This deceptively simple concept book is the opposite of confusing.
A guessing game about opposites in a cleverly designed board book that epitomizes the maxim “show, don’t tell.”
The rather abstract concept of opposites is successfully demonstrated in Baruzzi’s whimsical, graphically flat cartoon illustrations. Older children will quickly learn the formula. The left-hand page of each spread poses a binary choice with the first option illustrated on the facing page. But pull the gatefolded page to the right, and it expands to a full 13-inch illustration of the second one. So a small blue truck is shown to be pulling a large blue-and-yellow excavator, one sheep is revealed to be part of a flock, closed window shutters open to a sunny view, etc. Opening each flap provides an “aha” moment, if not exactly a surprise. Most of the choices are obvious, though one might wonder why fish in an aquarium stay only in the hidden section and how a shirt came to be dirtied on only one side. Similarly, the thin pencil has no logical relationship to the wide bridge; the edges of the bridge just fold conveniently to create a yellow colored pencil. But these are small matters. With the text limited to just one three-word question (“Short or long?”) per spread, young readers are allowed to use their own words to describe what pulling the flap reveals.
This deceptively simple concept book is the opposite of confusing. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-988-8341-37-5
Page Count: 20
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As with many holiday gifts, the sparkly packaging may interest toddlers more than what’s inside.
Readers can count down eight of Santa's reindeer as they jump up and out of the scene.
In each one of the mostly double-page spreads, one reindeer, from Dasher to Blitzen, plays a central role in a winter activity (sledding, ski jumping, ice skating—and soccer and yoga?) that launches the creature into the air. Glitter-speckled tabs, each with small portraits of a member of Santa's herd, appear at either the top or the right side of each page, which little fingers will enjoy flipping. In what looks to be pencil-and-watercolor cartoons, Rogers uses different facial expressions, as well as collars, bows or other accessories, to distinguish the reindeer from one another. Donner (not Donder) and Blitzen are squeezed together on the penultimate spread, likely to keep the page count down. The verse mostly scans, but the rhyme scheme has become the cliché of counting books: "Eight jolly reindeer / stretching up to heaven. / Up goes Dasher / and then there are... // Seven...." Santa, his iconic sleigh and the eight reindeer in flight make a dramatic and required appearance on the book's final double-page spread.
As with many holiday gifts, the sparkly packaging may interest toddlers more than what’s inside. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-65145-5
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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