Resist the sad puppy eyes—sturdier and more effective puppy books are available.
A book of cute puppies: hard to go wrong, right?
Extra-puffy board pages hide tactile elements for little fingers to feel in double-page spreads that illustrate contrasting characteristics. The most effective spread contrasts a “messy puppy” with a “clean puppy” (complete with shiny bath bubbles). The small (5 inches square) trim is perfect for little hands. And what could be cuter than puppies? (Maybe Kittens, the topic of a companion volume published at the same time.) Unfortunately, the diminutive size means the tactile patches are also tiny—often less than 1 inch square. Finding the furry or soft bit becomes the game. Pages with extra-subtle tactile features (such as a Westie’s nose) will be quickly skipped over before an adult can even read the minimal text aloud. Placement of some of the patches is awkward too. A black-and-white Great Dane puppy has a bone-shaped black spot that looks as though it was carved into the poor doggy’s chest. Little fingers will tear at the page to see if there is more fur hiding underneath. The tactile elements spoil what is otherwise a language-rich bundle of cuteness.
Resist the sad puppy eyes—sturdier and more effective puppy books are available. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4654-5621-2
Page Count: 14
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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