Will give future readers a helping hand with their numbers, though the tactile element is a bit lacking.
A board book with a built-in abacus to help little ones learn to count from one to 10.
Each page uses a rhyming couplet to introduce a visual puzzle that requires tots to count items to figure out the answer: “Dogs have tails that wag a lot. / How many brown dogs can you spot?” “See the airplanes in the sky! / Count them as they fly so high.” The puzzles are easy and aren’t out to trick readers—in the first set, there’s only one dog on the page, and in the second, there are only two airplanes and no other flying craft. Ten colorful wooden beads run along a rainbow-shaped arch that floats above the page, and readers are periodically reminded to “slide the beads to help you count!” It’s an amusing and attractive feature, but the arch is not very long, which means the beads slide back easily. When the book is held up, only six of the 10 beads will stay on one side; the other four continually slip back to their home position. It’s an unfortunate design flaw, although the book works properly when laid flat on a table or the floor. That issue aside, the book’s illustrations are appealing and work well with the text.
Will give future readers a helping hand with their numbers, though the tactile element is a bit lacking. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-68010-686-2
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...
An exploration of the human body through colorful photos.
Every other double-page spread labels the individual parts on one major area: head, torso, back, arm and leg. Ethnically diverse boy-girl pairs serve as models as arrows point to specific features and captions float nearby. While the book usefully mentions rarely depicted body parts, such as eyebrow, armpit and shin, some of the directional arrows are unclear. The arrow pointing at a girl’s shoulder hits her in the upper arm, and the belly button is hard is distinguish from the stomach (both are concealed by shirts). Facts about the human body (“Guess what? You have tiny hairs in your nose that keep out dirt”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of kids in action. Baby Animals, another title in the Look & Learn series, uses an identical format to introduce readers to seal pups, leopard cubs, elephant calves, ducklings and tadpoles. In both titles, the final spread offers a review of the information and encourages readers to match baby animals to their parents or find body parts on a photo of kids jumping on a trampoline.
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on the right track despite earlier titles that were much too conceptual for the audience. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4263-1483-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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