Best suited for those eager young readers who thrive on facts.
This latest addition to the American Museum of Natural History’s ABC series is dedicated to birds, from the familiar to the not so familiar.
Twenty-six birds make an appearance in this attractive, oversized board book. Using eye-catching design, a crisp photograph of each bird is digitally placed against a colorful background and its corresponding letter, which often acts as its perch as well. Budding naturalists will love the little factoid accompanying each bird. The information presented uses rich and at times sophisticated language, yet context allows it to be easily comprehended by the target age group. The ABC format is not intended to be a letter-learning exercise but a vehicle to present the birds, and this will probably work best as a browsing book to come back to, over and over, rather than one to read in one sitting and then put down. Children may be familiar with some of the birds, such as a cockatoo, a duck, an eagle, an owl, and a penguin; some others, such as a bee-eater, a grebe, an umbrella bird, a nightjar, and a xenops, might motivate them and their adult readers to go looking for more information.
Best suited for those eager young readers who thrive on facts. (Informational board book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4549-1986-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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