An acceptably simple confection, about as necessary for a baby as candy
Lion's fabric mane on the cover promises excitement within.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t deliver. Inside, the stuffed animals are cheery but disappointingly bland. Saccharine-sweet four-line rhymes refer to the pastel stuffed animals that play on each page. Lion rides a bike; Puppy is playing with cars, while Mouse plays a horn. Curiously, the “Baby” the title greets is nowhere to be seen. The same animal toys are featured in two other titles published simultaneously. In Good Night Baby! Elephant, Bunny, Penguin, and all the others pile into bed, but again there is no baby in sight. Peekaboo Baby! is the most successful of the trio. It avoids the sugary rhymes, instead posing a question that is answered when readers open a large gatefold flap on the opposite page. The final flap reveals a mirror, and finally, there's Baby. However, an excited toddler could quite easily tear the flaps, which are just half as thick as the regular pages. The large trim size of all three books (just under 8 inches square) allows for an uncluttered layout. Both Hello and Good Night have birds, butterflies, music notes, and flowers scattered about, making it abundantly clear that cheerfulness is mandatory in this little world.
An acceptably simple confection, about as necessary for a baby as candy . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-58925-210-3
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
An effervescent celebration of play in the early years.
As with Spanyol’s stellar Clive books, Rosa’s favorite activities buck gender stereotypes.
The toddler races toy cars, jumps monster trucks, and builds a car out of a cardboard box with her buddies in what looks like a day care or preschool setting. Spanyol’s childlike lines, soft palette, and chunky figures are as cheerful as ever. The text is mostly straightforward, simple narration peppered with exclamations from Rosa and her chums: “Rosa and Marcel play in the sandpit. ‘Dig-a-dig, dig-a-dig, scoop!’ sings Rosa.” Rosa has brown skin and black, curly hair, and she wears bright yellow eyeglasses. Her friends include Samira, who uses a wheelchair and is likely of South Asian descent; Mustafa, who appears black; Biba, who has light-brown skin and straight, black hair; and Sarah and Marcel, who both present white. Three other equally charming titles accompany this offering. In Rosa and Her Dinosaurs, the heroine dons a purple dress and plays with a collection of toy dinosaurs. Rosa and her buds (all wearing helmets) roll through the pages of Rosa Rides Her Scooter. And in Rosa Plays Ball, Rosa pushes a cart with various kinds of balls to toss about with her friends outside.
An effervescent celebration of play in the early years. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-78628-125-8
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fun but inessential novelty, as much toy as book.
A familiar song repackaged as a board book doubles as a finger puppet.
Many a caregiver has sung this refrain to a newborn or toddler, ignoring the decidedly sad lyrics of the original. Magsamen lays claim and sweetens it up. She uses only the chorus and changes the last line to “I’ll give you lots of hugs… / and kisses every day” instead of the expected “Please don’t take my sunshine away.” Her cheery artwork, reminiscent of applique, recalls the song’s country-music roots and is anything but sad. The pages are decorated with hearts and cuddly-looking caregiver-child animal pairs—foxes, skunks with sunny yellow umbrellas, bunnies, raccoons, and squirrels. The thick, heart-shaped pages include a circular die-cut hole through which readers might poke the smiling felt sun puppet attached to the back cover. A finger inserted from the back makes the sun wiggle and will capture even the youngest baby’s attention. The puppet feature does not obstruct the initial page turns, but when a toddler says, “Do it again” (as they doubtless will), quickly re-positioning the finger puppet is somewhat challenging.
A fun but inessential novelty, as much toy as book. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-30576-0
Page Count: 6
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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