An upbeat introduction to the season for the very young.
A bilingual Spanish/English board book about fall.
The book features photos of an Asian child wearing a cheery burnt-yellow outfit—to match the season—against a sky-blue background. Each double-page spread always starts with the lead-in “In autumn…” and then introduces a new fall feature: “leaves fall,” “pumpkins smile,” “apples are sweet.” The child then expands on each phenomenon: “I can fall like a leaf!” “I can smile like a pumpkin!” “I can be sweet like an apple!” On the opposite page readers are asked: “Can you fall like a leaf?” “Can you smile like a pumpkin?” “Can you be sweet like an apple?” The English text is followed by the Spanish equivalent: “En otoño…las hojas caen. ¡Puedo caer como una hoja! / ¿Puedes caer como una hoja?” Young readers will enjoy seeing the child in the photographs falling into the leaves, puffing cheeks up to blow like the wind, or trying to look as scary as a scarecrow. One of the featured events, “squirrels climb,” is not limited to fall, but the child climbing up the ladder still makes for a sweet photo. As the book ends readers are invited to think further about fall with the questions: “What do you like about autumn?” and “¿Qué te gusta del otoño?”
An upbeat introduction to the season for the very young. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-936669-61-5
Page Count: 14
Publisher: blue manatee press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
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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
Good for a giggle from preschool readers despite its slight imperfections.
A brightly illustrated story told in rhyme about mixed-up robots getting ready for the day.
Holub and Dickason team up for another title echoing the style of their similarly formatted Hello Knights! and Hello Ninjas! (both 2018). Here, the titular robots are having trouble getting ready for the day. They put socks on top of shoes and even forget how to eat their cereal, pouring milk on their heads and flipping their bowls upside down on the table. The confusion comes to a climax in a double gatefold in which the robots realize that they need a reboot, correcting their routines. Young readers will delight in the silliness: underpants on heads, bathing in clothes. Holub’s rhyming text works well for the most part and includes some charming turns of phrase, such as “brushing bolts” in place of brushing teeth. Dickason’s illustrations use a consistent palette of mostly primary colors and feature 1960s-style robots drawn with antennae, motherboards on boxy chests, and wheels for feet. The pages are busy and packed, allowing for new discoveries upon each read, though this busyness argues for use with older toddlers. It’s not entirely clear where the robots are headed (school?) or whether or not they’re also ETs (they fly away on a spaceship), but the story is fun enough to overlook those muddled details.
Good for a giggle from preschool readers despite its slight imperfections. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1871-4
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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