Perhaps not inspired, but durable and instructive.
A sturdy and serviceable collection of rhymes and songs for toddlers.
Nursery rhymes, with their regular meter and repetitive sounds, are useful tools that expand toddlers’ vocabularies and, eventually, help them begin to match up memorized lines with printed words on the page. This introductory volume of verses includes a mix of old standards—“Humpty Dumpty,” “Jack and Jill,” and “This Little Piggy,” for example—alongside such popular children’s songs as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” and “The Wheels on the Bus.” “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” is on hand to teach children to count from one to 10. The artwork is simple and easily grasped by young readers; it is, therefore, also somewhat plain and lacking in detail. Rather than presenting each rhyme with distinct characters and scenarios, the book is peopled with friendly-looking animals who appear and reappear throughout its pages. This is not to say that the drawings lack personality. Humpty Dumpty manages to smile despite his freshly cracked skull, for example, and a turtle nurse slowly rushes to bandage Jack’s broken crown as Jill tumbles downhill, water spilling in all directions. Little Bo Peep’s sheep peer out from preposterously ineffective hiding places. The thick cover is ideal for little hands to grip, and the stiff cardboard pages should be tough to damage.
Perhaps not inspired, but durable and instructive. (Board book. 1-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68010-536-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Toddlers are better served by a chorus of the original, accompanied by the finger motions
Yet another remake of the classic fingerplay.
Burton and Rescek need to find a new song to parody or, better yet, come up with something original. As in earlier remakes—The Itsy Bitsy Pilgrim, The Istsy Bitsy Bunny, The Itsy Bitsy Reindeer (all 2016), and The Itsy Bitsy Snowman (2015)—the words are meant to be sung to the tune of the favorite nursery rhyme. In this outing, the rhymes work, but the meter is clunky. Rescek’s characters are cheery enough as they celebrate the transition from winter to spring. The question is why ducklings should replace spiders. “Down came the rain and chased the snow away” is simply not as satisfying as “washed the spider out.” The elements of danger, pluck, and mastery inherent in the original song are missing, as are the actions. A scene of anthropomorphic animals of different species sharing a den confuses rather than enlightens. There is no clear change from winter to spring; the color palette throughout is bright and springlike, and the duckling is about as realistic as an Easter Peep. Sturdy board pages may stand up to lots of handling, but young children are unlikely to ask for it more than once.
Toddlers are better served by a chorus of the original, accompanied by the finger motions . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8655-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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