Give babies Mother Goose; leave mythology for later.
Like his Greek god namesake with the golden touch, toddler Midas loves yellow.
A simple, initial double-page spread with just one word on each page makes this preference clear. He chooses yellow clothes, yellow food, and then yellow paint. Left to his own devices, Midas paints everything yellow, including his green dinosaur. The look on his face when he realizes what he's done is priceless. Fortunately, Dinoboo is washable. In a welcome touch, Midas is portrayed as a little brown boy with curly hair—a decision that may help this book find an audience. The story is clever, and the lesson—be careful what you wish for—is gently delivered. But what child of true board-book age has the conceptual sophistication for life lessons and the Greek myths? The simple retelling of “Midas and the Golden Touch” at the end of the book will be lost on young children, though Holub's skill in condensing the story to its essential elements is impressive. This will appeal to adults eager to jump-start their babies, but very young children would be better served with an age-appropriate board book with simple object-naming or shape- and sound-identification activities.
Give babies Mother Goose; leave mythology for later. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0952-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
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Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers.
A board-book ode to parental love as old as the dinosaurs.
A line of text on the left of each spread reads like a dinosaur-themed valentine that a third grader might choose, with punishingly punny wordplay that incorporates dinosaur-related words. On the facing page a dinosaur pair—a baby and an adult—gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes against whimsical, pastel-hued prehistoric-ish backgrounds. In smaller print, in all caps, at the bottom of the left page is the scientific name for the dinosaur referenced by the text and picture followed by a helpful phonetic pronunciation guide. White-outlined footprints appear next to their names, though the white is sometimes difficult to see against the pastel pages. Ten of the best-known dinosaurs are included. Twisting the dinosaur names to fit the loving sentiments succeeds some of the time but more often results in tortured text, well beyond the understanding of the board book audience. The line accompanying two hugging velociraptors, for instance, is just confusing: “Wrap-TOR arms around me, / with you I’ll always stay.” Others are just plain clumsy: “I-wanna-GUANODON you kisses, / I truly just adore you.” Very young children, even those fascinated by dinosaurs, will not get it. Older dinosaur fans will be put off by the babyish format.
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2295-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 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
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