There are plenty of other bedtime stories that do not offer this potential confusion; seek them out for nighttime and save...
Babies and bedtime go hand in hand. Add an alphabet with cuddly illustrations on sturdy pages, and you have a book ready-made for lap sharing.
A little girl labels and describes each of the letters. The letters and most of the rhyming text appear on the verso with small vignettes, while full-page illustrations unfold a small story on the recto. “Cc for the Clock that tick-tocks on the wall. / Dd is my Dog, who’s not sleepy at all.” The brown-and-white dog appears next to the letters and then again opposite, tugging at the end of the girl’s blanket, while an analog clock appears on the wall above. For the more difficult letters, “Qq is for Quiet,” “Xx for relaX,” and “Yy is for Yawn, and I’m ready to sleep. / All hushed until morning, you won’t hear a peep. / Zz Z…z…z…z….” The droopy-eared dog steals the show, and the little, red-cheeked Caucasian girl’s interaction with it adds playfulness to the bedtime buildup. Despite the book’s overall appeal, there are some out-of-sync blips. In the vignettes next to each letter, the dog poses with an unnamed object that also begins with that letter, which offers extra identification fun but may also cause confusion. Next to K, the dog peeks out from what many readers may identify as a doghouse but may be a “Kiosk,” and next to N, the pup appears snout to snout with what looks like a stuffed lamb (perhaps “Nuzzling” it?).
There are plenty of other bedtime stories that do not offer this potential confusion; seek them out for nighttime and save this for a brainteaser. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61067-368-6
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
A wandering effort, happy but pointless.
The perfect book for kids who love dragons and mild tacos.
Rubin’s story starts with an incantatory edge: “Hey, kid! Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well.” The playing field is set: dragons, tacos. As a pairing, they are fairly silly, and when the kicker comes in—that dragons hate spicy salsa, which ignites their inner fireworks—the silliness is sillier still. Second nature, after all, is for dragons to blow flames out their noses. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. Harmless, but if there is a parable hidden in the dragon-taco tale, it is hidden in the unlit deep, and as a measure of lunacy, bridled or unbridled, it doesn’t make the leap into the outer reaches of imagination. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range.
A wandering effort, happy but pointless. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3680-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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