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CHOO! CHOO!

GUESS THE VEHICLE!

From the What's That Noise? series

Cute but not exciting! (Board book. 1-3)

An abundance of exclamation points helps to define this British import and its companions.

Upon first examination, the question posed by the four titles in the series—“What's that noise?”—seems like a winner. Sounds are an easy way to entertain babies who are not yet talking. Cute cartoon animals on each facing flap and an attractive graphic design that merges perfectly with the hidden page it conceals give clues to what will be revealed when the flap is opened. Large, full-page flaps and a wavy edge make for easy manipulation by little fingers. The problem for many American families is the British-specific vocabulary. Is “Dugga! Dugga! Dugga!” really the sound of a backhoe (labeled “Digger!”)? American families reading companion title Tap! Tap! Guess the Toy! will be startled to see a little raccoon playing with “Bricks!” (which alert parents will just call “blocks”), and few American parents will be able to keep a straight face when asked to call a car horn a “Hooter!” Toot! Toot! Guess the Instrument! is the best in the series, with clear images and universal sounds. In the fourth title in the series, Snap! Snap! Guess the Animal!, the animal characters that ask, “What’s that noise?” seem to have been chosen for cuteness, not because of any relation to the hidden creatures.

Cute but not exciting! (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-84643-746-5

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Child's Play

Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

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THE ABCS OF LOVE

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

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SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

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

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