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LET'S GO PUDDLING!

Jump right into this joyful charmer.

Rainy days equal fun!

It’s raining, it’s pouring. What better time for doting parents, neighbors in an apartment building, to take their kids outside? Suiting up their toddlers and infant appropriately in brightly hued rain gear and galoshes, they step outdoors and, with the babe in a stroller, watch their children gleefully greet each other and take off. There are PUDDLES to jump in! Even a pet dog gets involved. This book delivers frolicking tots gamboling in said puddles—there’s mud, too—and offers up examples of delicious onomatopoeic words readers and listeners will delight in repeating as they mimic the kids’ activities. (Savvy grown-ups will provide children opportunities to display their puddle-jumping prowess.) A few from the text to savor that simply drip with squishy “wet” sounds are set in oversized type, e.g., “Squish! Squash! Squelch!” When the puddle jumpers are thoroughly soggy, it’s time to return home, remove wet togs, and have a snuggle. Then, to top off the day, just when you thought nature couldn’t produce a better show, a gorgeous multicolored arc appears in the sky. This exuberant British import, written in staccatolike prose emulating the rapid patter of raindrops, is a rainy-day winner. The colorful, energetic digital illustrations appropriately resemble watercolors. One of the families is brown-skinned, another is White-presenting, and the other includes a tan-skinned parent and lighter-skinned child. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Jump right into this joyful charmer. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: April 25, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-5362-2849-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023

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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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THE CRAYONS GIVE THANKS

Formulaic fare that will nevertheless charm devoted followers.

A few familiar friends explore gratitude.

Daywalt’s crayons have observed many holidays, from Christmas to Earth Day. On Thanksgiving, these anthropomorphic school supplies wax (pun intended) poetic about their favorite things to draw. “Blue is thankful for blueberries.” (The accompanying illustration depicts the stubby crayon leaping into a pile of the fruit.) Black, on a page topped by dark scribbles, “is thankful for night skies.” In an aside, Black adds, “Big, beautiful night skies I get to color in all by myself!” (Blue is perfectly fine with this.) Pink pipes up with “Three glorious words. Amazon. River. Dolphins”—which may spur readers to research these creatures. The tale turns a bit meta, too. Teal is thankful for family—both Blue and Green. Red, surrounded by hearts, is thankful for Neon Green Highlighter, who was accidentally dropped into the crayon box—a “dreamboat” for sure. Recognizable jokes from previous works make appearances; these callbacks will delight staunch fans, though others will find them tiring. Standard cheer and platitudes abound; the crayons are ultimately most grateful for each other.

Formulaic fare that will nevertheless charm devoted followers. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024

ISBN: 9780593690574

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024

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