So-so rhymes with charming illustrations, this one doesn’t stand out for either teaching counting or sharing.
As the title and subtitle suggest, this rhyming board book depicts countable items for a beach picnic as children learn about sharing with friends.
From one to 10, each double-page spread features a child readying a quantity of supplies for the culminating beach party. Rivadeneira’s rhyming quatrains are broken into two couplets across two spreads each, which sometimes awkwardly breaks up the rhyme, and readers stopping to count the objects on the pages will lose the rhythm. The story’s final four pages include the full quatrain without breaks, making for a tighter read-aloud. Most of the stanzas have a solid cadence, but some are forced: “I have five ripe mangoes. / I sprinkle them with salt. // I have six avocadoes. / One’s too mushy (not my fault!).” Gulliver’s illustrations are softly drawn and include nice details that readers will enjoy pointing out: playful cats and dogs, adults busy in the background, bugs on the coffee mugs. The illustration with five mangoes could confuse younger readers, however, as there are actually six items (one mango is cut in half). The final two pages are a note to parents about children learning how to share. It’s a thoughtful inclusion even if the book mostly focuses on counting things and not so much on sharing.
So-so rhymes with charming illustrations, this one doesn’t stand out for either teaching counting or sharing. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5064-4679-0
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Beaming Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...
An exploration of the human body through colorful photos.
Every other double-page spread labels the individual parts on one major area: head, torso, back, arm and leg. Ethnically diverse boy-girl pairs serve as models as arrows point to specific features and captions float nearby. While the book usefully mentions rarely depicted body parts, such as eyebrow, armpit and shin, some of the directional arrows are unclear. The arrow pointing at a girl’s shoulder hits her in the upper arm, and the belly button is hard is distinguish from the stomach (both are concealed by shirts). Facts about the human body (“Guess what? You have tiny hairs in your nose that keep out dirt”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of kids in action. Baby Animals, another title in the Look & Learn series, uses an identical format to introduce readers to seal pups, leopard cubs, elephant calves, ducklings and tadpoles. In both titles, the final spread offers a review of the information and encourages readers to match baby animals to their parents or find body parts on a photo of kids jumping on a trampoline.
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on the right track despite earlier titles that were much too conceptual for the audience. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4263-1483-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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