triumphant “Peekaboo!” How come? Is it because thin tree trunks and a potted plant can’t conceal the large dino’s frame? Do the big dino’s bold, flower-print shirts stick out a mile? Even when the large dinosaur attempts an aerial hiding place, they discover that ruse doesn’t, ahem, fly, nor does hiding in a crowd wearing a Where’s Waldo?–esque red-striped cap and T-shirt do any good. In a display of good sportsmanship, the big dino concedes at the end the game was fun. The youngest audiences, all of whom will have likely engaged in marathon peekaboo sessions themselves, will undoubtedly scramble to play again. Besides stimulating playtime, this adorable board book, expressed in lilting rhymes, boosts vocabulary development through the use of some common prepositions (behind, in) and adverbs (here, there, everywhere). The illustrations are sweetly engaging; the round cutout on the front cover invites youngsters to play peekaboo games with adult partners and others. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-840-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s not exactly original, but the execution, with familiar, appealing Cabrera illustrations, is attractive and perfect for...
This simple board book invites little ones to greet baby farm animals (including frog, bunny, and bee) with their corresponding sounds.
The first double-page spread greets readers with a bright yellow smiling sun and the text “Hello, Sun. / Hello, Day. / Wake up, babies. / Time to play!” Each succeeding spread has a distinct, gently patterned background, with very brief text on the verso (“Hello Puppy! / Woof Woof”). Filling up the recto is a vibrant illustration of the baby animal’s face, wide eyed and smiling, outlined in black. The final spread presents the face of a cute baby with chalky brown-gray skin, bright black eyes, and short black hair: “Goo Goo.” Babies and toddlers will enjoy looking at the baby faces, animals and human, and repeating the sounds. A companion book, Goodnight Bear, has a similar pattern of text and illustrations, though the palette is suitably darker. The moon, surprisingly, has its eyes shut, and succeeding spreads depict an owlet, a baby bat, a baby hedgehog, and other familiar nocturnal baby animals, all wide-awake and smiling. The final spread depicts a cute baby with pale skin, blond hair, and closed eyes.
It’s not exactly original, but the execution, with familiar, appealing Cabrera illustrations, is attractive and perfect for the target audience. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0430-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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