Most songbooks fall into two categories: either a traditional picture book with one song or a big volume with an assortment...
Twelve children’s songs are presented in this picture book with accompanying CD.
The songs are mostly familiar tunes: “I’m a Little Teapot,” “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” “Old MacDonald” and so on. There are two exceptions. First is a tongue twister set to music: “Swan swam over the sea, / Swim, swan, swim! / Swan swam back again, / Well swum, swan.” The other is a satisfying little ditty: “My hat, it has three corners, / Three corners has my hat, / And had it not three corners, / It would not be my hat.” The sprightly illustrations feature two children, a large white mouse and, in some, an animate toy monkey acting out the songs with ebullience. In the teapot spread, the children are having a tea party in an upside-down table that is their pretend boat, with the toy monkey holding a teacup and the mouse perched on the prow with a telescope and a cup hanging from its tail. The pink-eared mouse wearing a blue dress appears in every scene. All of the images brim with amusing details (bugs, ants, Pinocchio). The female singers (one adult, one girl) on the CD have a leisurely lilt that is sure to have kids and adults singing along as they turn the pages.
Most songbooks fall into two categories: either a traditional picture book with one song or a big volume with an assortment of songs. This effort hits a nice in-between note. (Picture book/songbook. 2-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-935954-37-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lemniscaat USA
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems.
Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.
Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5078-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A testament to the universality of love.
An expanded explanation of love in both English and Spanish.
Several animal personalities pose the question, “What is love?” and in a series of lift-the-flap responses present various emotional scenarios. Little Elephant asks Spider, “Is it the joy of having you around?” Spider asks, “Is it the way you lift me when I’m down?” Each page corresponds to a flap that reveals one of a multitude of feelings love can evoke in either an English or Spanish rhyme, which are not direct translations of each other. An interspersed refrain notes, “Amor for the Spanish, / and love en inglés. / Love in any language / always means the same.” A palette of pastels and purple and pink hues dominate as hearts abound on each page, surrounding the characters, who are adorable though on the overly sweet side. The characters are from the bilingual preschool series Canticos, though it will work even among those without knowledge of the show. Children more fluent in Spanish will be better able to appreciate this, and those familiar with the show will recognize the signature characters, including “Los Pollitos” (Little Chickies). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A testament to the universality of love. (Board book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-945635-72-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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