A delightful sea-quel.
Bitty Bot is back in this beachside companion to his previous, eponymous interstellar adventure (2016).
“At the beach in Botco Bay, / robots love to splash and play.” But not Bitty Bot—the little robot would rather skip the heat and sand and play back home in Robot City. Bitty’s not afraid of water (that’s what “rustproof robot oil” is for); it’s just that there’s no one to play with. Things start to look up when Bitty spots two other unhappy young bots, Clank and Smitty. Bitty mobilizes the pair—along with Bitty’s trusty robot-dog and a very amiable crab—to build a submarine for undersea exploration. On its maiden voyage the group sees stingrays, mermaids, giant squids….But when the sub springs a leak, will the quartet make it back to the surface? The cast of characters includes robots of different body types and colors. (Eyelashes suggest gender; none of the three child bots sport them, however.) Unlike the robots, the mermaids (buxom and purple) look mostly homogenous. The parent bots are eerily cheery, unfazed by their children’s exploits—possibly suggesting that the children’s travels were just make-believe. The rhyming couplets sustain a jaunty pace and playfulness that neatly match the almost-giddy art style. The warm color palette of the beach and the contrasting cool tones of the robots and underwater scenery make this a good choice for group sharing in storytime.
A delightful sea-quel. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4931-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world.
A quiet book for putting young children to bed in a state of snowy wonder.
The magic of the north comes alive in a picture book featuring Inuit characters. In the sky at nighttime, snow falls fast. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a raven roosts atop a tall building. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a mother’s delicate song to her child arises like a gentle breeze.” With the repetition of the simple, titular refrain, the author envisions what happens in a small town at night: Young children see their breath in the cold; a hunter returns on his snowmobile; the stars dazzle in the night sky. A young mother rocks her baby to sleep with a song and puts the tot down with a trio of stuffed animals: hare, polar bear, seal. The picture book evokes a feeling of peace as the street lamps, northern lights, and moon illuminate the snow. The illustrations are noteworthy for the way they meld the old world with what it looks like to be a modern Indigenous person: A sled dog and fur-lined parkas combine easily with the frame houses, a pickup truck, power lines, and mobile-hung crib. By introducing Indigenous characters in an unremarkably familiar setting, the book reaches children who don’t always see themselves in an everyday context.
A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77227-238-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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