A board book both babies and parents will enjoy, though it’s not quite original enough to be memorable.
This sweet, simple board book promises the tiniest audiences constant, enduring love.
Reading with kids, especially babies and toddlers, is about more than just vocabulary building and storytelling. It’s also a way to build physical and emotional bonds. Bedtime books establish a routine, ease the transition to sleep and ensure the little ones get what they crave: a cuddle and the sound of their parent’s or caregiver’s voice. “There are three things I’ll always do,” Rabe (Huff and Puff and the New Train (My First I Can Read), 2014, etc.) promises these little ones: “love you, hug you, read to you!” Parents and babies from all parts of the animal kingdom—horses, monkeys, polar bears, ducks and more—all cozy up and read together in their natural habitats. Rabe’s words are simple, and her clear if not particularly imaginative rhythm and rhymes are laced with the repetition the tiniest audiences love. The result is as gentle as a lullaby, though not an original one: “I’ll read to you when bright leaves fall. / We’ll pick some books and read them all. / I’ll read to you when soft winds blow… / in summer sun… / and winter snow.” As any board-book reader knows, they’re often forgettable and over in a flash. To extend the reading experience, engage toddlers’ attention and encourage two-way conversation, each page here has three questions, e.g., “What is Mama Cat doing?” and “Where is Baby Polar Bear sitting?” Some of the questions have straightforward answers, while others are cleverly positioned to spark discussion: “Why is Mama Duck reading to her ducklings? What is their book about?” Endersby’s illustrations have a classic, familiar style, with a soft color palette in mostly pastels. While he establishes each animal in its own natural setting (a den, an ice floe, etc.), he misses the opportunity to enrich the conversation with more details and clever touches.
A board book both babies and parents will enjoy, though it’s not quite original enough to be memorable.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-0-615-99697-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: Tish Rabe Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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