Three different settings for a child’s morning are covered in this book from Whitman (The Night Is Like an Animal, 1995, etc.). “The sun is coming up. It’s a brand-new day on the farm,” where children awaken to the rooster’s crow and begin their chores—gathering eggs, feeding animals. In the town, “way down the road,” parents wake by an alarm clock, and children rush to get ready for the school bus. In the city, a babysitter arrives to take over as the mother heads for work; the child then goes to the park. Readers are asked, “What do you do in the morning?” Diverse family configurations are shown in watercolor paintings; these were created, it appears, through a wet-on-wet technique that makes the boundaries of objects indistinct, as if they are glimpsed through gauze. The luminous scenes make the author’s point: there are many ways to start the day, no matter where morning arrives. (Picture book. 2-4)
Pub Date: April 12, 1999
ISBN: 0-374-35527-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999
The chic home-furnishings juggernaut continues its forays into children’s books (Count, 2009, etc.). Their trademark clean, sophisticated lines and hip, muted palette adapt well to this introductory food-introduction book. Corn (on the cob), apple, orange, grapes, watermelon, strawberry, pretzel, carrots and peas all appear in appropriate, if not bold, coloration, embossed in a shiny, smooth material that, when appropriate, is embossed again to highlight salient features such as kernels of corn, watermelon seeds and pretzel salt. Go (ISBN: 978-1-60905-000-9) gives the same treatment to modes of transportation (including a blimp!) and such attendant accessories as traffic lights and directional signs. They may be a little soulless, but they will coordinate with your bath linens. (Board book. 6 mos.-1)
Pub Date: March 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-60905-001-6
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Blue Apple
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cheerful, flashy colors herald this book for toddlers from Murphy (Caterpillar’s Wish, p. 454, etc.). The stout pages depict the doings of a young, boldly outlined penguin, who is making a lot of noise. He (or she) bangs pots, jumps a lot, roller skates around the house, and in each instance, a parent penguin asks for quiet, until finally: “Outside, please!” The youngster waltzes down the garden path, where he meets up with his pals, a piglet and a bunny, for some hopping, rolling, and puddle-jumping. When his mother says he can return to the house, he has an idea: He can dance around in a pair of socks to muffle the noise. “Clever you!” says his mother. The simple, recognizable antics along with the flamboyant blue, yellow, and red should catch and hold onlookers, as will the closing page; the little penguin, now settled in his mother’s lap along with the baby, tells the crying child, “Please be quiet!” What goes around, comes around, in this jolly glimpse of a child’s noisy needs. (Picture book. 1-4)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-97113-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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