A fresh take on the alphabet primer featuring striking animals and art.
A parade of alphabetical animals includes some unusual selections in Mackie’s picture book.
This debut title takes readers on a zoological tour through the alphabet, including familiar examples such as “E is for Elephant” and “Z is for Zebra” that are paired with short poems providing details about those creatures’ habitats and habits. What sets this particular primer apart are the wild cards that readers may not have encountered before: N is for the Peruvian Ñandú, an ostrichlike bird, while U is for the wild sheep Urial and V is for the llama’s distant relative the Vicuña. The trickiest letter for any animal alphabet book to pair is X, and Mackie does not disappoint: “X is for Xerus, an African squirrel, exploring and excavating his underground world.” No matter the animal, the message remains consistent that each is beautiful and important in its own way, and that we as humans must take care of the planet we live on. This out-of-the-box take on a well-worn genre will impress both children and parents alike with its surprising animal choices and bold color palette. C.K. Mackie’s vibrant illustrations feature Picasso-like explosions of colors and shapes. This title’s approach provides multiple entry points for discussion, making it eminently rereadable.
A fresh take on the alphabet primer featuring striking animals and art.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9798990336001
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Simple, encouraging text, charming photographs, straightforward, unpretentious diversity, and adorable animals—what’s not to...
This entry-level early reader/picture book pairs children with farm animals.
Using a simple, effective template—a full-page photograph on the recto page and a bordered spot photo above the text on the verso—Rotner delivers an amiable picture book that presents racially and ethnically diverse kids interacting (mostly in the cuddling department) with the adult and baby animals typically found on a farm. Chickens, chicks, cats, kittens, dogs, puppies, pigs, piglets, cows, and calves are all represented. While a couple of double-page spreads show the larger adult animals—pigs and cows—without a child, most of the rest portray a delighted child hugging a compliant critter. The text, simple and repetitive, changes only the name for the animal depicted in the photo on that spread: “I like the cat”; “I like the piglet.” In this way, reading comprehension for new readers is supported in an enjoyable, appealing way, since the photo of the animal reinforces the new word. It’s hard to go wrong combining cute kids with adorable animals, but special kudos must be given for the very natural way Rotner has included diversity—it’s especially gratifying to see diversity normalized and validated early, at the same time that reading comprehension is taught.
Simple, encouraging text, charming photographs, straightforward, unpretentious diversity, and adorable animals—what’s not to like? (Picture book/early reader. 2-6)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3833-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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