Morgand’s silk-screen illustrations are lively and colorful, but ambiguities and mistakes seriously detract from the value...
All kinds of animals are eagerly taking part in an Olympics-style athletic competition in this French import.
Numbers counting up from one to 20 and back down from 20 to one are shown, one Arabic numeral plus simple text on each page. Each animal is portrayed doing what they do best: The big cats jump over “3 hurdles” while running between “4 white lines”; the kangaroo does the high jump (landing on “5 crash mats”); the seals do gymnastics (using “7 rings”); and “8 monkeys” bounce on a trampoline. A bear lifts “9 weights”; crocodiles swim in a pool marked by “13 white lane floats” and “14 red lane floats”; a fox plays tennis (accessorized with “16 spare sweatbands”). Onlookers wear “17 pairs of sunglasses” and eat “18 tubs of popcorn” (one elephant does without shades). No. 19 (a ball-playing rabbit) is injured, and the cat referee calls a 20-minute break. Counting down is similarly handled. Whereas many books in this genre illustrate the number of items represented by the number, this book sometimes uses abstract concepts: “2 blows on the whistle,” and “a perfect score! 10”; 19 is given similarly short shrift (represented twice by the bunny’s jersey number). More seriously, there are some miscounts, notably “3 hurdles” (there appear to be five) and “17 empty water bottles” (there are 18).
Morgand’s silk-screen illustrations are lively and colorful, but ambiguities and mistakes seriously detract from the value of this book as an educational tool. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 22, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-500-65154-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale.
The classic picture book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) gets a makeover for Easter as the letters of the alphabet locate and decorate eggs.
The mission is simple: “Chicka chicka peek peek. / Everybody seek seek! / Find all the eggs / in the pretty pink tree.” The letters are making their way up the flowering tree in search of the hidden eggs when a “SNEEZE!” scatters everyone and the eggs fall and crack. Luckily, a bunny hops by with a haul of new ones, which the letters then paint and bedazzle, eventually sharing the newly decorated eggs with a group of bunnies. This picture book is a successfully Easter-fied version of the original: The letters go up; the letters fall down. Truly, though, that’s all the preschool crowd needs. Chung’s illustrations are simple and familiar, a direct echo of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The letters appear in colorful, bold, block form. The book has few added details, just focal images like the tree and its pink flowers, the colorful eggs, tufts of grass, and some friendly rabbits. The alphabet appears in order (both upper- and lowercase letters) at the book’s open and close. The rhyming text follows the iconic cadence of the source material, making for a worthy read-aloud that will keep little hands turning pages.
A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9781665990646
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Let these crayons go back into their box.
The Crayons return to celebrate Easter.
Six crayons (Red, Orange, Yellow, Esteban, who is green and wears a yellow cape, White, and Blue) each take a shape and scribble designs on it. Purple, perplexed and almost angry, keeps asking why no one is creating an egg, but the six friends have a great idea. They take the circle decorated with red shapes, the square adorned with orange squiggles “the color of the sun,” the triangle with yellow designs, also “the color of the sun” (a bit repetitious), a rectangle with green wavy lines, a white star, about which Purple remarks: “DID you even color it?” and a rhombus covered with blue markings and slap the shapes onto a big, light-brown egg. Then the conversation turns to hiding the large object in plain sight. The joke doesn’t really work, the shapes are not clear enough for a concept book, and though colors are delineated, it’s not a very original color book. There’s a bit of clever repartee. When Purple observe that Esteban’s green rectangle isn’t an egg, Esteban responds, “No, but MY GOSH LOOK how magnificent it is!” Still, that won’t save this lackluster book, which barely scratches the surface of Easter, whether secular or religious. The multimedia illustrations, done in the same style as the other series entries, are always fun, but perhaps it’s time to retire these anthropomorphic coloring implements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Let these crayons go back into their box. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-62105-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
