An active introduction to an important concept.
An interactive board book with ambitious educational goals for toddlers introduces five basic shapes with textures, a slider, and flaps, plus sturdy tabbed pages to make page turning easy for little fingers.
Each shape is simply reproduced and named on the left, then shown as part of something else on the right. The triangle becomes the “bright, sparkly roof” of a birdhouse, the rectangle becomes the “door to a cozy home,” and so on. On most pages, an animal prompts interaction. The birds say, “Can you sing? Tweet! Tweet! Tweet”; the dog in the square, corrugated doghouse says, “Bark like me!” However, active toddlers may not make it to the dog, as the squirrel revealed by a slider hidden in a circular hiding spot in the prior double-page spread asks, “Can you run really fast?” When they do arrive at the final spread, all the shapes and animals are repeated in a cheery scene, and a final question—“What's your favorite shape?”—invites a conversation. The claim on the back cover that the “on-the-go handle gives young readers a sense of ownership and independence” may be a bit of hyperbole, but parents eager to give their toddlers a head start on learning will find this an age-appropriate choice.
An active introduction to an important concept. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-79791-7
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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