An accessible if imperfect American album.
An alphabetical tour of all things American, from Abraham Lincoln to zipper.
The uncredited author uses a predicable alphabet-book captioning structure (“B is for Baseball”; “J is for July Fourth”), relying on adult readers to explain the relationships of the various items included to the United States of America. They may well be unable to answer what makes a Ferris wheel American or, even more mystifyingly, a uniform (several military-style uniforms are depicted) or a volcano. A mix of full-page and double-page spreads presents each letter; the letter “E” spread must be rotated 90 degrees to accommodate the height of the Empire State Building. There are some odd pairings when two incongruous images are flush up against each other due to their sequence in the alphabet (chocolate chip cookies and Death Valley?). Many of the scenes are quintessentially American, such as the Liberty Bell and Martin Luther King Jr., while others seem to be have been selected for their initial letter alone. While diverse people are present in many of the group scenes, the New Orleans jazz band looks rather a bit too white, and the Thanksgiving page depicts stereotypical, smiling Native Americans and Pilgrims. The flat, inviting imagery in bold colors and rounded lines will support language development in toddlers learning to name their world and, in this case, their nation.
An accessible if imperfect American album. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: June 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-279527-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Who knew that turning the pages could be the best part of a book?
The concept of this picture book is simple enough: 10 birds topple, slip, and dive their way off the titular twig until there is one left. The text itself echoes familiar singsong-y children’s rhymes like “Five Little Pumpkins.” While it mostly succeeds, there are some awkward spots: “5 on a twig, there used to be more… / SNAP! Don’t say a word, now there are four.” (On each page the number is both spelled out and represented as a numeral). The real scene stealer, however, is the book’s interplay between Cole’s illustrations and the physical pages themselves. In much the same way Eric Carle utilizes the pages in The Very Hungry Caterpillar to show the little critter eating its way through the week, Cole uses pages of increasing width to show how the twig grows shorter as each bird falls and marches off purposefully with the others, all headed toward verso with pieces of twig in their beaks. Stylistically, the book is captivating. The very colorful, egg-shaped birds appear on a single, thin black line on a stark white background. This backdrop stands in powerful contrast to the book’s final two pages, which are set against black negative space, a theme echoed in the book’s feather-print endpapers. The heavy, thick pages make it easy for little hands to participate. The text takes a back seat to the playful and compelling design, which is sure to delight readers.
Who knew that turning the pages could be the best part of a book? (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72821-593-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
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