Tots in training will find this a helpful and entertaining playbook.
A young, diaper-wearing basketball player makes a play to use the potty.
The tyke, with amber skin, brown eyes, and neck-length brown hair held in place with a sports headband, takes a couple of “shots” at using the toilet and is unsuccessful. The sports language continues as the youngster is coached by a grown-up, continues to train, heads for the “hoop” (aka the toilet seat), and successfully makes it to the potty before the buzzer sounds. Three grown-ups, likely immediate and extended family members, all with medium brown skin tones, act as the cheering crowd. All the stages of using the toilet are modeled, including flushing (which is the “swish” of the basketball net) and hand-washing. The toddler receives a new uniform—a pair of underpants—and closes by encouraging readers to keep on practicing. While the sports metaphors may go over lots of little heads, this gender-neutral title breaks down the steps for using the potty clearly and concisely in the punchy and positive text. Burach’s illustrations are lively and animated and employ warm, bright colors. Appropriately enough, the characters resemble bobblehead dolls with their large eyes and oversized heads.
Tots in training will find this a helpful and entertaining playbook. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-28933-6
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
Bright, cheerful, and summery.
Revel in the pleasures of summer days.
The text’s three rhyming quatrains extol the season’s joys, from “birds in leafy trees” and “happy bees” to “eating berry pie” and “twinkling fireflies.” Cottage-dwelling woodland mammals get the full digital cartoon treatment, with giant eyes, exuberantly bushy tails, and bright clothing, hats, and eyewear. Readers see them enjoying a range of outdoor activities, from picnicking and splashing around in a pond to running barefoot in the grass and lounging in a hammock. The adorable diminutive mammals are the stars of the book, but the lively insects and birds make their presences felt too. This simple but sweet addition to the ever expanding bookshelf of estival books for younger children is more about imagery than plot, but that’s OK. The rhymes scan well, and the anaphoric repetition lends itself to read-alouds. The consistently double-page, full-bleed spreads allow readers to sense the scope of summer’s bounty. The artwork’s palette tracks the day’s arc, with morning yellows and greens ceding to violets and blues as twilight falls. Longhi’s illustrations fairly sparkle with light and Lisa Frank–esque colors. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Bright, cheerful, and summery. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66591-241-9
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This will have readers putting on their dancing shoes to do the “cha cha cha” with their dino-babies
It's not the first time dinosaurs have been featured in a clever Boynton board book. It seems she—and we—can't get enough.
As her fans know, Boynton has a sly wit that respects the intelligence of her young fans and amuses the adults asked to “read it again.” In this book she introduces nine dinosaurs, each of which dances in a way that seems totally appropriate for that particular species. “The blue Stegosaurus goes SHIMMY SHIMMY SHAKE. / The red Brontosaurus goes QUIVERY QUAKE.” Drawing on her experience as a children’s musician, she writes a text that trips along like a song with rhymes that make sense but don't intrude. The illustrations, typical Boynton, reflect her greeting-card background. They are cartoonish but manage to capture the unique personality of each creature. The unnamed dinosaur narrator looks genuinely distraught at not being able to name the “tiny little dino” that “goes DEEDLY DEE.” Spoiler alert: the tiny little dinosaur is probably Compsognathus and would be about the size of a small chicken. Young dinophiles would be impressed if the dinosaurologists in their lives could supply that factoid, but alas, they will have to look it up.
This will have readers putting on their dancing shoes to do the “cha cha cha” with their dino-babies . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8099-4
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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