A truly compelling ticket to slumberland for even the most wakeful nappy-clad night owl.
What to do when even the usual cure for insomnia—views of small, fuzzy animals drowsing off—doesn’t work.
It’s a new suite of impossibly fuzzy, cute, photorealistic baby animals of the sort that continue to render readers of Houran and Hanson’s Next to You: A Book of Adorableness (2016) helpless. A tableau of yawning, cozy goat kids with peepers shuttered or at half-mast accompanies the suggestive line: “I bet you can’t wait to / close… / your…”—but the book immediately upsets expectations with the page turn, offering a contrasting view of a tiny tarsier with huge, bright eyes and the surprised observation: “Oh! / You are WIDE awake.” How about reverse psychology then? “Let’s stay up!” Just try to ignore the “baby ape with the blankie,” the snoozing little fox, and, if at all possible, the bunny and the guinea pig snuggled together. “Come on! / That’s not even FAIR!” the unseen narrator protests indignantly. But the toughest challenge is saved for the end: “PUPPIES. / Argh!” There’s only one way to keep from seeing them. Houran and Hanson once again manage a delicate balancing act, both poking fun at the soft-focus cutesy-animal books that crowd shelves and at the same time unapologetically bathing readers in their gauzy glow.
A truly compelling ticket to slumberland for even the most wakeful nappy-clad night owl. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1271-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 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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The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer...
Seven years after Little Pookie (2011) first appeared, this popular piglet is finally celebrating Christmas.
“Oh Pookie! Come look! It’s beginning to snow,” says a maternal-looking pig. But where did Pookie go? Past the Christmas tree, to put on a snowsuit of course. Pookie’s ever cheerful mama is willing to go out too. After all, “It’s a magical time to be walking with you.” When she observes, “Our noses are frozen. It’s time to go in,” Pookie protests in typical toddler style: “But I’m not c-c-c-cold!” The next three pages highlight indoor holiday preparations—making paper garlands, baking and decorating cookies. The rhyming text mirrors the spare illustrations. A spidery type that emulates handwriting makes it clear when Pookie is speaking. Then “the doorbell is ringing. / Our family and friends have arrived for the singing.” The second-to-last spread shows Pookie, mama, and six other pigs—and Boynton’s requisite chicken—singing (“Con brio”), “MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! AND A HAP-PY NEW YEAR!” Conveniently, this text is placed beneath the musical notation. Finally Pookie hangs a stocking and goes off to bed without any fuss, anticipating presents on Christmas morning.
The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer or an ideal Christmas Eve read to share with other little piggies. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3724-1
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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