There's not one decent insect leg to stand on here.
It's unfortunate that opposites attract in this dismal offering.
Little Speckled Bug meets his neighbor and immediately feels a connection to the female Bug Next Door, even though they express quite different interests. Little Speckled Bug wants to play boisterous games; the buggy diva's suggestions are stereotypically feminine in contrast. “What if we dressed up as flower fairies instead? We could put on long dresses and wear make up.” In an awkward sequence, the pair share hobbies, including collecting the appendages of their fellow insects (!), and a kiss. Little Speckled Bug's cheeks flush as he pines for his new love. The abrupt, didactic conclusion is both pretentious and perplexing: “But you see, in the blanket, just as in the rest of the world, there are lots of differences between girls and boys”—though other references have been made to the "blanket," its relationship to the book’s world is never explained. The mostly felted mixed-media spreads incorporate a hodgepodge of commonly found items, including sequins and postage stamps. Facial expressions are rigid, and the emotions portrayed inauthentic.
There's not one decent insect leg to stand on here. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7148-6356-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Phaidon
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
More kit than story, with some assembly required.
Two outings and a game of hide-and-seek in between add up to a perfect day for Peppa and friends in this four-spread TV-series spinoff.
First Peppa and her bubble-gum–pink family ride to the park (“Vroom!” says little George) for a healthy picnic packed by Daddy Pig. Then it’s home for playtime with Danny Dog and Suzy Sheep, until Grandpa Pig arrives with a boat big enough for all (“Ship ahoy!”). Children can embellish this stripped-down plotline on the foldout playscape attached to the back cover. All of the figures in the flat, very simple illustrations also come as punch-outs on a loose sheet, and there are corresponding slots in the detachable pop-up car and boat. Fans of the British series, which runs on Nick Jr. in the United States, may experience several moments of pleasure before the card-stock vehicles are crushed.
More kit than story, with some assembly required. (sticker sheet) (Pop-up/picture book. 3-4)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6825-9
Page Count: 8
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For lift-the-flap done right, skip this one and choose Lucy Cousins’ Maisy’s Big Flap Book (2001) or one of Karen Katz’s...
A chunky lift-the-flap board book about a little lost duckling reunited with its family.
Mama Duck has lost her littlest egg. The ladybugs haven’t seen it. Neither have the fish. The Easter Bunny, however, knows exactly where to look. After the family is reunited, they all go home for a good night’s rest. The text incorporates a lift-the-flap feature, but there does not seem to be much rhyme or reason behind this choice. Seemingly random parts of the text and illustrations are hidden under flaps, with the only rhetorically effective spread being the one featuring the flap that turns out to be hiding the little duck. The illustrations incorporate animals made of Play-Doh, lending them a distinct Claymation quality. They are very colorful but so busy as to appear crowded. Little ones might enjoy looking for the yellow eggshell containing the missing duckling on several of the pages if they are not too distracted by the unnecessary flaps.
For lift-the-flap done right, skip this one and choose Lucy Cousins’ Maisy’s Big Flap Book (2001) or one of Karen Katz’s delightful outings, such as Where Is Baby’s Yummy Tummy? (2011) or Where Is Baby’s Puppy? (2011). (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-60710-771-2
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Silver Dolphin
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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