The tactile elements, engaging visuals, and provocative word clusters offer a rewarding experience for adults and tots alike.
Different types of vehicles are introduced using tactile images paired with word clusters.
Each double-page spread highlights a certain type of vehicle, with raised images on the left-hand pages fitting into matching indentations on the right. For example, on the “Train” spread, readers see a curving set of train tracks recessed into the thick board pages on the right, paired with the raised image of a train on the left. The illustrations are simple, colorful, and appealing, and the textures and word clusters invite exploration. The word cluster for the aforementioned spread includes several nouns separated by small gray dots (locomotive, tracks, caboose, passenger car, curve, windows, and roof) as well as a couple of participles in italics (chugging, rolling). The indentations and raised images aren’t always an exact match, and this just adds to the fun of discovery. On the spaceship spread, the image of a large crescent moon is recessed into the right-hand page, while the left features a raised spaceship (which fits into the space carved out by the moon but doesn’t fill it entirely). Companion title Farm follows a similar format, highlighting adorable farm animals and providing related words to spark conversation.
The tactile elements, engaging visuals, and provocative word clusters offer a rewarding experience for adults and tots alike. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-4516-7
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Handprint/Chronicle
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Who knew that turning the pages could be the best part of a book?
The concept of this picture book is simple enough: 10 birds topple, slip, and dive their way off the titular twig until there is one left. The text itself echoes familiar singsong-y children’s rhymes like “Five Little Pumpkins.” While it mostly succeeds, there are some awkward spots: “5 on a twig, there used to be more… / SNAP! Don’t say a word, now there are four.” (On each page the number is both spelled out and represented as a numeral). The real scene stealer, however, is the book’s interplay between Cole’s illustrations and the physical pages themselves. In much the same way Eric Carle utilizes the pages in The Very Hungry Caterpillar to show the little critter eating its way through the week, Cole uses pages of increasing width to show how the twig grows shorter as each bird falls and marches off purposefully with the others, all headed toward verso with pieces of twig in their beaks. Stylistically, the book is captivating. The very colorful, egg-shaped birds appear on a single, thin black line on a stark white background. This backdrop stands in powerful contrast to the book’s final two pages, which are set against black negative space, a theme echoed in the book’s feather-print endpapers. The heavy, thick pages make it easy for little hands to participate. The text takes a back seat to the playful and compelling design, which is sure to delight readers.
Who knew that turning the pages could be the best part of a book? (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72821-593-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
An inventive and extensive counting experience that will delight youngsters.
Shaped pages help youngsters count to 10 and beyond.
Two stylish double-page spreads are devoted to each number one through 10 and then, counting by 10s, to 100. In the first spread, the right-hand side is a page-high, die-cut numeral that spills off the page; to its left, a squirrel holds an acorn. With the turn of the page, there’s a transformation. “One acorn becomes… / one oak tree!” A portion of the object, animal or person being altered is visible through the die-cut openings; a sand castle peeks through the “0” of the number 10, for instance. Once the page is turned, the background from the previous left-hand page merges with the full double-page spread. As in the earlier Alphablock (2013), the helpfulness of these visual hints is uneven. After 10, 20 caterpillars become 20 butterflies, 30 baskets of cucumbers become 30 jars of pickles, and 40 eggs become 39 chicks and one dinosaur. The whole shebang ends with 100 puzzle pieces fitting together into “one big puzzle!” in the book’s only double gatefold. Peskimo’s muted color palette and droll cartoon style works well with the playful concept. The same worries about the binding that arose with Alphablock are an issue here, but the conceit will likely appeal to older children anyway.
An inventive and extensive counting experience that will delight youngsters. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1374-3
Page Count: 94
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
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