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PLAYTIME

Name: PLAYTIME
Author: DK
ISBN: 978-1-4654-5677-9

From the My First series

by DK ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 7, 2017

Toddlers won’t sit still for all 16 spreads but they will come back again and again to name the objects they play with every...

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Looking for suggestions for stocking a preschool toy box? Use this sturdy board book as a guide.

Common toys are organized in broad categories: cars and trucks, blocks, trains, and farm and wild animals. More whimsical categories include a dollhouse, water-play toys, things that fly, and space toys. Only “Dressing Up” includes photos of children: an Asian child playing doctor and a blond, white child proudly flexing superhero muscles. (Both have short hair.) Other dress-up costumes include a tutu, crown, pirate hat and eye patch, and clown shoes. The other spreads are gender-neutral; none of the toys are identified as being for boys or girls. Labels help expand vocabulary. For example, on the “Picnic time” page there are two teddy bears, one “sitting,” one “standing.” Several spreads invite active participation. The names of six different types of balls run across the top of that spread with colorful ribbons connecting each word to the corresponding ball. Pages devoted to art and garden tools, musical instruments, and even modeling clay may prompt caregivers to entrust their charges with these activities.

Toddlers won’t sit still for all 16 spreads but they will come back again and again to name the objects they play with every day. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4654-5677-9

Page Count: 36

Publisher: DK Publishing

Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
MY FIRST KITTEN
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli ; photographed by Jill Wachter

- BOOK REVIEW
MY FIRST OUT AND ABOUT
by Violet Peto ; illustrated by Rachael Hare

- BOOK REVIEW
MY FIRST SHAPES
by Violet Peto ; illustrated by Rachael Hare

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SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2014

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.

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This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.

Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORRY-WORRY WHALE AND THE CLASSROOM JITTERS
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
POUT-POUT FISH
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POUT-POUT FISH AND THE MAD, MAD DAY
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

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ALL ABOUT ME

From the Look & Learn series

by National Geographic ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 11, 2014

Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...

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An exploration of the human body through colorful photos.

Every other double-page spread labels the individual parts on one major area: head, torso, back, arm and leg. Ethnically diverse boy-girl pairs serve as models as arrows point to specific features and captions float nearby. While the book usefully mentions rarely depicted body parts, such as eyebrow, armpit and shin, some of the directional arrows are unclear. The arrow pointing at a girl’s shoulder hits her in the upper arm, and the belly button is hard is distinguish from the stomach (both are concealed by shirts). Facts about the human body (“Guess what? You have tiny hairs in your nose that keep out dirt”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of kids in action. Baby Animals, another title in the Look & Learn series, uses an identical format to introduce readers to seal pups, leopard cubs, elephant calves, ducklings and tadpoles. In both titles, the final spread offers a review of the information and encourages readers to match baby animals to their parents or find body parts on a photo of kids jumping on a trampoline.

Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on the right track despite earlier titles that were much too conceptual for the audience. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)