A natural fit for storytime or one-on-one bedtime sharing.
Guile gives the traditional, infectious counting song about rolling out of bed new life in this die-cut delight.
Sturdy L-shaped pages—each one a little bigger than the last—stagger to create a terraced effect, making the two rows of animals asleep in the bed seem to pop off the pages. The characters in this version are adorable stuffed animals, including a crocodile, giraffe, horse, pig, cat, duck, monkey, rabbit, bear and mouse. They roll out of the bed one by one (with sound effects—the pig says “OINK, OINK, OOPS!” and the bear “GRR, GRR, BUMP!” for instance) until only the mouse is left, looking small and fragile against the expanse of the empty bed. The text reads: “There was ONE in the bed, / and the little one said, / ‘I’m lonely! I’m lonely!’ ” The final page shows all the animals back in the bed with the little mouse snuggled right in the middle and offers a happy ending for everyone: “So they all climbed in / and snuggled up tight. / Good night! Good night!” Toddlers and preschoolers dig this repetitive count-down ditty, and they will love it even more in this engaging format.
A natural fit for storytime or one-on-one bedtime sharing. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-618-7
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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