Fantastical and only slightly frightful fun.
Letter skills, vocabulary, and fantasy—oh my!
This oversized board book should fire the imaginations of a wide range of young readers, whether they’re mastering the alphabet or old enough to be captivated by the lore of myths and legends. Brilliant colors, a textured cover, and vivid images of creatures and monsters will intrigue and amuse but are unlikely to inspire nightmares. The text is rhymed and usually rhythmic, although the Loch Ness Monster, “aka Nessie,” entry has an amusing overabundance of syllables. The book opens on a scene of an explorer’s den, with a presumably ancient volume depicting dragons and rocs on the desk along with a unicorn horn, jackalope antlers, and a chart of the world depicting giant sea creatures swimming in the oceans. “The world is full of many beasties and creatures,” begins the text, “with all manner and type of magical features. / If you’d like to know more about these beasts in your midst, / then continue on and read this mythical list.” Entries begin with “A is for Alien, who zips through the skies. / B is for Basilisk, don’t look at its eyes!” Kraken, Mermaid, Phoenix, Sphinx, Unicorn, Vampire, and Zombie also make the cut. If you were wondering: “X is for... Xylophone Cat? OK—we made that one up.” The last two pages are a glossary.
Fantastical and only slightly frightful fun. (Board book. 3-8)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68052-925-8
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Cottage Door Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.
Another creature is on the loose.
The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728274300
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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