by Roseanne Greenfield Thong ; illustrated by John Parra ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013
Nevertheless, this book will teach readers about more than basic shapes thanks to both its use of Spanish words and the...
This charming concept book will engage readers and help them recognize shapes in everyday objects.
Beautiful rose-colored endpapers draped with a festive, lacy banner lead readers into a book that is a celebration of both shapes and Hispanic culture. Thong uses simple rhymes (“Rectangles are carts / with bells that chime / and cold paletas / in summertime”) to introduce shapes and Spanish words whose meanings—if not apparent from the illustrations—can be derived from the glossary. Parra’s vibrant colors and geometric, folksy art help readers recognize shapes in both the book and the world around them. Intricate spreads offer an abundance of details observant readers will appreciate. The art and text generally complement each other, though some spreads may require an additional bit of work to understand (tacos are used as examples of a round shape, while being properly depicted as folded tortillas filled with deliciousness; the metates are said to be in the casa but are shown in the backyard). Bird’s-eye views depict a lovely diversity of skin color, but close-up portraiture is less strikingly differentiated.
Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4521-0616-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
Share your opinion of this book
More by Roseanne Greenfield Thong
BOOK REVIEW
by Roseanne Greenfield Thong ; illustrated by Ebony Glenn
BOOK REVIEW
by Roseanne Greenfield Thong ; illustrated by John Parra
BOOK REVIEW
by Roseanne Greenfield Thong ; illustrated by Carles Ballesteros
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2014
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
Share your opinion of this book
More by Alice Schertle
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph
by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by Kate Messner
BOOK REVIEW
by Kate Messner ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
BOOK REVIEW
by Sneed B. Collard III ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
BOOK REVIEW
by Jody Jensen Shaffer ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.