I PLAY

Name: I PLAY
Author: David McPhail
ISBN: 978-1-62672-147-0

by David McPhail ; illustrated by David McPhail ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2015

Despite the brevity of the text, the humor embedded in the illustrations will engage even adults, who will doubtless be...

bookshelf

Find a baby and play together with this board book geared to the attention spans of very young children.

Simple uncluttered layouts provide focus. Both this title and the co-published I Get Dressed use animal characters and vocabulary introduced in McPhail's My Mother Goose (2013), making them rare successful board-book adaptations of previously published picture books. As the title suggests, I Get Dressed names items of clothing while this offering reinforces action verbs. McPhail's bear walks with purpose, jumps for joy, and finally is quietly engrossed in reading. With just one word per page, even the youngest children will soon follow suit. Although the animals in I Get Dressed are just as whimsical, it is somewhat less satisfying, perhaps because different animals are used on each page, and the vocabulary concepts are more difficult. Even the animals look bemused to find themselves wearing clothes. The praying mantis wearing gloves is a delightful surprise, however. No one would trust the sly snake wearing that salesman's tie or, for that matter, a fox wearing a dress. McPhail knows and respects children. He manages to draw anthropomorphic animals without making them nauseatingly cute.

Despite the brevity of the text, the humor embedded in the illustrations will engage even adults, who will doubtless be asked to “read it again.” (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: July 28, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-62672-147-0

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
I FEEL SAFE
by David McPhail ; illustrated by David McPhail

- BOOK REVIEW
I HAD TEN HATS
by David McPhail ; illustrated by David McPhail

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LOST LITTLE BIRD
by David McPhail ; illustrated by David McPhail

bookshelf

SPOOKY POOKIE

by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2015

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.

bookshelf

One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.

It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: July 7, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5

Page Count: 18

Publisher: Robin Corey/Random

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
HIPPOS REMAIN CALM
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

- BOOK REVIEW
WOO HOO! YOU'RE DOING GREAT!
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

- BOOK REVIEW
HAPPY EASTER, LITTLE POOKIE
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

bookshelf

LLAMA LLAMA TRICK OR TREAT

From the Llama Llama series

by Anna Dewdney ; illustrated by Anna Dewdney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 2014

bookshelf

In this board book designed for the littlest llama lovers, adorable-as-ever Llama Llama (Llama Llama Red Pajama, 2005, etc.) gets ready for some Halloween fun.

Dewdney’s characteristic spare, apt rhymes convey a lot of action in effortlessly readable fashion. A charming and simple introduction to Halloween and its associated activities, this title finds little Llama Llama choosing and carving a pumpkin, pouring candy into bowls, picking out a costume and, finally, trick-or-treating. The costume Llama Llama decides to don—pointy teeth and a black mask and cape—is enough to frighten and fool his friends but not readers, who will immediately recognize and smile at the silly little mini-Dracula. With Dewdney’s characters as expressive as ever, young readers will be drawn right into the holiday fun, eagerly anticipating which costume Llama Llama will choose and excited to see him scare his friends and score some candy at trick-or-treat. In the equally appealing companion title, Llama Llama Jingle Bells,the little fellow gets ready for Christmas, baking and decorating some cookies in anticipation of Santa’s arrival. This simple holiday title will win Llama Llama new fans, and old friends will want to add it and its companion to their collections. (Board book. 1-2)