A good-enough choice for parents and teachers to use to get the youngest goblins excited about many adults’ favorite holiday...
Laden puts a Halloween spin on her successful wordplay board books, Peek-a-Who? (2000) and Peek-a-Zoo! (2014).
Following the same pattern as in the previous titles, a die-cut opening reveals part of a picture and a few visual clues so that toddlers can guess what the page turn might uncover. As with Peek-a-Zoo!, there are only so many words that rhyme with “boo.” Some of the choices this time around are quite a stretch, especially for the board-book set. “Brew,” “flew,” and “crew” are not exactly standard toddler language, so adult readers will need to be ready to help tots negotiate it. The picture of a pumpkin labelled “peek-a-goo” makes sense only for children older than this book’s audience, who know what will happen to the jack-o’-lantern when the festivities are over. Illustrations in Laden's signature gouache style with all the expected Halloween icons—fall leaves, skeletons, spiders, mice—provide a mild “eww” factor. The final page turn is no surprise—a Mylar mirror set where a ghost’s face might be. The concluding question—“Who are you?”—alludes to the tradition of costumes and trick-or-treat and could be helpful in familiarizing the youngest readers with it.
A good-enough choice for parents and teachers to use to get the youngest goblins excited about many adults’ favorite holiday while introducing sophisticated, though still one-syllable, vocabulary. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-3396-6
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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Cute and sprightly but not a standout.
Deck the stalls?
A bevy of barnyard animals, a cat, and some dogs get fully into the Christmas spirit by sprucing up the farm with colorful decorations, including holly berries and sparkling baubles. They have a great time and sing while going about their merry chores in a manner somewhat in keeping with the rhythm of the classic tune “Deck the Halls.” (In fact, a flock of sheep are shown holding song sheets for it.) As might be expected with these particular celebrants, some of the familiar lyrics are altered just a bit; for instance, “boughs of holly” is “translated” as “cows and holly.” Adult readers expecting the rhythm here to work exactly as it does in the original will be disappointed, because it doesn’t—it’s clunky. This is merely a brief, lightweight spoof of the familiar ditty, so it’s recommended that grown-ups read rather than sing this—except for that final line!—to very young targeted audiences, who may be unfamiliar with the actual song anyway. Some fun is still to be had in the illustrations, however. The spirited, wittily expressive animal characters are depicted having a fine time romping about and producing a variety of onomatopoeic sounds throughout. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cute and sprightly but not a standout. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66591-435-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
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Exactly what readers want and expect from the board-book master.
Pookie and family celebrate Thanksgiving.
Boynton’s precocious little pig is back in this holiday installment. The family gets ready for Thanksgiving by baking pies, welcoming Nemmy and Boppa for dinner, and sharing gratitude (and pie!). Boynton’s familiar rhyming text and simple, thick-lined illustrations are exactly what readers have come to expect from this series: Pookie is a little silly, the story bounces along, and the artwork is warm and cozy. Though most of the action takes place inside, the passage of day is clear through the window, from daylight to the setting sun. Decorations and a tree with just a few leaves on it indicate the autumnal season. There are two pages where numbers are called out, presented differently from the rest of the typeface (Pookie and their parents prepare apple pie and one pumpkin pie, and there will be five guests at dinner). The only bolded digits are one and five, even though the text does mention that there will be a total of two pies—a stylistic choice that seems to point readers to counting practice but that feels a bit random. Overall, though, this is a worthy new story about one of Boynton’s most beloved characters. True to form, it’s a toddler-friendly read, providing context for the festivities and a sweet representation of gratitude. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Exactly what readers want and expect from the board-book master. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66592-263-0
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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