I-spy reading fun for little eyes.
A board book with great potential for interaction between a baby and the reader who shares it.
From one spread to the next, text poses observations and questions that are answered with the titular refrain, “it’s not the baby.” Accompanying pictures provide context and invite readers to point to key elements or to verbally identify them in response to the text. For example, the third double-page spread reads, “Who just tiptoed in to take frosting off the birthday cake? / It’s not the baby.” The accompanying illustration shows a grinning mouse gripping a hunk of brightly frosted cake in its front paws. Other animals and one white preschool-age child make similar mischief throughout the book, until the final spread when the white baby depicted on the cover reappears and is identified as the one who made “a great big slurp followed by a giant BURP.” “It IS the baby,” concludes the text as characters from the prior pages look on with wide-eyed expressions. The digital art uses bright colors to attract the eye and employs a cartoon style befitting the playful text, though the busyness of the pictures indicates an older toddler rather than infant audience.
I-spy reading fun for little eyes. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68152-194-7
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Amicus Ink
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
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
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
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