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TEN PIGS

AN EPIC BATH ADVENTURE

Toddlers will enjoy this, the cleanest piggy count ever.

Ten pigs in a tub?! That can’t be fun.

“One pig. // One very happy pig. // ‘This bathtub is perfect for just me and you,’ ” he says to his rubber ducky—then “along comes Pig Number Two.” Two might fit in even with the beach ball the second pig is carrying, but surely that’s all that can fit. It isn’t too long before a third pig jumps in, snorkel, fins and all. A fourth is right behind him. “ ‘Arggh,’ says Five. And Six gives a toot! / Seven launches his boat with a sailor’s salute.” Then Eight, Nine and Ten crowd in; the bath is no fun anymore, now that it’s so full of piggies. Suddenly, though, one pig spies something frightening. A countdown of moist pigs make a run for it—it’s a wolf! So now there’s one very happy wolf in the tub…or is that a zipper…and a pig in disguise? Anderson’s joyous, porcine counting rhyme is bathtime (and storytime) fun. His bright-eyed, cartoon porkers, rendered in “ink, Photoshop and soap suds,” are expressive, goofy and engaging.

Toddlers will enjoy this, the cleanest piggy count ever. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: April 28, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-545-16846-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S CHRISTMAS

Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...

The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.

The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.

Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3

Page Count: 24

Publisher: HMH Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014

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CHICKA CHICKA HO HO HO

From the Chicka Chicka Book series

A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.

A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.

The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.

A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024

ISBN: 9781665954761

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024

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