This is a solid visual introduction to Alexander Calder for young art aficionados, but the text fails as a counting book as...
Using counting as a framework, this book invites viewers to look closely at works by sculptor Alexander Calder.
Calder’s art features prominently, with expansive and clear photographs set against a glossy white background. It’s a lovely, well-curated collection of Calder’s work, including kid-pleasing, colorful mobiles, representational bent-wire sculptures, and solid stabiles, a kind of immobile statuary. Unfortunately, on pages with a relatively high word count, the bold, all-caps type distracts from the delicate art. Written as a direct engagement to readers, this is ostensibly a concept book. However, that intent is lost as it alternates between a simple counting format and convoluted directives. The book works nicely where expectations are clear: “TWO PIECES FLYING HIGH!” Where the text abandons the concept-book formula, however, it leaves readers confused about how to approach the task. When counting balls on a mobile, the answer should ostensibly be “FOUR. BUT WHAT ABOUT THAT TINY RED ONE? OKAY: FIVE!” Frequent narrative interjections, such as “SLOW DOWN!” or “PHEW!” further disrupt the flow. A brief section in which the text is more open-ended, inviting readers to create their own numerical criteria, is more successful. The last page provides a brief Calder biography.
This is a solid visual introduction to Alexander Calder for young art aficionados, but the text fails as a counting book as it strains just a little too hard to be playful . (Board book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7148-7510-1
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Phaidon
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their...
Less ambitious than Chris Gall’s widely known Dinotrux (2009) and sequels, this British import systematically relegates each dinosaur/construction-equipment hybrid to its most logical job.
The title figures are introduced as bigger than both diggers and dinosaurs, and rhyming text and two construction-helmeted kids show just what these creatures are capable of. Each diggersaur has a specific job to do and a distinct sound effect. The dozersaurus moves rocks with a “SCRAAAAPE!!!” while the rollersaurus flattens lumps with a cheery “TOOT TOOT!!” Each diggersaur is numbered, with 12 in all, allowing this to be a counting book on the sly. As the diggersaurs (not all of which dig) perform jobs that regular construction equipment can do, albeit on a larger scale, there is no particular reason why any of them should have dinosaurlike looks other than just ’cause. Peppy computer art tries valiantly to attract attention away from the singularly unoriginal text. “Diggersaurs dig with bites so BIG, / each SCOOP creates a crater. // They’re TOUGH and STRONG / with necks so long— / they’re super EXCAVATORS!” Far more interesting are the two human characters, a white girl and a black boy, that flit about the pictures offering commentary and action. Much of the fun of the book can be found in trying to spot them on every two-page spread.
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their dino/construction kicks. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-4779-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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