A simple and delightful board book for many households.
Little ones can guess and name some of the more common human emotions.
Sweetly rendered primates, outlined in black over colored washes, invite toddlers to engage in a game of peekaboo. With the animals’ hands acting as flaps over their faces, children can open them up to reveal their varied expressions. A simple question prompts children to speculate: “How do you think I feel?” “Do you ever feel like me?” When little ones open up the hands, they can guess by the expression they see what the feeling might be. If they don’t know, their adult reader can help out by reading the answer provided on the animal’s palm: “I’m upset”; “I’m sad.” Each primate is depicted against a white background, thus keeping the focus squarely on the animal and the peekaboo game. The emotions to be explored are: happy, upset, sad, angry, scared, surprised, and silly. When children open the last pair of hands they will find a mirror in which they can see their own reflection. The statement “Show me how you feel!” prompts children to put on any expression they choose. What fun! The book doesn’t provide the name of each primate, so interested readers will have to do a little research. The hands and ears that accompany the mirror are peachy-pink, making it less than perfectly inclusive.
A simple and delightful board book for many households. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-6626-5038-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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
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An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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