Potentially helpful but far from terrific.
The new Terrific Toddlers series explores toddlerhood’s trials and jubilations.
The book’s opening page juxtaposes an illustration of first-aid supplies with expository text that reads, “Sometimes we get boo-boos! Sometimes boo-boos hurt, and sometimes they are scary.” The next spread shifts to a narrative about a little girl named Jo-Jo who appears black, with light brown skin and hair done up in two twists. When she falls and hurts her chin, her father (who shares her coloring) comforts her, and then he uses the first-aid supplies from the first page to treat her small wound. While the text provides good modeling for adult readers to use to validate, calm, and distract kids with minor injuries such as this, the watercolor illustrations falter in their characterization of Daddy and his expressions. His vacant, distant stares on some spreads are anything but comforting. This artistic misstep is apparent in the companion titles, All Mine! (about helping toddlers share) and Bye-Bye! (about dealing with everyday separation anxiety). Both of these latter books feature multiracial casts of characters, and all three have a backmatter “Note to Parents and Caregivers” expanding on their respective focuses. Sadly, they also all include flawed depictions of adults whose facial expressions are difficult to read, which seems especially damning in books about adults helping children with emotional regulation.
Potentially helpful but far from terrific. (Picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4338-2875-1
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers.
A board-book ode to parental love as old as the dinosaurs.
A line of text on the left of each spread reads like a dinosaur-themed valentine that a third grader might choose, with punishingly punny wordplay that incorporates dinosaur-related words. On the facing page a dinosaur pair—a baby and an adult—gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes against whimsical, pastel-hued prehistoric-ish backgrounds. In smaller print, in all caps, at the bottom of the left page is the scientific name for the dinosaur referenced by the text and picture followed by a helpful phonetic pronunciation guide. White-outlined footprints appear next to their names, though the white is sometimes difficult to see against the pastel pages. Ten of the best-known dinosaurs are included. Twisting the dinosaur names to fit the loving sentiments succeeds some of the time but more often results in tortured text, well beyond the understanding of the board book audience. The line accompanying two hugging velociraptors, for instance, is just confusing: “Wrap-TOR arms around me, / with you I’ll always stay.” Others are just plain clumsy: “I-wanna-GUANODON you kisses, / I truly just adore you.” Very young children, even those fascinated by dinosaurs, will not get it. Older dinosaur fans will be put off by the babyish format.
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2295-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
Wonderful, indeed
A love song to baby with delightful illustrations to boot.
Sweet but not saccharine and singsong but not forced, Martin’s text is one that will invite rereadings as it affirms parental wishes for children while admirably keeping child readers at its heart. The lines that read “This is the first time / There’s ever been you, / So I wonder what wonderful things / You will do” capture the essence of the picture book and are accompanied by a diverse group of babies and toddlers clad in downright adorable outfits. Other spreads include older kids, too, and pictures expand on the open text to visually interpret the myriad possibilities and hopes for the depicted children. For example, a spread reading “Will you learn how to fly / To find the best view?” shows a bespectacled, school-aged girl on a swing soaring through an empty white background. This is just one spread in which Martin’s fearless embrace of the white of the page serves her well. Throughout the book, she maintains a keen balance of layout choices, and surprising details—zebras on the wallpaper behind a father cradling his child, a rock-’n’-roll band of mice paralleling the children’s own band called “The Missing Teeth”—add visual interest and gentle humor. An ideal title for the baby-shower gift bag and for any nursery bookshelf or lap-sit storytime.
Wonderful, indeed . (Picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37671-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
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