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
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Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
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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