It doesn’t dig deep for truck information, but it hauls high-interest illustrations for young fanatics.
This oversized board book covers trucks of all types, from construction vehicles to farming equipment.
There really are 101 different trucks, and readers can even see (and count!) them all together on the final spread. Each double-page spread features a different truck type, with a short description. The accompanying illustrations show one in action on the verso while the recto presents stand-alone, labeled pictures of an additional 15 or more. The text itself is simple and straightforward. The general, brief descriptions of each type are helpful, but none of the individual trucks have explanations. Because the illustrations largely appear with no context, this can make understanding the work of the less-common vehicles—the “cold planer,” for example—a challenge. Additionally, some trucks are listed under confusing headings. The bookmobile is listed as a “helper” truck even though the “carriers” are defined on the previous spread as “bring[ing] books or baggage.” The illustrations are cute, all rendered so that the front headlights and grille become facial features. Even with this anthropomorphization, each still has an impressive amount of detail. Enthusiasts will love the inclusion of lesser-known trucks such as the “trencher” and “storm chaser” and will also delight in seeing familiar favorites.
It doesn’t dig deep for truck information, but it hauls high-interest illustrations for young fanatics. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 28, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-25938-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
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
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
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