Those training to take over the family business, like Toad, may find this amusing, but others should steer clear.
Mama and Toad and their bright red tow truck save several friends from roadside mishaps.
“Mama and Toad out on the road. / Go, Mama, go! Go, little toad! / Why, who’s that friend / around the bend? / Alas! Alas! / It’s a… // Goat out of gas!” Mama and Toad know just what to do to get the driver of the truck labeled “Bob’s Bounce Houses” back on the road. They also encounter a “Fox with a flat” and a “Moose in the muck” whose balloons and pizza (both also from Bob’s) need to be delivered. Shaskan’s digital illustrations have a Saturday-morning–cartoon look, with their bright, flat colors and simple backgrounds. In a nice touch, small Toad, who uses a car seat, is shown getting their hands dirty with each rescue, pouring the gas, jacking up the car, even removing the lug nuts. In the end, the toads and their friends wind up in the same place: a party thanking the two for all their help. That’s a puzzler since not only do the toads encounter their friends when they are going in opposite directions on the road, but their friends were getting ready for the party before the toads had helped any of them. Plus, the rhythm of the repeated refrain rests on those reading aloud forcing the enunciation of all four syllables of “delivery.”
Those training to take over the family business, like Toad, may find this amusing, but others should steer clear. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-239349-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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