Fans of Baby Loves to Rock will get a kick out of this infant’s moves, but the humor is still too adult to pretend this is a...
A baby and a bevy of animals demonstrate a variety of dance moves.
With one sentence per page, the text is a mix of puns, jokes and rhymes that, while clever, will likely go over the heads of core board-book readers: “The apes like to orang-o-tango / and the sloths like to slow dance. // The kangaroos can boogaloo, / and the flamingo can flamenco.” Each critter mentioned is depicted in bright colors dancing in their requisite style against bold backgrounds. The goofy cartoons are not as successful as those in Kirwan’s earlier offering, Baby Loves to Rock (2013), but the tap-dancing woodpecker and the toucan doing the cancan are delightful standouts. As in the first title, a double-page spread appears at three different junctures, asking a variation of “But who loves to boogie?” in a graphic, bold display type floating in a disco setting. On the last two pages, readers learn that “Baby loves to boogie, woogie, / BOOGIE!” and three images of a Caucasian baby, likely the same child in as the companion title, bop across the page.
Fans of Baby Loves to Rock will get a kick out of this infant’s moves, but the humor is still too adult to pretend this is a book for actual babies. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: June 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4814-0383-2
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
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An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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