Quibbles aside, kids will enjoy reading and handling this book as long as its (not particularly sturdy) binding lasts.
One hundred and fifty words, most of them useful!
This substantial, 24-page board book aims to expand the vocabularies of young readers by way of text, drawings, and 30 touch-and-feel elements. Each page depicts objects organized by theme: “Meal Time,” “Bedtime,” and “Bath Time,” for example, or “Clothes,” “At the Market,” and “On the Road.” The book concludes with 10 pages of animals: “Short Hair,” “Furry,” “Smooth Skin,” “Rough Skin,” “Scales and Shells,” and “Birds.” Textured items on each page keep little fingers and minds engaged—a baby bottle, a plush blanket, a burlap sack, a corduroy jacket, horse “hair,” wolf “fur,” and fish “scales,” to name a few. The book depicts children of varied ethnicities—a white boy and girl on the front and back covers respectively, a brown-skinned boy and a girl who appears to be his younger sister, and a black-haired, brown-skinned boy buying strawberries. There are a few sour notes: one familiar toy is labeled a “shape sorter,” which many children will simply see as a puzzle. “Ride-on car,” too, sounds awkward, though descriptive. “Jam” is recognizable, but “hazelnut spread” seems a stretch for a child. Both resemble leading grocery-store brands. “Toast” is covered in a sticky spread that collects hair and dirt when laid on a rug.
Quibbles aside, kids will enjoy reading and handling this book as long as its (not particularly sturdy) binding lasts. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-2-7459-8178-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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