A playful and funny romp that will appeal to dog-owning tots.
A story of life with a baby from the family dog’s perspective.
The narration, meted out in one or two sentences per page, presents the inner monologue of a medium-sized white dog with black patches on its fur. The pooch investigates the newest family member, a newborn baby, and compares (“You howl, I howl”) and contrasts (“You don’t even have a tail!”) himself to this strange new addition to the family. Both of them sleep, eat, stretch, and walk on all fours, but the infant’s front paws aren’t like its back paws, the dog notes, and it doesn’t have a tail or quite smell like a canine. A grown-up with blue eyes and wavy, shoulder-length blue-black hair only intervenes when the baby tries to mount the dog like a horse. The black-eyed baby and the caregiver have medium-brown skin and stylistic pink circles on their cheeks. Nelson’s sophisticated mixed-media collage uses a distinctive palette of mustards, royal blues, and deep greens with hot pink and red accents. The dog’s confusion about this new arrival seems to last several months as the child grows from a swaddled newborn to a crawling tyke playing hide-and-seek. Despite the word baby appearing in the title, the exercise of comparing and contrasting canines and infants will make more sense to toddlers.
A playful and funny romp that will appeal to dog-owning tots. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68369-279-9
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer...
Seven years after Little Pookie (2011) first appeared, this popular piglet is finally celebrating Christmas.
“Oh Pookie! Come look! It’s beginning to snow,” says a maternal-looking pig. But where did Pookie go? Past the Christmas tree, to put on a snowsuit of course. Pookie’s ever cheerful mama is willing to go out too. After all, “It’s a magical time to be walking with you.” When she observes, “Our noses are frozen. It’s time to go in,” Pookie protests in typical toddler style: “But I’m not c-c-c-cold!” The next three pages highlight indoor holiday preparations—making paper garlands, baking and decorating cookies. The rhyming text mirrors the spare illustrations. A spidery type that emulates handwriting makes it clear when Pookie is speaking. Then “the doorbell is ringing. / Our family and friends have arrived for the singing.” The second-to-last spread shows Pookie, mama, and six other pigs—and Boynton’s requisite chicken—singing (“Con brio”), “MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! AND A HAP-PY NEW YEAR!” Conveniently, this text is placed beneath the musical notation. Finally Pookie hangs a stocking and goes off to bed without any fuss, anticipating presents on Christmas morning.
The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer or an ideal Christmas Eve read to share with other little piggies. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3724-1
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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BOOK REVIEW
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