A simple springtime story that will have toddlers hopping with excitement.
A group of toy animals board the Playtime Express train to Bunnyville.
When a toy dinosaur, bear, lion, and unicorn ride the train through a tunnel, they come to life on the other side. It’s spring in Bunnyville, and the animals are excited to experience it. They meet the Easter Bunny and assist with an egg hunt. They enjoy lots of muddy play in the garden, splash in puddles during a rain shower, and help decorate eggs and hand out Easter baskets. At the end of their busy day, the animals board the train back to a child’s playroom, becoming toys once again. The rhyming text bounces along as easily as the many rabbits in Bunnyville, making this a fitting read-aloud. Zivoin’s illustrations are brightly colored, child-friendly, and brimming with sweetness; an especially endearing one depicts a line of ducklings in rain boots with umbrellas joyfully splashing through spring raindrops. The visuals include plenty of adorable details, like the dinosaur clutching its very own stuffed dino or the Easter Bunny hiding among stuffed animals in the child’s room. The uncomplicated storytelling and appealing pictures make for a worthwhile read.
A simple springtime story that will have toddlers hopping with excitement. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781464234750
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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