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PORTLY PIG

Name: PORTLY PIG
Author: Nosy Crow
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9621-4

From the Farm Friends Sound Book series

by Nosy Crow ; illustrated by Axel Scheffler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2018

While the writing is not as whimsical as in predecessors Cuddly Cow and Higgly Hen (both 2017), the prospect of pushing...

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Portly Pig is much too clean and searches for the perfect muddy pool.

He soon discovers a good patch in the corner of a field and makes himself sufficiently dirty. When a brief rainstorm washes him clean, he quickly heads back to this new favorite spot to muck himself up all over again. While the story is slight, the key attraction is the large blue button/speaker on the cover that’s accessible on every page through a die-cut circle. When pushed, it activates a sound chip that produces realistic pig grunts and barnyard bird song. Scheffler uses richly colored gouache and a bold black outline to create playful and expressive farm critters, all with the artist’s signature circular, bulgy eyes. Each one-page scene is paired with a quatrain on a solid background on the opposite page to relay the simple tale. In the companion title, Gobbly Goat, the title character searches for something yummy to eat until he spies a bowl of strawberries and cream inside a farmhouse. He promptly breaks in, devours the treat, and eats the flowers in a vase as well. This offering in the series also employs a large button that bleats realistically when pushed. A button battery is secured behind a plastic panel in the back cover and can be accessed or replaced only with a tiny Phillips screwdriver.

While the writing is not as whimsical as in predecessors Cuddly Cow and Higgly Hen (both 2017), the prospect of pushing buttons will make this a toddler crowd pleaser. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-7636-9621-4

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Nosy Crow

Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
LOIS LOOKS FOR BOB AT THE BEACH
by Nosy Crow ; illustrated by Gerry Turley

- BOOK REVIEW
FIRST WORDS
by Nosy Crow ; illustrated by The Trustees of the British Museum

- BOOK REVIEW
LOIS LOOKS FOR BOB AT HOME
by Nosy Crow ; illustrated by Gerry Turley

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SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2014

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORRY-WORRY WHALE AND THE CLASSROOM JITTERS
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
POUT-POUT FISH
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POUT-POUT FISH AND THE MAD, MAD DAY
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

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MERRY CHRISTMAS, LITTLE POOKIE

by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer...

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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)