An idyllic and idealized portrait of rural America, preserved in ink and paint rather than amber
A cozy board book is as traditional as “traditional” can be.
“On a little old farm… // In a little old house… // A little old lady flips two eggs from a pan, / as the toast pops up for her little old man.” The book goes on to enumerate the various farm activities this gray-haired white couple engages in. The little old man tends livestock and crops, while the little old lady works in her kitchen garden and cooks; throughout, a brown corgi and a tiger cat supervise. Wisnewski’s rhythmic verse rolls along with pleasing inevitability, the final line of each page of text (always on verso) ending with a turn-prompting ellipsis that takes readers to the next bucolic scene. These are presented in round medallions that take up the whole of each 6-inch-square recto, with complementary accents (pairs of red socks with the laundry scene, sprigs of blueberries with the pie-baking scene) in each corner. Although this farm is not free of relatively modern technology, those few items that do exist (an old enameled gas stove, a mid-20th-century red tractor) reinforce the sense of time gone by. The book ends with the four principals “fast asleep,” the corgi tucked in between little old man and little old lady and the cat curled up on the covers.
An idyllic and idealized portrait of rural America, preserved in ink and paint rather than amber . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 30, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-56792-594-4
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Godine
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
An effervescent celebration of play in the early years.
As with Spanyol’s stellar Clive books, Rosa’s favorite activities buck gender stereotypes.
The toddler races toy cars, jumps monster trucks, and builds a car out of a cardboard box with her buddies in what looks like a day care or preschool setting. Spanyol’s childlike lines, soft palette, and chunky figures are as cheerful as ever. The text is mostly straightforward, simple narration peppered with exclamations from Rosa and her chums: “Rosa and Marcel play in the sandpit. ‘Dig-a-dig, dig-a-dig, scoop!’ sings Rosa.” Rosa has brown skin and black, curly hair, and she wears bright yellow eyeglasses. Her friends include Samira, who uses a wheelchair and is likely of South Asian descent; Mustafa, who appears black; Biba, who has light-brown skin and straight, black hair; and Sarah and Marcel, who both present white. Three other equally charming titles accompany this offering. In Rosa and Her Dinosaurs, the heroine dons a purple dress and plays with a collection of toy dinosaurs. Rosa and her buds (all wearing helmets) roll through the pages of Rosa Rides Her Scooter. And in Rosa Plays Ball, Rosa pushes a cart with various kinds of balls to toss about with her friends outside.
An effervescent celebration of play in the early years. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-78628-125-8
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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A fun but inessential novelty, as much toy as book.
A familiar song repackaged as a board book doubles as a finger puppet.
Many a caregiver has sung this refrain to a newborn or toddler, ignoring the decidedly sad lyrics of the original. Magsamen lays claim and sweetens it up. She uses only the chorus and changes the last line to “I’ll give you lots of hugs… / and kisses every day” instead of the expected “Please don’t take my sunshine away.” Her cheery artwork, reminiscent of applique, recalls the song’s country-music roots and is anything but sad. The pages are decorated with hearts and cuddly-looking caregiver-child animal pairs—foxes, skunks with sunny yellow umbrellas, bunnies, raccoons, and squirrels. The thick, heart-shaped pages include a circular die-cut hole through which readers might poke the smiling felt sun puppet attached to the back cover. A finger inserted from the back makes the sun wiggle and will capture even the youngest baby’s attention. The puppet feature does not obstruct the initial page turns, but when a toddler says, “Do it again” (as they doubtless will), quickly re-positioning the finger puppet is somewhat challenging.
A fun but inessential novelty, as much toy as book. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-30576-0
Page Count: 6
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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