A cleverly illustrated wordless outing that is a natural progression for readers of Jocelyn’s previous board books.
The titular yellow ribbon explores the world.
In this book and its companion, One Patch of Blue, a yellow ribbon tied around a child’s braid and a patch sewn onto a pair of jeans find new lives out in the world. The ribbon forms the mane of a lion, crops on a farm, and the dress on a woman dancing with her family, while the blue patch becomes the car on a Ferris wheel, the window of an ice cream truck, and the diamond in the middle of a stained glass window. On each page, readers must find the patch or the ribbon and, if inspired, can tell a story about what they see. As in earlier titles One Red Button and One Piece of String (both 2017), Jocelyn’s textured and vibrantly colored collage-style illustrations are filled with delightful detail and feature diverse characters; the children on the covers of both books have brown skin. Unlike the previous books, the materials are often well-hidden in the pictures, presenting a challenge for very young children. Furthermore, while each picture is rich in detail, they are not grouped thematically, making it difficult for older children to tell a coherent story that flows page to page. That being said, the images are beautifully rendered, and, in both books, the double-page spreads are breathtaking.
A cleverly illustrated wordless outing that is a natural progression for readers of Jocelyn’s previous board books. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-2076-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As with many holiday gifts, the sparkly packaging may interest toddlers more than what’s inside.
Readers can count down eight of Santa's reindeer as they jump up and out of the scene.
In each one of the mostly double-page spreads, one reindeer, from Dasher to Blitzen, plays a central role in a winter activity (sledding, ski jumping, ice skating—and soccer and yoga?) that launches the creature into the air. Glitter-speckled tabs, each with small portraits of a member of Santa's herd, appear at either the top or the right side of each page, which little fingers will enjoy flipping. In what looks to be pencil-and-watercolor cartoons, Rogers uses different facial expressions, as well as collars, bows or other accessories, to distinguish the reindeer from one another. Donner (not Donder) and Blitzen are squeezed together on the penultimate spread, likely to keep the page count down. The verse mostly scans, but the rhyme scheme has become the cliché of counting books: "Eight jolly reindeer / stretching up to heaven. / Up goes Dasher / and then there are... // Seven...." Santa, his iconic sleigh and the eight reindeer in flight make a dramatic and required appearance on the book's final double-page spread.
As with many holiday gifts, the sparkly packaging may interest toddlers more than what’s inside. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-65145-5
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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