All sparkle and no substance. (Board book. 1-3)
Cute fairies flit about rainbows and forest friends in a rewritten song set to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
Opening on a minute fairy with bubble-gum–pink hair, light-brown skin, and a star-tipped wand, the book follows her through a magical day seemingly designed to elicit squeals of delight. Readers watch as she flies with butterflies, romps in the rain with fellow fairies, and lunches with friendly mice and chipmunks before finally returning home to be safely tucked into bed. The fairies have round, oversized heads and a variety of light and dark skin tones, and at least one fairy eschews pink and purple. There’s no attempt at subtlety in the illustrations: Pages burst with colors straight out of a candy store; the wide-eyed fairies frolic about giant flowers and grinning insects; and a glossy cover is plastered with iridescent sparkles. It’s not high art, but it’s easy enough on the eye. Overwrought singable text matches the art’s unabashedly enthusiastic tone, with lines that gush about “sparkle magic in the sky” and “happiness that never ends.” While the stanzas aren’t difficult to sing aloud, the refrain drones, and the uninspired verses—with occasionally strained rhymes such as “Twinkle, twinkle, come and play. / Oh, what things you find today”—edge toward cloying.
All sparkle and no substance. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3977-1
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Toddlers are better served by a chorus of the original, accompanied by the finger motions
Yet another remake of the classic fingerplay.
Burton and Rescek need to find a new song to parody or, better yet, come up with something original. As in earlier remakes—The Itsy Bitsy Pilgrim, The Istsy Bitsy Bunny, The Itsy Bitsy Reindeer (all 2016), and The Itsy Bitsy Snowman (2015)—the words are meant to be sung to the tune of the favorite nursery rhyme. In this outing, the rhymes work, but the meter is clunky. Rescek’s characters are cheery enough as they celebrate the transition from winter to spring. The question is why ducklings should replace spiders. “Down came the rain and chased the snow away” is simply not as satisfying as “washed the spider out.” The elements of danger, pluck, and mastery inherent in the original song are missing, as are the actions. A scene of anthropomorphic animals of different species sharing a den confuses rather than enlightens. There is no clear change from winter to spring; the color palette throughout is bright and springlike, and the duckling is about as realistic as an Easter Peep. Sturdy board pages may stand up to lots of handling, but young children are unlikely to ask for it more than once.
Toddlers are better served by a chorus of the original, accompanied by the finger motions . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8655-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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