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HOLLY’S RED BOOTS

Name: HOLLY’S RED BOOTS
Author: Francesca Chessa
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2158-9

by Francesca Chessa & illustrated by Francesca Chessa ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2008

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Holly wants to make a snowman, but cannot find her red boots to keep her feet dry. “I promised my slippers I would show them the snow!” she explains to her mom as she gets ready to step out in her green bunny slippers. With broad strokes of the brightest and deepest colors, the illustrations effortlessly convey Holly’s infectious enthusiasm for life as she and Jasper the cat look at everything red they can find—and there are a lot of ordinary and extraordinary red items to find. Her red toy car is big enough to carry Holly and Jasper, but it won’t keep her feet dry, and the decorative sombrero she climbed up to get in the closet is so big it just about swallows her up. Other dress-up gear will bring the giggles out, especially the little red socks that fit right on Jasper’s ears. Holly will make everyone smile, even after she finds the red boots, figures out which is the right and left foot and discovers the snow has all melted into deliciously splashable puddles. The seamless combination of art and text will be rollicking fun for young readers. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-0-8234-2158-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Holiday House

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2008

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
WHO HAS WIGGLE-WAGGLE TOES?
by Vicky Shiefman ; illustrated by Francesca Chessa

- BOOK REVIEW
IS IT A MERMAID?
by Candy Gourlay ; illustrated by Francesca Chessa

- BOOK REVIEW
ELLIOT'S ARCTIC SURPRISE
by Catherine Barr ; illustrated by Francesca Chessa

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TEN LITTLE FISH

by Audrey Wood & illustrated by Bruce Wood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2004

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This charming, colorful counting tale of ten little fish runs full-circle. Although the light verse opens and closes with ten fish swimming in a line, page-by-page the line grows shorter as the number of fish diminishes one-by-one. One fish dives down, one gets lost, one hides, and another takes a nap until a single fish remains. Then along comes another fish to form a couple and suddenly a new family of little fish emerges to begin all over. Slick, digitally-created images of brilliant marine flora and fauna give an illusion of underwater depth and silence enhancing the verse’s numerical and theatrical progression. The holistic story bubbles with life’s endless cycle. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-439-63569-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FULL MOON AT THE NAPPING HOUSE
by Audrey Wood ; illustrated by Don Wood

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BIRTHDAY QUEEN
by Audrey Wood ; illustrated by Don Wood

- BOOK REVIEW
IT'S DUFFY TIME!
by Audrey Wood & illustrated by Don Wood

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

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A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)