by Virginie Aracil ; illustrated by Virginie Aracil ; translated by Wendeline A. Hardenberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 4, 2020
Good intentions notwithstanding, this French import is not really a reason to celebrate.
Mr. Bear’s birthday guests are on their way!
There’s a party at Mr. Bear’s house, and a madcap group is invited: animals (among them an “always cold” pup in knit cap and puffy coat), humans (one is a pale goth girl accessorized with a snake), and even a visitor “from far away” (an aggressively green, party-hat–clad ET). The eclectic guests include a sloth zooming in a wheelchair, one child with a single parent and another with two dads, and a gender-nonconforming child with a stereotypical boy’s haircut who “likes to wear dresses.” All the aforementioned humans present White; there is only one guest of color, a Black child with an exuberant Afro who, in a rather offensive touch, bears a comb as a gift. “Everyone is invited” is an earnest message, but it gets lost among the long, meandering list of attendees, with the promised party an afterthought. Set against brilliant backgrounds, the dapper guests are illustrated in a portrait style, with their prominent heads gazing out at readers. Labeled, disappointingly flimsy fold-out flaps concealing the gifts accentuate the fantastical ambience, with a “portable radio” present from a rhino in his undies and a first-edition Proust from a bibliophile bear. An almost comically oversized trim has scale problems: It’s cumbersome for lap children, but the foldouts are too small to use in group settings.
Good intentions notwithstanding, this French import is not really a reason to celebrate. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-03631-825-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014
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
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by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson
by Audrey Penn & illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson
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