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HERE, GEORGE!

It’s a one-joke book, but with such master humorists at work, who needs anything more? (Board book. 1-3)

Renowned cartoonists Boynton and Booth team up for a delightful day in the life of canine George.

This white dog lives a sedentary life and prefers to sit and sport a sour grin as members of his family beckon him one by one. With the exception of who’s calling, the first several pages are identical: “HERE, GEORGE!” says a voice. But “George does not move.” However, after they leave the pooch on his own, he hears some music and gets up to dance Snoopy-style through a full double-page spread. When his humans return, they find George in the exact same position as they left him—but with some fond memories that summon a wag from “his happy tail.” Boynton closes the work with the clever aside: “And he is wild about dancing. (Which no one knows but you).” Booth’s iconic cartoon dog, made famous in the pages of the New Yorker, is constructed with a fluid and endearingly shaky line. He masterfully registers a change in mood with a simple upward flick of a cartoon grin or a sideways glance. Boynton’s text is a simple and playful complement, rendered a stand-alone visual element by the decidedly Booth-ian faux handwritten typeface.

It’s a one-joke book, but with such master humorists at work, who needs anything more? (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: May 1, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5344-2964-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 22, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018

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SPOOKY POOKIE

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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SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

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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