Not the best for clarifying concepts but too visually striking to ignore.
An appealing but potentially confusing concept book about opposites.
Cheerful animal characters help to present basic opposites such as big/small and fast/slow. Initially, it seems that the size of the print is supposed to help convey meaning—on the first spread “Big,” accompanying the picture of an elephant, is printed in enormous letters, while “Small” appears in diminutive type next to a bee, and in the second spread, “Loud” appears in large type next to a group of monkeys, while “Quiet” is printed in tiny letters next to a butterfly. The pattern doesn’t hold up, though, as the next page arbitrarily presents “Hairy” in large type and “Smooth” in small print. Confusion appears elsewhere as well; for example, the “loud” monkeys, with mouths closed, appear more serene than raucous. With an adult to help sort out the concepts, though, children will enjoy this title for its standout illustrations; bold, appealing animals are set in interesting positions on solid backgrounds that appear as though they might have been colored by crayon. A companion title, Counting, presents more adorable animals to illustrate numerical concepts and asks readers to identify and count them.
Not the best for clarifying concepts but too visually striking to ignore. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-58925-586-9
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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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