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ANIMALS

Name: ANIMALS
Author: Rilla Alexander
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7392-4

illustrated by Rilla Alexander ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019

The best part of this one is also the most inconsistent: the rich and challenging vocabulary.

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This tactile board book presents animals, glimpses of their habitats, and associated vocabulary.

In Alexander’s eye-catching book, a series of familiar animals is presented, each in a colorful two-page layout. Each animal is a separate die-cut figure glued into a larger, shaped cutout presented on recto; on verso are its name—formed from die-cut letters that will nestle in the cutout opposite—along with a set of descriptive words, the only text. Nouns are set in boldface, while adjectives are plain text, and participles are italicized. Some flaws niggle. One adjective—“slimy”—sneaks into the frog’s participles. The nouns are mostly visible in the accompanying illustration, but not the cats’ claws. Most spreads also include the word for the various animals’ offspring, with the exception of the bees (“young bee” is presented as a smiling, small foraging adult rather than “larva”—definitely cuter but inaccurate). These oversights are a letdown. The adjectives and participles, however, are wonderfully descriptive, and many could be new for little ones, like “gamboling” cows, “velvety” moles, and “wallowing” pigs. The illustrations themselves are very spare, a startling contrast to the highly specific and detailed text. The simultaneously publishing Food follows the same format, but the illustrations are more unexpected and engaging, like finding the raised letters “y-u-m” in a bowl of alphabet noodles.

The best part of this one is also the most inconsistent: the rich and challenging vocabulary. (Board book. 6 mos-2)

Pub Date: April 16, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4521-7392-4

Page Count: 16

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE THINGAMAJIG
by Rilla Alexander ; illustrated by Rilla Alexander

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YOU RULE!
by Rilla Alexander ; illustrated by Rilla Alexander

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FIONA IN THE SANDBOX
by Rilla Alexander ; illustrated by Rilla Alexander

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BUTT OR FACE?

by Kari Lavelle ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2023

A gleeful game for budding naturalists.

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Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.

In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 11, 2023

ISBN: 9781728271170

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore

Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
ODE TO GRAPEFRUIT
by Kari Lavelle ; illustrated by Bryan Collier

- BOOK REVIEW
WE MOVE THE WORLD
by Kari Lavelle ; illustrated by Nabi H. Ali

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I LIKE THE FARM

From the I Like To Read series

by Shelley Rotner ; photographed by Shelley Rotner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 15, 2017

Simple, encouraging text, charming photographs, straightforward, unpretentious diversity, and adorable animals—what’s not to...

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This entry-level early reader/picture book pairs children with farm animals.

Using a simple, effective template—a full-page photograph on the recto page and a bordered spot photo above the text on the verso—Rotner delivers an amiable picture book that presents racially and ethnically diverse kids interacting (mostly in the cuddling department) with the adult and baby animals typically found on a farm. Chickens, chicks, cats, kittens, dogs, puppies, pigs, piglets, cows, and calves are all represented. While a couple of double-page spreads show the larger adult animals—pigs and cows—without a child, most of the rest portray a delighted child hugging a compliant critter. The text, simple and repetitive, changes only the name for the animal depicted in the photo on that spread: “I like the cat”; “I like the piglet.” In this way, reading comprehension for new readers is supported in an enjoyable, appealing way, since the photo of the animal reinforces the new word. It’s hard to go wrong combining cute kids with adorable animals, but special kudos must be given for the very natural way Rotner has included diversity—it’s especially gratifying to see diversity normalized and validated early, at the same time that reading comprehension is taught.

Simple, encouraging text, charming photographs, straightforward, unpretentious diversity, and adorable animals—what’s not to like? (Picture book/early reader. 2-6)