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IN SUMMER / EN VERANO

A cheery addition to the series.

As the title suggests, a bilingual Spanish/English board book about summer.

A child in a summery outfit celebrates activities that are nice to do in summer. Each double-page spread presents a photo of the child against a fuchsia-red background performing the activity in question, the simple, direct text following a repeating pattern: “In summer…I like to drink sweet lemonade!” (or “playing baseball,” “swimming in the sea,” etc.). This is followed by “Do you like lemonade?” (etc.). The accompanying Spanish text follows the same format: “En verano…¡Me gusta beber limonada dulce!” (or “jugar al béisbol,” “nadar en el mar,” etc.), to be followed by “¿Te gusta la limonada?” (etc.). The English text, printed in yellow, is easy to read; the Spanish text, unfortunately, is in a light blue that is harder to see against the bright background. The choice of the Spanish word “polo” for “ice pop” is puzzling, as even though it is correct, it is also not commonly used; the word “paleta” is more often heard. The book ends with a question that invites children to go beyond the book: “What do you like about summer?” “¿Qué te gusta del verano?” The child has long, dark hair and Asian features, wearing a bright floral-print romper throughout.

A cheery addition to the series. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: April 1, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-936669-64-6

Page Count: 14

Publisher: blue manatee press

Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018

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ANIMAL SHAPES

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

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HELLO ROBOTS!

From the Hello…! series

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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