A playful, child-friendly introduction to a well-known work of art.
A baby hippo, based on the ancient Egyptian figurine from the Louvre Museum, plays hide-and-seek with a butterfly in this French import.
The titular calf, with bright blue skin and darker blue markings painted on its body, counts to three to find a spot to hide. Subsequent spreads find the hippo, chameleonlike, adopting the color and texture of yellow sand, red bricks, and green grass. When his mommy, a larger hippo with similar markings, calls him for a bath, the butterfly finds him. Now the butterfly, which is also bright blue, hides in plain sight against the baby hippo’s markings. Simultaneously publishing in the First Steps in Art series, Antoinette the Tree Frog, also by Elschner but illustrated by Xavière Devos, depicts a frog wearing an old-fashioned bathing costume in artist Claude Monet’s lily pond. A gust of wind carries off Mr. Claude’s straw hat, which Antoinette finds and takes a nap in. The droll narratives are simply told, and the illustrations loosely and effectively evoke the art style each uses as an inspiration. The backmatter of both books describes a bit about the artistic influences and where museum visitors can see the originals. On the back of each book, a reproduction of the original artwork appears.
A playful, child-friendly introduction to a well-known work of art. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7643-6111-1
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Schiffer
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
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
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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)
Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-0451469786
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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