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I LOVE YOU, LITTLE MOO

Name: I LOVE YOU, LITTLE MOO
Author: Tilly Temple
ISBN: 978-1-68010-624-4

by Tilly Temple ; illustrated by Laura Deo ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 24, 2019

A thoughtful, versatile celebration of love that allows for playful toddler handling.

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Animal caregivers show affection for little ones with the help of sturdy movable flaps.

The titular “little moo” is a brown calf who appears on the opening double-page spread in a field facing away from an adult Holstein with horns and eyelashes. The calf is on a shaped flap, and when the flap is opened, the youngster appears to move back across the field to nuzzle its caregiver. On subsequent pages further animals are animated by the flip of a flap and given nicknames based on their sounds. A pig and a piglet (called “little oink) wallow in the mud; a duck enfolds two ducklings with its wings; a horse and foal gaze at each other; and a cat and kitten curl up together for bedtime. Each of these double-page spreads is accompanied by four lines of rhymed, sentimental verse with the final line appearing under the flap. Done in a harmoniously muted palette, Deo’s appealingly stocky, wide-eyed creatures and simplified backgrounds suit the feel of the text. Many of the young critters don’t match the coloring of their full-grown caregivers, allowing this title to work for families in a variety of configurations (children who were adopted, children in foster care, etc.). Toddlers will likely respond to the extra-sturdy flaps, which will survive robust interaction.

A thoughtful, versatile celebration of love that allows for playful toddler handling. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)

Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-68010-624-4

Page Count: 10

Publisher: Tiger Tales

Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THIS IS YOUR WORLD
by Tilly Temple ; illustrated by Sean Julian

- BOOK REVIEW
GOD BLESS YOU, LITTLE ONE
by Tilly Temple ; illustrated by Sebastien Braun

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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I LOVE YOU LIKE NO OTTER

by Rose Rossner ; illustrated by Sydney Hanson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2020

The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers.

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Animal parents declare their love for their offspring through rhymed puns and sentimental art.

The title sets the scene for what’s to come: The owl asks the owlet as they fly together, “WHOO loves you?”; the kangaroo and joey make each other “very HOPPY”; and the lioness and cub are a “PURRRFECT pair.” Most of the puns are both unimaginative and groanworthy, and they are likely to go over the heads of toddlers, who are not know for their wordplay abilities. The text is set in abcb quatrains split over two double-page spreads. On each spread, one couplet appears on the verso within a lightly decorated border on pastel pages. On the recto, a full-bleed portrait of the animal and baby appears in softly colored and cozy images. Hearts are prominent on every page, floating between the parent and baby as if it is necessary to show the love between each pair. Although these critters are depicted in mistily conceived natural habitats and are unclothed, they are human stand-ins through and through.

The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers. (Board book. 6 mos-2)