While others have done the trope better, both titles are passable parent-child love stories.
Various animal youngsters share what’s special about their mommies.
Hodgman’s prose describes each mother’s virtue in phrases that mix sentiment with simple descriptions. “My mommy is the most beautiful mommy in the world. / My mommy tucks me in at night.” The soft watercolor cartoons inconsistently place the critters in human or animal settings, but all of the characters wear clothes or accessories of some sort. Most of the scenes are sentimentally warm, as when the mama duck floats by while her duckling braves the water. Others don’t work quite so well, like a difficult-to-read image of an overly made-up ostrich mom and child gazing at each other in a bathroom mirror. The companion title, That’s My Daddy!, follows the same format with animal fathers, but Logan’s illustrations seem to indulge in a little more humor here. The daddy giraffe sports a necktie, and the woodpecker papa uses his beak to hammer in a nail. In both books, the gender roles are quite traditional. The moms teach cooking and wear aprons, and the dads use tools and go camping.
While others have done the trope better, both titles are passable parent-child love stories. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-645-3
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An invitation for readers to learn through observation.
Llama Llama and Mama spot different shapes at the farmers market.
Dewdney’s iconic llama stars in this board book, a part of the Learning With Llama Llama series. The story showcases five shapes: rectangles, squares, triangles, circles, and stars. Rather than simply showing the shapes and naming them, illustrator Morrow embeds them inside scenes from the farmers market. Each page turn uncovers a different shape. Signage and a shopping bag pop as rectangles, while umbrellas, a slice of watermelon, and the peaks of the tents form triangles. Shapes that appeared on previous pages are visible even as the story progresses, and the final page helps readers revisit and recall shapes they’ve already found. There are plenty of engaging details to keep readers looking, including other animal shoppers, kite-flying, and sudden, surprising rain. The text is concise, and each spread features a simple question inviting participation. This title is more captivating than other shape concept books, especially those that show block-colored shapes without context. Llama Llama’s popularity will make this a hit with fans, and readers looking for substance will find it. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An invitation for readers to learn through observation. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-46509-7
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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