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WHAT WILL WE CHOOSE?

Name: WHAT WILL WE CHOOSE?
Author: Elly van der Linden
ISBN: 978-1-60537-287-7

From the Larry and Lola series

by Elly van der Linden ; illustrated by Suzanne Diederen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

Toddlers are better served by actual conversations.

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This guessing game book has almost too many choices for young children.

Each left-hand page begins, “We are Larry and Lola!” before introducing a common preschool activity—getting dressed, eating, playing house or in the sandbox, taking a bath, going to bed—along with items used for that activity. The facing page asks questions about the activity and invites readers to imagine what they might choose. Then a gatefold opens to show the cartoonish bunny and kitty engaged in the activity. Again, questions are provided to encourage readers to notice the choices made by Larry and Lola. This sequence always ends with “What did we leave behind?” and, almost as an afterthought, the question “And what is Mikey the mouse doing?” (Mikey clowns around, adding a seek-and-find element.) Although the title suggests that readers can choose, the implication is that Larry and Lola's choices are the correct answers. Although the paper is coated, the full-page gatefolds are not likely to survive much manipulation. This well-intentioned effort to help parents expand their children's vocabularies is not active enough to fully engage young children. It tries to do too much—language development, introducing everyday activities, a seek-and-find game, complicated page turns—and doesn't do any of them particularly well.

Toddlers are better served by actual conversations. (Picture book. 2-4)

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-60537-287-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clavis

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

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ANIMAL SHAPES

by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018

Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.

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You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!

What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?

Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: March 27, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little Bee Books

Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

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YOUR FOREST

From the Your Places series

by Jon Klassen ; illustrated by Jon Klassen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2025

Pure unmitigated sleepy-time pleasure.

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Klassen’s inimitable blend of cozy and curious is on flagrant display in this tale of personalized forest management.

“This is your sun. It is coming up for you.” Klassen allows the youngest of readers to put together a beguiling woodland scene. Each object in the forest is bedecked with the deadpan eyes the artist is known for. Like other titles in the series, this one presents typical items (trees, rocks, a stream), but it distinguishes itself by including a solitary forest ghost who “is nice. He only comes out at night.” It’s a tiny yet whimsical detail that imbues the tale with an enchanting sense of unpredictability. When day shifts to night, readers are assured that “this is your forest. Now it is done.” The sun sinks, and they’re treated to a surreal scene as all the items appear to doze off: “Now everyone is closing their eyes.” Happily, the ghost has a brief solo moment on the very edge of the forest on the final page. Readers will experience both the comfort of putting a community of anthropomorphized objects to sleep and the power of creating it in the first place.

Pure unmitigated sleepy-time pleasure. (Board book. 2-4)