Quibbles aside, the whole whimsical package is a visually pleasing introduction to rainbow colors for toddlers.
Little ones learn some basic colors.
Despite what the title says, there’s really no surprise. This whole board book makes a rainbow. The small, smiling, white, scalloped cloud that is the front cover opens to reveal a somewhat larger quarter circle of red. Each successively larger quarter circle (pages are reinforced with foam) opens to uncover the next color of the rainbow. With only six color-specific spreads, there is no room for both indigo and violet, so the more-common term “purple” has been substituted. This divergence from the common mnemonic (ROYGBIV) is acceptable considering the age of the intended audience, and the final double-page spread, which reproduces the rainbow with all seven colors, offers opportunities for motivated caregivers to explore further. As is common in books about color, the name of the color is printed in it on each page and is accompanied by the names and pictures of objects commonly associated with that color. The examples for red (apple and firetruck) and green (grass and frog) make perfect sense. But “the bill of a duck” (the fowl is distractingly green, popping against the orange of the background) for orange, “the fur of a dog” for yellow, and a whale for blue may be more confusing than edifying for literal-minded 2-year-olds. And butterflies and flowers come in many colors, not just purple.
Quibbles aside, the whole whimsical package is a visually pleasing introduction to rainbow colors for toddlers. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-11098-2
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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