Practice for those who are learning colors or patience on a rainy day.
A young child names colors and finds ways to pass the time before a rainy day finally becomes sunny.
Children likewise stuck inside will surely empathize with the protagonist as they await the sun: “I want a calm, clear, BLUE sky day, / so I can go outside and play. / I miss the YELLOW summer sun. / I miss the laughter. Miss the fun.” Gray, green, brown, white, blue and gray (both repeats), and orange each make an appearance as Mom helps the child pass the time and calms them during the thunder and lightning. Finally, the rain stops, and the duo don red rain boots and head outside, where they discover a rainbow. The child names each color, starting with violet, and then it’s time to head inside for bed. The rhyming text mostly scans well, with just a few stumbles in meter. The names of each color are capitalized and printed in the appropriate hue, and the pictures will give readers clues as well; the yellow rug in front of the couch, for example, looks just like the sun. The child wears large white glasses and has long brown hair with a giant bow on the top of their head. Their skin is slightly darker than their redheaded mother’s pale skin; a family portrait on the bedroom wall hints at a multiracial family. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 29.6% of actual size.)
Practice for those who are learning colors or patience on a rainy day. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-22409-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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