While not much of a guessing game, little ones will enjoy the action of interactive elements.
A rabbit, a fox, a horse, a monkey and a pig need help to find their proper tails.
On the first four double-page spreads, the animals appear in their natural habitats sporting a corkscrew-shaped tail. The serviceable text tells readers something is not right here, as on the rabbit page: “I eat carrots. That’s not my fluffy tail! Who am I?” Readers can pull a panel embedded in the page to slide the correct tail into position, while the name of the creature is also revealed. The owner of the curly tail appears on the last spread, and the final interactive feature is a spin dial allowing readers to match the pig up with the proper appendage. The companion book, Who Am I? This Is My Mouth, presents a different assortment of creatures sporting a green snout and in search of the right beak or nose. The text is written in verse here, but readers will hardly notice the forgettable lines when there are panels to slide and dials to spin. Fortunately, the interactive features in both offerings slide and spin easily and seem sturdy enough to stand up to repeated wear and tear. Rinaldo’s cheerful cartoons are done in friendly colors, the thick black lines used to draw the central creatures make them stand out, and subtle patterns within the landscapes provide some texture to the backgrounds.
While not much of a guessing game, little ones will enjoy the action of interactive elements. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: June 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4083-1510-1
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Trafalgar Square
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
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
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
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