Children learn gender stereotypes soon enough. No need to rush the process.
Pinkalicious spreads her message to the board-book set.
And it is relentless. “One wand, “two teacups,” and “three teddy bears” set a stereotypically girly stage. There is the occasional feeble attempt to counteract this, but inserting a few “boy toys” among all the Pinkalicious paraphernalia is jarring, not egalitarian. A brown basketball, green tennis ball, and white baseball with five otherwise pastel balls feel out of place. Six of the “ten toys” are typically associated with boys (though the airplane is pink), but then the book reverts to theme with a heart-shaped constellation of 11 stars, followed by passive pages of candy, butterflies, snowflakes, seashells, hearts, etc. (Yes, our heroine is shown climbing a precarious stack of furniture to reach pink cupcakes on top of a refrigerator, but that's not the kind of spunk most parents want their little darlings—whatever their genders—to emulate.) Pinkalicious ABC, published simultaneously, includes a scant handful of boys in three pictures. The only other male is a surly-looking man (dad?) hiding behind the Pinkville “newspaper” opposite a doting “M is for Mommy.”
Children learn gender stereotypes soon enough. No need to rush the process. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: May 24, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-243757-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperFestival
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nifty way to get preschoolers up and moving, made even more effective by the accompanying music (available for download...
Indie rock musician and author/illustrator Harrington appropriately combines his musical and artistic skills in this creative take on such music and movement games as “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”
In an exuberantly interactive style, young readers are directed by a miscellany of cute animals to wave their hands, tug their ears, shrug their shoulders, touch their noses, blink their eyes, kiss, and touch tummies, simply because “I think every little bit of you is yummy, yummy, yummy!” In strong, simple rhyming format, Harrington connects body parts to actions in a way that will have even grown-ups jumping and jiving. The last page teaches the “Yummy Dance” with simple graphic diagrams. The bold, brightly colored digital illustrations tend to brashness and a simplicity verging on monotony. This tendency is alleviated by humorous touches such as the wacky collection of shoes on the centipede’s feet and the funny, warm connections between the animals in the illustrations: a tiger lavishly licks her cub, and two penguins charmingly press a balloon to their ample tummies.
A nifty way to get preschoolers up and moving, made even more effective by the accompanying music (available for download from the publisher). (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: May 19, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-232816-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Vibrant visuals cannot make up for a potty book that just doesn’t rate. No, Pea, No! (Picture book. 2-4)
A single pea pushes himself to finish a race in this punny potty metaphor.
Pea Junior hasn’t time to say hello. Instead it’s time to “Go! Go! Go! GO!” as he dashes forward along the winding, yellow stripe. All his training is paying off, and he’s ignoring distractions on every corner. Pushing through doubts, at last he arrives at the finish line, and readers learn that in truth this was actually a run for the bathroom. While parents may be able to connect Pea’s helter-skelter sprint with a small child’s potty dash, many toddlers will be wondering why he has to wash his hands after his marathon. The connection between running and peeing is tenuous at best, for while readers see Pea remembering his physical-fitness training, at no time do they see anyone sitting on a potty. Questionable scansion and rhymes also mar the read (“Pea wants to give up / and say, ‘Forget it, I quit.’ / But if he does that, / he will really regret it”). The art is the true draw here, remaining upbeat and jolly every step of the race. The inclusion of star stickers and a potty chart for marking progress gears this to individual rather than library use.
Vibrant visuals cannot make up for a potty book that just doesn’t rate. No, Pea, No! (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7624-5678-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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