A delightfully silly romp.
A gluttonous wolf eats several critters in this lift-the-flap offering.
A large black wolf with pointy ears and teeth looms over and stares down his prey on the recto of each spread. This page is also a gatefold; when it’s opened, readers see, spread by spread, a bird, a squirrel, a frog, and more travel into the wolf’s gullet, accompanied by the repeated refrain “CHOMP, CHOMP, down it went!” As the pages progress, the wolf’s belly grows larger after each subsequent meal. That all changes when the wolf consumes a hedgehog and the quills don’t agree with him. He soon vomits them up—all alive and well—and feels much better. Readers are encouraged to guess what the wolf should eat next from a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, despite his carnivorous nature, likely in an attempt to get readers to follow suit. While predatory eating may not sound like the most natural topic for board-book–reading toddlers, Baruzzi’s cartoons are lighthearted and playful. The simply rendered characters in bold colors are alive with cheeky expressions, and the silly repeated refrain echoes many a children’s classic. The gatefold flaps are sturdy despite the thinner-than-typical board pages.
A delightfully silly romp. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-988-8342-05-1
Page Count: 16
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
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