A touching final page of baby elephant looking adoringly up to Mom confirms it: This is a perfect read for Mother’s Day or...
Elephant calf Jumbo details all the ways Mom lovingly cares for her child.
Set primarily on tan-colored backgrounds so deeply textured as to look fibery, collage-style elephants constructed from expansive, beautifully curved shapes dominate each page. From the first moment, readers perceive that while Jumbo might be small, solid and stable Mom elephant will emotionally (and literally!) shelter her baby from any storm. As some pages open on some dramatic scenes in which the small elephant stumbles off a cliff or is menaced by lions, the determined eye contact between mother and baby or the furiously red, larger-than-life mother blockading her child from danger are eminently reassuring. After the introductory action, the narrative transitions to a less-tumultuous day, with the pair playing, snacking, and snuggling, leading to a somnolent bedtime scene. Mom’s skin subtly and helpfully changes color to hint at the mood, whether she’s playfully purple or restfully green-tinged while finding food. Narrating through a series of frank observations and sentiments about Mom, Jumbo achieves that just-right tone: “Mom plays with me. She makes me laugh.” Toddlers will also relate to the simple gesture of reciprocity when Jumbo picks a flower for Mom—what small child, elephantine or not, doesn’t enjoy gifting a dandelion?
A touching final page of baby elephant looking adoringly up to Mom confirms it: This is a perfect read for Mother’s Day or any day. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-988-8341-78-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 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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