A gentle acknowledgment that it’s a hard life being a hard-loved stuffed animal.
A toy rabbit realizes the value of home.
Nubby is a blue stuffed rabbit with a thick black unibrow. Fed up with being “carried, buried, dropped, dragged, torn, worn, chewed on, sat on, and even used as a nose wipe,” he sets off into “the great wide world” (aka the cul-de-sac near his home) for a new beginning. Aided (or, rather, carried) by a mischievous dog, he meets some real rabbits, who ignore him. Picked up by an aspiring magician (a child with tan skin and dark hair), he tries his hand (or paw) at fame, and when that doesn’t work out, he goes looking for fortune, digging for treasure with his canine pal. Far from home (across the street), he longs for his little boy—who has peach skin and a blond bowl cut—and the love he once had. Luckily, Nubby is able to hitch a ride home and returns to his life of being loved very hard, this time appreciating “being nuzzled, snuggled, cuddled, clutched, bathed, bundled, squeezed, smooched, and utterly adored” in between all the carrying, burying, dropping, dragging, and chewing. Illustrated with simple black lines, the watercolor, pencil, and digital artwork is attractive and laced with humor; Nubby’s trials are standard fare for a favorite toy but sweet to see nonetheless. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gentle acknowledgment that it’s a hard life being a hard-loved stuffed animal. (Picture book. 1-5)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-38109-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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
The combination of lovingly humorous and detailed mixed-media illustrations and infectious rhymes will cause little ones and...
More than skin deep, this rhyming paean to diversity offers readers an array of families of all colors and orientations, living and loving one another in a vibrant city setting.
A giggling baby is tummy-tickled by her white and black mothers (or white mother and black father—impressively, the illustration leaves room for interpretation) in New York’s Central Park in its summertime glory. "This is how we all begin: / small and happy in our skin." This celebration of skin not only extols the beauty and value of various skin colors, but also teaches the importance of skin as an essential body part: “It keeps the outsides out / and your insides in.” Park, public-pool, and block-party scenes allow readers to luxuriate in a teeming city where children of all colors, abilities, and religions enjoy their families and neighbors. The author and illustrator do not simply take a rote, tokenistic approach to answering the cry for diverse books; the words and pictures depict a much-needed, realistic representation of the statement “it takes a village to raise a child” when a child skins her knee and many rush to her aid and comfort. Though her palette of browns is a little limited, Tobia creates sheer joy with her depictions of everything from unibrows, dimples, and birthmarks to callouts to recognizable literary characters.
The combination of lovingly humorous and detailed mixed-media illustrations and infectious rhymes will cause little ones and their families to pore over this book again and again. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7002-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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