This attractive title, which combines counting practice with a tour through a lively garden, invites and rewards leisurely...
This oversized board title uses flowers and a garden theme to help children’s counting skills blossom.
Children will count 10 different types of flowers as they make their ways through the garden, with rhyming couplets introducing their names. For example: “Five cherry blossoms opening in the trees. / Six crimson hollyhocks trembling in the breeze.” For each featured number, children can also find the same number of bees buzzing about the page, sometimes in plain sight and other times hiding behind a flap. The flaps, in the shapes of flower petals, trees, butterfly wings, and more, conceal all manner of critters, from stray bees to birds, ladybugs, foxes, and mice. Aside from the counting and lift-the-flap adventure, there is also the progression of the seasons to take in. Readers move from winter to early summer, and more and more critters join in the fun as the world warms. Ormes’ screen-printed and digital artwork makes this one a real treat. Children and adults alike will enjoy a romp through the charming, bustling garden she brings to life.
This attractive title, which combines counting practice with a tour through a lively garden, invites and rewards leisurely exploration. (Board book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8531-7
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Big Picture/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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