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FIRST NUMBERS

Name: FIRST NUMBERS
Author: Rob Walker
ISBN: 978-1-907184-15-4

by Rob Walker ; illustrated by Rob Walker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2014

Designed to prompt discussion, these poorly designed titles will only perplex.

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This busy board book mixes large numerals, photographs and counting questions to dubious effect.

Each spread is laid out in a similar manner: A large, bold numeral along with its name occupies most of the left-hand page. Beneath the numeral is a question asking what number comes next. The right-hand page features a photograph—a puppy in the case of 1—with the words “one” printed above it and “one puppy” printed below. Beneath that is a counting question that has an answer unrelated to the number featured—in this case, “How many eyes does the puppy have?” Adding to the frenetic feel of the pages are splashy backdrops to the images and some of the text. Another volume in the series, similarly cluttered but not quite as confusing, focuses on Machines such as tractors, snowplows and cranes. A photograph of the machine, its name and question—asking kids to identify color, for example, or locate a certain part—fill up the left-hand page, while the right-hand page includes labeled photographs of parts of the machine or related paraphernalia with another question printed beneath them.

Designed to prompt discussion, these poorly designed titles will only perplex. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-907184-15-4

Page Count: 20

Publisher: Scribblers/Sterling

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

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ANIMAL SHAPES

by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018

Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.

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You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!

What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?

Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: March 27, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little Bee Books

Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
WE LEAP TOGETHER
by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

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OVER AND UNDER THE WETLAND
by Kate Messner ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

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LIKE NO OTHER
by Sneed B. Collard III ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

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HELLO ROBOTS!

From the Hello…! series

by Joan Holub ; illustrated by Chris Dickason ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 22, 2019

Good for a giggle from preschool readers despite its slight imperfections.

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A brightly illustrated story told in rhyme about mixed-up robots getting ready for the day.

Holub and Dickason team up for another title echoing the style of their similarly formatted Hello Knights! and Hello Ninjas! (both 2018). Here, the titular robots are having trouble getting ready for the day. They put socks on top of shoes and even forget how to eat their cereal, pouring milk on their heads and flipping their bowls upside down on the table. The confusion comes to a climax in a double gatefold in which the robots realize that they need a reboot, correcting their routines. Young readers will delight in the silliness: underpants on heads, bathing in clothes. Holub’s rhyming text works well for the most part and includes some charming turns of phrase, such as “brushing bolts” in place of brushing teeth. Dickason’s illustrations use a consistent palette of mostly primary colors and feature 1960s-style robots drawn with antennae, motherboards on boxy chests, and wheels for feet. The pages are busy and packed, allowing for new discoveries upon each read, though this busyness argues for use with older toddlers. It’s not entirely clear where the robots are headed (school?) or whether or not they’re also ETs (they fly away on a spaceship), but the story is fun enough to overlook those muddled details.

Good for a giggle from preschool readers despite its slight imperfections. (Board book. 2-4)