A sure winner for multiple readings day after day.
A day in the life of a toddler is experienced through an exploration of the opposites that exist in the tot’s world.
Early morning, awake in the crib, this child is eager to start the day while parents sleep. “Asleep. Awake. Daybreak!” Morning routines—getting dressed, eating breakfast, and sibling play—precede the day’s outing: “Off. On. Here. Gone. / Laugh. Cry. Hi! Bye.” The day’s contrasting descriptions continue with these one-word sentences arranged in rhymes as this interracial (Asian/White) family of four and their dog leave their city row house to take a walk to the park. They meet friends, play, buy ice cream, walk home, prepare dinner, take baths, read stories, and finally go to sleep. It is a very full day expressed as differing observations and feelings. “Short. Tall” describes first the children and next the family they meet, while “Hungry. Full” sums up the before- and after-dinner experiences. The lovely watercolor-and-ink illustrations extend and expand the minimal text into a complete view of a toddler’s average day with its satisfactions and disappointments. Trying to keep up with their older sib, this determined toddler is bound to try to do more than they might be ready for, as they topple off at the bottom of the slide. “Up. Down. Smile! Frown.” Toddlers will easily recognize and relate to this readable snapshot of a typical day’s activities.
A sure winner for multiple readings day after day. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-58089-878-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This TV rerun in board-book form has nothing new to offer.
Peppa hopes to join her classmates in a Halloween pumpkin competition in this adaptation of a story from the popular British television program Peppa Pig.
With the help of Granny and Grandpa Pig, Peppa turns her giant pumpkin, which is the size of a compact car, into a jack-o’-lantern. The trio is flummoxed when it comes time to transport the pumpkin to the competition, so they call on Miss Rabbit and her helicopter to airlift the pumpkin to the festivities as Peppa and her grandparents ride inside. Peppa arrives just in time for the contest and wins the prize for best flying pumpkin. The scenes look as if they are pulled directly from the television show, right down to the rectangular framing of some of the scenes. While the story is literally nothing new, the text is serviceable, describing the action in two to three sentences per page. The pumpkin-shaped book and orange foil cover will likely attract youngsters, whether they are Peppa fans or not.
This TV rerun in board-book form has nothing new to offer. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-33922-2
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
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