A great way to vary tots’ reading diets.
Do you know your fruit? Vibrant digital illustrations and a few interesting facts introduce nine unusual fruits that are literally “exotic,” as in not indigenous to the United States.
On recto, the fruit is seen in its natural form, whole and uncut on a contrasting background, with the name of the fruit coordinated by color (“mangosteen” is written in dark purple, for instance). That word is embedded in a sentence that describes the fruit as it looks and feels from the outside (“DRAGON FRUIT’s bright pink skin and green leaves resemble the body of a Chinese dragon”). Turn the page to see that same fruit cut or peeled, with the inside showing, and simple information about the color, shape, taste, texture, and fragrance of the fruit. (“But inside, [the lychee’s] clear flesh is sugary. Its musky smell can fill up a whole room.”) The region of origin of each fruit is mentioned on the second page along with a “fun fact” or alternative name. All the information is basic and age-appropriate. The digital illustrations are bold, colorful, and realistic. A brief note on the last page mentions where U.S. readers might find these fruits. It’s hard to get a sense of the fruits’ relative sizes, but that is a small gripe and does not detract from the punch of the book.
A great way to vary tots’ reading diets. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2802-7
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Sure to appeal to budding paleontologists everywhere.
Colorful, fun, and informative guide for pint-sized dinosaur enthusiasts.
Kid-friendly and more informative than most dino books for tots, this lift-the-flap dinosaur book is a great next step for any kid with an interest in the subject. Each double-page panorama—occasionally folding out to three or even four pages wide—is organized around types of dinosaurs or habitats. While most featured dinosaurs are land dwellers, prehistoric reptiles of the sea and sky appear as well. Dinosaurs are rendered in bright colors on a white background in a childlike style that makes even Tyrannosaurus rex not too terrifying. Make no mistake, though; the king of the dinosaurs is clearly labeled “CARNIVORE.” Folding T. rex’s head back reveals a black-and-white handsaw, to which the text likens its enormous, sharp teeth. Another marginal illustration, captioned, “Watch out! T. rex is looking for its lunch,” shows a Triceratops specimen on a plate. Yet another reads, “Crushed dinosaur bones have been found in T. rex poop!” Several racially diverse kids appear in each scene, like toddler scientists variously observing, inspecting, and riding on the dinosaurs depicted. In addition to teaching the difference between herbivores and carnivores, the book also conveys a sense of the scale of these prehistoric beasts: Diplodocus is two school buses long, a Triceratops adult is the size of an elephant, and a Velociraptor is the size of a turkey, for example.
Sure to appeal to budding paleontologists everywhere. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0809-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A cheery board book to reinforce the oneness of babykind.
Ten babies in 10 countries greet friends in almost 10 languages.
Countries of origin are subtly identified. For example, on the first spread, NYC is emblazoned on a blond, white baby’s hat as well as a brown baby’s scoot-car taxi. On the next spread, “Mexico City” is written on a light brown toddler’s bike. A flag in each illustration provides another hint. However, the languages are not named, so on first reading, the fine but important differences between Spanish and Portuguese are easily missed. This is also a problem on pages showing transliterated Arabic from Cairo and Afrikaans from Cape Town. Similarly, Chinese and Japanese are transliterated, without use of traditional hànzì or kanji characters. British English is treated as a separate language, though it is, after all, still English. French (spoken by 67 million people) is included, but German, Russian, and Hindi (spoken by 101 million, 145 million, and 370 million respectively) are not. English translations are included in a slightly smaller font. This world survey comes full circle, ending in San Francisco with a beige baby sleeping in an equally beige parent’s arms. The message of diversity is reinforced by images of three babies—one light brown, one medium brown, one white—in windows on the final spread.
A cheery board book to reinforce the oneness of babykind. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-938093-87-6
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Duo Press
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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