by Lorie Ann Grover ; illustrated by Rosalinda Kightley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2014
As realism is not the object here, these lions are cute, cuddly and toothless, safe for sharing a crib with baby.
A day-in-the-life tale of a lion cub and his mother.
From morning until night, the little wild cat enjoys pouncing, playing, exploring and preening while his momma looks on and offers a helping paw when needed. The youngster encounters a fellow cub and a couple of meerkats before hunkering down with momma for the night. Each double-page spread (on thinner-than-normal board-book stock) provides a different view of the grassland setting in both bright and muted earth tones. Kightley’s paintings, which have the look of acrylic on canvas, are deft at capturing the sunny yellow cub and his playmate in motion. This is a kinder and gentler savanna. While the little feline appears to stalk a bird under his mother’s guidance, this feathered friend does not become a meal on subsequent pages. In gentle rhyming couplets meted out in one or two couplets per page, the first-person-narrator cub describes the action: “We run free. / So much to see. / Grasses sway. / I lead the way.”
As realism is not the object here, these lions are cute, cuddly and toothless, safe for sharing a crib with baby. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-53091-0
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
Share your opinion of this book
More by Lorie Ann Grover
BOOK REVIEW
by Lorie Ann Grover ; illustrated by Carolina Búzio
BOOK REVIEW
by Lorie Ann Grover ; illustrated by Carolina Búzio
BOOK REVIEW
by Rose Rossner ; illustrated by AndoTwin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2020
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Share your opinion of this book
More by Rose Rossner
BOOK REVIEW
by Rose Rossner ; illustrated by Morgan Huff
BOOK REVIEW
by Rose Rossner ; illustrated by Aleksandra Szmidt
BOOK REVIEW
by Rose Rossner & Brooke Backsen ; illustrated by AndoTwin
by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Sanja Rešček ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 5, 2016
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jeffrey Burton
BOOK REVIEW
by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Juliana Motzko
BOOK REVIEW
by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Alison Brown
BOOK REVIEW
by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Sanja Rešček
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.