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EARS, NOSE, EYES...SURPRISE!

From the ROYGBaby series

Presenting nonfiction in a fun and interesting manner for our youngest readers, this delightful board book will keep kids...

Use your five senses to find the clues and guess the surprise!

This latest board book in Jones’ ROYGBaby series continues to explore key concepts in a baby’s world. It prompts young readers to consider parts of their bodies—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and hands—and relate them to their five senses. An endearing young child, brown-skinned with short, dark hair, acts as guide. The rhyming text is simple and short, building anticipation with just one line on each double-page spread, one per sense. “My eyes see… / something round.” On the verso, the child’s eyes are open wide, and on the recto are the silhouettes of balloons. Most of the objects in silhouette are simple and familiar and are shown on a colored, patterned background that varies with each page turn. “My nose smells… / a yummy treat” shows popcorn, which may be the only silhouette difficult for readers to distinguish. The final double-page spread shows multiethnic children enjoying the protagonist’s birthday party, with all the clues shown before in silhouette presented in full color and labeled.

Presenting nonfiction in a fun and interesting manner for our youngest readers, this delightful board book will keep kids engaged. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-936669-62-2

Page Count: 14

Publisher: blue manatee press

Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019

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THE ABCS OF LOVE

Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.

Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.

Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.

Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6

Page Count: 28

Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland

Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021

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THE ITSY BITSY BUNNY

Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.

An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.

Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.

Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0

Page Count: 16

Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

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