With only five double-page spreads, the book may feel on the pricey side, but little fingers will enjoy opening these...
Matt the Cat searches for a little gray mouse in five locations on the farm in this lift-the-flap offering with an embedded sound chip.
Matt looks for breakfast in the stable, pigsty, duck pond, and cowshed with no success. In each of these encounters, Matt poses the query “Have you seen a little gray mouse?” via speech bubble. Readers can lift up the flap in each double-page scene to reveal a horse, piglets, a duck with four ducklings, and a cow with calf respectively. On the final two-page spread, Matt finds the mouse in the henhouse cooking his breakfast and not, to everyone’s relief, becoming breakfast. When each flap and the sliding panel on the cover are opened, light-activated sensors trigger the sound chip enclosed in the back cover, and each animal makes it signature sound. The back page, which includes a small compartment to replace the battery, encourages readers to use the book in good light or the sound chip won’t activate. In true DK fashion, clear photos of each featured animal encourage recognition. All the backgrounds, along with Matt, the mouse, and a few farm accessories, are drawn in simple and bright two-dimensional cartoons.
With only five double-page spreads, the book may feel on the pricey side, but little fingers will enjoy opening these playfully noisy flaps as long as the battery holds out—or as long as their caregivers can take it. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4654-6313-5
Page Count: 12
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
In this board book designed for the littlest llama lovers, adorable-as-ever Llama Llama (Llama Llama Red Pajama, 2005, etc.) gets ready for some Halloween fun.
Dewdney’s characteristic spare, apt rhymes convey a lot of action in effortlessly readable fashion. A charming and simple introduction to Halloween and its associated activities, this title finds little Llama Llama choosing and carving a pumpkin, pouring candy into bowls, picking out a costume and, finally, trick-or-treating. The costume Llama Llama decides to don—pointy teeth and a black mask and cape—is enough to frighten and fool his friends but not readers, who will immediately recognize and smile at the silly little mini-Dracula. With Dewdney’s characters as expressive as ever, young readers will be drawn right into the holiday fun, eagerly anticipating which costume Llama Llama will choose and excited to see him scare his friends and score some candy at trick-or-treat. In the equally appealing companion title, Llama Llama Jingle Bells,the little fellow gets ready for Christmas, baking and decorating some cookies in anticipation of Santa’s arrival. This simple holiday title will win Llama Llama new fans, and old friends will want to add it and its companion to their collections. (Board book. 1-2)
Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-0451469786
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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