Next book

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

Next book

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

Next book

MERRY CHRISTMAS, LITTLE POOKIE

The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer...

Seven years after Little Pookie (2011) first appeared, this popular piglet is finally celebrating Christmas.

“Oh Pookie! Come look! It’s beginning to snow,” says a maternal-looking pig. But where did Pookie go? Past the Christmas tree, to put on a snowsuit of course. Pookie’s ever cheerful mama is willing to go out too. After all, “It’s a magical time to be walking with you.” When she observes, “Our noses are frozen. It’s time to go in,” Pookie protests in typical toddler style: “But I’m not c-c-c-cold!” The next three pages highlight indoor holiday preparations—making paper garlands, baking and decorating cookies. The rhyming text mirrors the spare illustrations. A spidery type that emulates handwriting makes it clear when Pookie is speaking. Then “the doorbell is ringing. / Our family and friends have arrived for the singing.” The second-to-last spread shows Pookie, mama, and six other pigs—and Boynton’s requisite chicken—singing (“Con brio”), “MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! AND A HAP-PY NEW YEAR!” Conveniently, this text is placed beneath the musical notation. Finally Pookie hangs a stocking and goes off to bed without any fuss, anticipating presents on Christmas morning.

The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer or an ideal Christmas Eve read to share with other little piggies. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)

Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5344-3724-1

Page Count: 18

Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019

Close Quickview