Ultimately mostly just humbug
A retelling of the seasonal Dickens tale, complete with movable parts.
It’s tempting to want to share classics with children, and this board book pulls out all the stops to make the time-honored tale palatable to young listeners. Putting aside its sliders and spinners (none of which work very well), there stands the question of whether small children really need this book. Although the complex story has been decently condensed and simplified, it remains long and wordy to read aloud. This puts it well out of the realm of tolerance for the board-book crowd, though it may suit as an introduction for those elementary-aged kids who won’t be put off by the babyish format. Direct quotes sprinkled throughout are appropriate and iconic, but the story has an intensity simply not suited for the audience. High-level concepts and vocabulary are referenced, requiring so much preexisting knowledge (of boarding schools; spirits; the eventuality of death) that most of it will go over the heads of younger readers. Attractive vintage-style art looks swell and capitalizes on the best scenes, including a truly “scrumptious feast,” a not-too-spooky Jacob Marley, and a sprightly Ghost of Christmas Past, but the ambitious paper engineering does not work well. Slats and tabs are nearly impossible to pull out smoothly, while the wheels are hard to grip and turn.
Ultimately mostly just humbug .(Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64170-151-8
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Familius
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name.
A brief rhyming board book for toddlers.
Spurr's earlier board books (In the Garden and At the Beach, both 2012; In the Woods, 2013) featured an adventuresome little boy. Her new slice-of-life story stars an equally joyful little girl who takes pleasure in flying a new kite while not venturing far off the walkway. Oliphant's expressive and light-filled watercolors clearly depict the child's emotions—eager excitement on the way to the park, delight at the kite's flight in the wind, shock when the kite breaks free, dejection, and finally relief and amazement. The rhymes work, though uneven syllable counts in some stanzas interrupt the smooth flow of the verse. The illustrations depict the child with her mass of windblown curls, brown skin, and pronounced facial features as African-American. Her guardian (presumably her mother) is also brown-skinned. It is refreshing to see an African-American family settled comfortably in a suburban setting with single-family homes and a park where the family dog does not need to be leashed.
A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-56145-854-7
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
The joys of counting combine with pretty art and homage to Goodnight Moon.
This bedtime book offers simple rhymes, celebrates the numbers one through 10, and encourages the counting of objects.
Each double-page spread shows a different toddler-and-caregiver pair, with careful attention to different skin tones, hair types, genders, and eye shapes. The pastel palette and soft, rounded contours of people and things add to the sleepy litany of the poems, beginning with “Goodnight, one fork. / Goodnight, one spoon. / Goodnight, one bowl. / I’ll see you soon.” With each number comes a different part in a toddler’s evening routine, including dinner, putting away toys, bathtime, and a bedtime story. The white backgrounds of the pages help to emphasize the bold representations of the numbers in both written and numerical forms. Each spread gives multiple opportunities to practice counting to its particular number; for example, the page for “four” includes four bottles of shampoo and four inlaid dots on a stool—beyond the four objects mentioned in the accompanying rhyme. Each home’s décor, and the array and types of toys and accoutrements within, shows a decidedly upscale, Western milieu. This seems compatible with the patronizing author’s note to adults, which accuses “the media” of indoctrinating children with fear of math “in our country.” Regardless, this sweet treatment of numbers and counting may be good prophylaxis against math phobia.
The joys of counting combine with pretty art and homage to Goodnight Moon. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93378-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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