Toddlers will likely enjoy the vehicles, but, as a counting book, this one doesn’t add up.
A large, green reptile and a beaver roll out vehicles with an ever increasing number of wheels in this counting book.
The crocodilian creature begins the counting exercise by happily riding on a unicycle and stating “One wheel!” via speech bubble. The beaver storms off in a huff—a scribbly black cloud over its head—and comes back on a bicycle declaring, “One MORE wheel!” Each page turn brings with it another vehicle with “one more wheel” than the conveyance prior as the critters try to out-do each other, shouting the titular repeated phrase. There’s a monster truck with four wheels, a five-wheeled desk chair, and a race car with six wheels. A white numeral printed in a large, colorful quarter-circle in the upper-left-hand corner indicates the number of wheels. This is useful, as several of the contraptions have wheels that are difficult to count. The roller skates’ eight wheels are too small, for instance, and many of the wheels are hard to discern as they are on the far side of the vehicles, as in the case of the nine wheels on the boat trailer/pickup truck combo. On the final double-page spread the beaver and reptile have finally joined forces to drive a 10-wheeled locomotive that pulls “ALL THE WHEELS!” Readers can then review all the contraptions that have come before with two telescoping panels that slide out in graduating sizes from the final page. Russo’s droll cartoons on white backgrounds enliven the project, as do three spinnable wheels on the cover.
Toddlers will likely enjoy the vehicles, but, as a counting book, this one doesn’t add up. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30759-0
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Odd Dot
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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