An engaging, visually appealing introduction to basic shapes, developmentally appropriate for infants and toddlers.
Die-cut squares and rectangles form a variety of images as pages are turned, introducing little ones to the versatility of these basic shapes.
Three small squares become the windows of, in turn, a bus and a train. One square can be a book or a tea kettle (called here a “pot”). A rectangle turns into a door or a toy block. Two rectangles become candles or pencils. One small square is an ice cube or a segment of a chocolate bar, while four little squares can form a window or a gift-wrapped present. The final page asks readers to guess what a horizontal rectangle might be. Flipping to the back cover reveals it to be the opening of a mail box. (Though it is a red box on a post rather than the iconic U.S. Postal Service blue box, its use should be clear, with a bit of explanation.) Simple illustrations with bold lines and vivid colors combine with the die-cut squares and rectangles to encourage children to guess what these shapes might become and to recognize how they are part of larger images. Structured in a similar manner, Circles invites readers to explore the many different pictures that circles can contribute to, including an apple, an egg, a car with wheels, and more.
An engaging, visually appealing introduction to basic shapes, developmentally appropriate for infants and toddlers. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-988-8240-68-5
Page Count: 26
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As with many holiday gifts, the sparkly packaging may interest toddlers more than what’s inside.
Readers can count down eight of Santa's reindeer as they jump up and out of the scene.
In each one of the mostly double-page spreads, one reindeer, from Dasher to Blitzen, plays a central role in a winter activity (sledding, ski jumping, ice skating—and soccer and yoga?) that launches the creature into the air. Glitter-speckled tabs, each with small portraits of a member of Santa's herd, appear at either the top or the right side of each page, which little fingers will enjoy flipping. In what looks to be pencil-and-watercolor cartoons, Rogers uses different facial expressions, as well as collars, bows or other accessories, to distinguish the reindeer from one another. Donner (not Donder) and Blitzen are squeezed together on the penultimate spread, likely to keep the page count down. The verse mostly scans, but the rhyme scheme has become the cliché of counting books: "Eight jolly reindeer / stretching up to heaven. / Up goes Dasher / and then there are... // Seven...." Santa, his iconic sleigh and the eight reindeer in flight make a dramatic and required appearance on the book's final double-page spread.
As with many holiday gifts, the sparkly packaging may interest toddlers more than what’s inside. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-65145-5
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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