Sure to encourage toddlers to smile.
Die-cut, wide-open crying mouths build up to a happy surprise at the end.
This whimsical board book aims to bring a smile to the face of a crying child. Starting with the cover, readers see a brightly colored purple mouse on a white background; its mouth is wide open, crying. On each successive right-hand page readers will encounter more crying creatures: a kitten, a rabbit, a monkey, a pig, a bear, and two children (perhaps a girl and a boy). Each one of them is brightly colored and boldly outlined in black, on a white background. The page at the back of the sequence of die-cut mouths is red, lending a dramatic effect to the wide-open mouths. The trick here lies in the perspective. Each successive creature looks closer, occupying more of the page, and the mouths growing larger, until the last face occupies the entire page. Meanwhile, each left-hand page has some consoling sentence: “Oh, little kitten, don’t cry!” “Little pig, come have a hug!” But more importantly, each statement is set on a solid color: purple, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. Yes! The colors of the rainbow. When readers turn the page on the last crying mouth, they will find the colors and the layered die cuts make a rainbow!
Sure to encourage toddlers to smile. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-988-8341-04-7
Page Count: 18
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
The cozy experience of love within these pages is palpable.
A hymn of praise to a variety of blankies and security objects.
“Blankie big, / Blankie tiny, // Blankie knitty, knotty, / shiny!” The rhymed verse continues in this vein, sharing a line or half a line per page. Thompson’s quick-study sketches are droll and funny, capturing the humor of blankies lost, found and at play. The facts that she calls all loveys (including stuffed animals) blankies and that a stuffed bear somehow falls out of an airplane in flight may confuse some adult readers, but little ones will connect with the scenes immediately. The diversity of the toddlers depicted in these scenes is refreshing and reminiscent of Helen Oxenbury’s works; the child who is wearing a medical eye patch with a zebra pattern that happens to match his stuffed zebra’s coat is a particularly welcome sight. It is also rare and pleasing to find a book about blankies that does not try to make the child leave it behind.
The cozy experience of love within these pages is palpable. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: June 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-84643-515-7
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
Still, adults looking for a read-aloud snuggle could do worse than this softly worded examination of love and the words we...
Adult animals shower love on their little ones.
This board book is all about love, specifically the love caregivers have for their children. In second-person text that uses an abcb rhyme scheme, little readers are given praise and colorful nicknames. “Doodlebug,” “sweetheart,” “sugar plum,” “champ,” and more are on offer. The book encourages cuddling and ends with a call for a big bear hug. The gently stylized figures and muted color scheme make this board book stand out visually, but beyond this superficial difference there is little that truly grabs the attention from others on the shelf. The foxes, rabbits, bears, and monkeys are all suitably adorable and will probably entertain young readers that have just begun to sit still for read-alouds. The compositions are sometimes overbusy and the visual metaphors strained. As an adult owl calls its baby a “yummy little cupcake,” the baby appears with pink feathers, green wings, and a leafy topknot, for all the world like a small flying strawberry hovering over a pastry—a picture that may be quite difficult for little ones to decode.
Still, adults looking for a read-aloud snuggle could do worse than this softly worded examination of love and the words we use to express it. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-519-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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