Just fine for an extra reading hug at bedtime.
A penguin parent assures a penguin child that love will always be there.
The bowling-pin–shaped adult penguin is purple and smiles affectionately at its rounded, slightly-brighter-purple little one, while qualifying the various circumstances that might modify the declaration in the opening pages: “I will never let you go.” “Except” continues the large penguin speaking to the small penguin, “when you need to go to the bathroom.” And eat lunch or draw a picture. “But other than that, little one…I will never let you go.” And then, amusingly, some more exceptions: “when you have to chase the stars,” “throw a tantrum,” “need some quiet time”—and finally: “want to play with your friends.” Here the little penguin is seen happily bouncing away to a group of young penguins but returning to give a reassuring hug to the loving big penguin and repeat the words: “I will never let you go.” The digitally colored brush, ink, and charcoal art is simple and clear, and the humor and truth of the exceptions woven into the hyperbolic promise of “never” keep the message of unconditional love (except possibly for that tantrum) from being saccharine or claustrophobic.
Just fine for an extra reading hug at bedtime. (Picture book. 18 mos.-4)Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5107-3871-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
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