With its simple, declarative text and lively illustrations, this is an ideal story for transportation-themed storytimes or...
An adventurous bedtime story is filled with imagination and a child’s keen excitement in vehicular transportation.
With his first lines—“A bed. A boy. His daddy”—Reynolds creates the atmosphere, setting, and characters who are going to set free their imaginations and provide ample opportunity to showcase a particular dynamic of father-son relations. The father is ready to tuck his son into bed and asks him, “Bedtime?”—to which the son replies excitedly, “Not yet!” They soon start to re-create scenes with the boy’s toys, bed, and different objects located in his bedroom. From a train station where the boy is the conductor to a space shuttle where he is an astronaut, young readers will be engaged in learning about transportation and those responsible for operating different types of vehicles. It surely will inspire children to explore their own imaginations and re-create the assorted scenarios. Yamada’s digital illustrations amplify the creativity of this duo, offering detailed images of the child’s bedroom as it becomes a sort of infinite and diverse playground. The pair are both Caucasian, the son’s eyes bright blue and oversized, almost manga-style.
With its simple, declarative text and lively illustrations, this is an ideal story for transportation-themed storytimes or for launching kids to bedtime...maybe later rather than sooner. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-77855-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Watching unlikely friends finally be as “happy as two someones can be” feels like being enveloped in your very own hug.
What to do when you’re a prickly animal hankering for a hug? Why, find another misfit animal also searching for an embrace!
Sweet but “tricky to hug” little Hedgehog is down in the dumps. Wandering the forest, Hedgehog begs different animals for hugs, but each rejects them. Readers will giggle at their panicked excuses—an evasive squirrel must suddenly count its three measly acorns; a magpie begins a drawn-out song—but will also be indignant on poor hedgehog’s behalf. Hedgehog has the appealingly pink-cheeked softness typical of Dunbar’s art, and the gentle watercolors are nonthreatening, though she also captures the animals’ genuine concern about being poked. A wise owl counsels the dejected hedgehog that while the prickles may frighten some, “there’s someone for everyone.” That’s when Hedgehog spots a similarly lonely tortoise, rejected due to its “very hard” shell but perfectly matched for a spiky new friend. They race toward each other until the glorious meeting, marked with swoony peach swirls and overjoyed grins. At this point, readers flip the book to hear the same gloomy tale from the tortoise’s perspective until it again culminates in that joyous hug, a book turn that’s made a pleasure with thick creamy paper and solid binding.
Watching unlikely friends finally be as “happy as two someones can be” feels like being enveloped in your very own hug. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-571-34875-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
Readers will be charmed as Harold draws himself in and out of trouble and finally home to bed in this subtle blend of...
Harold takes a walk in the moonlight down the path of imagination and although this time the bunnies hop and the winds blow, nothing of the dreamy simplicity of the journey is lost.
Elegantly adapted by Trilogy Studios to the iPad and featuring the same minimalist lines of Johnson's 1955 original, this app allows children to join in as Harold wields his purple crayon to create his gently perilous adventure. Along the way, the many hidden interactions allow readers to animate the scenes, shaking apples from the tree and making the guard dragon catch them in his mouth. Kids can fill the moonlit sky with stars and zoom in on hatchling birds in the mountains; they can cause a swirling wind to fill the sails of Harold's boat and help him sample all nine flavors of pie. All the while, it maintains the flavor of a simple line-drawn story. When touched, most objects and characters are identified both verbally and in text to add an extra level of learning for early readers. Options include Read to Me, in which each word appears as it is spoken by the narrator; Touch Tale, a fully interactive version prefaced with a clear tutorial; and Read to Myself. All modes are accompanied by tinkly music.
Readers will be charmed as Harold draws himself in and out of trouble and finally home to bed in this subtle blend of animation and story. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)Pub Date: July 30, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Trill Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
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