Quibbles aside, the whole whimsical package is a visually pleasing introduction to rainbow colors for toddlers.
Little ones learn some basic colors.
Despite what the title says, there’s really no surprise. This whole board book makes a rainbow. The small, smiling, white, scalloped cloud that is the front cover opens to reveal a somewhat larger quarter circle of red. Each successively larger quarter circle (pages are reinforced with foam) opens to uncover the next color of the rainbow. With only six color-specific spreads, there is no room for both indigo and violet, so the more-common term “purple” has been substituted. This divergence from the common mnemonic (ROYGBIV) is acceptable considering the age of the intended audience, and the final double-page spread, which reproduces the rainbow with all seven colors, offers opportunities for motivated caregivers to explore further. As is common in books about color, the name of the color is printed in it on each page and is accompanied by the names and pictures of objects commonly associated with that color. The examples for red (apple and firetruck) and green (grass and frog) make perfect sense. But “the bill of a duck” (the fowl is distractingly green, popping against the orange of the background) for orange, “the fur of a dog” for yellow, and a whale for blue may be more confusing than edifying for literal-minded 2-year-olds. And butterflies and flowers come in many colors, not just purple.
Quibbles aside, the whole whimsical package is a visually pleasing introduction to rainbow colors for toddlers. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-11098-2
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...
An exploration of the human body through colorful photos.
Every other double-page spread labels the individual parts on one major area: head, torso, back, arm and leg. Ethnically diverse boy-girl pairs serve as models as arrows point to specific features and captions float nearby. While the book usefully mentions rarely depicted body parts, such as eyebrow, armpit and shin, some of the directional arrows are unclear. The arrow pointing at a girl’s shoulder hits her in the upper arm, and the belly button is hard is distinguish from the stomach (both are concealed by shirts). Facts about the human body (“Guess what? You have tiny hairs in your nose that keep out dirt”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of kids in action. Baby Animals, another title in the Look & Learn series, uses an identical format to introduce readers to seal pups, leopard cubs, elephant calves, ducklings and tadpoles. In both titles, the final spread offers a review of the information and encourages readers to match baby animals to their parents or find body parts on a photo of kids jumping on a trampoline.
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on the right track despite earlier titles that were much too conceptual for the audience. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4263-1483-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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