Infused with an unsettling energy, this might make for a raucous read-aloud with carefully chosen audiences
Eclectic linocut animals are arranged into rhyming or sound-alike pairs.
Running beneath square-framed linoprints of animals, the bold, dynamically sized black and brown letters (also linoprinted) leap off the page, starting with a tiny mouse’s “Squeak” and an exuberant parrot’s imposing, askew “Squawk.” Small, neatly typed labels underneath mean the text can be read as commands (“Howl wolf”; “Growl bear”) or simply animal sounds. Pairings vary between rhyming (“Moo” and “Hooo”) or purely onomatopoeic combos (“ZZZZ” and “SSSS”). Created in a folk-art style, each linocut animal is a technical triumph. That parrot, with fuchsia head and golden beak aimed at the sky, with precise lines emanating outward, is the epitome of “Squawk.” However skillfully constructed though, some animals edge closer to creepy than cute. A lop-eyed cow and slack-jawed horse have jarring faces; a donkey in midkick looks vaguely menacing. Muddied color palettes add to the unease, as with the roaring lion with pointy white claws glinting against a blood red background. Some, such as the serene wolf or the goose soaring through meticulously shaded white clouds, hit the right balance of quirky yet accessible, but it’s an odd testament when a snake and a mosquito are among the friendliest-looking animals.
Infused with an unsettling energy, this might make for a raucous read-aloud with carefully chosen audiences . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-56846-315-5
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
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
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