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STEP BY STEP

Name: STEP BY STEP
Author: Guido Van Genechten
ISBN: 978-1-60537-622-6

by Guido Van Genechten ; illustrated by Guido Van Genechten ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 13, 2021

Endearing and just right for little ones trying out their own first steps.

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Learning to walk is an overwhelming and exciting step for little humans and animals alike!

Babies’ adorable, tottering first steps are a milestone for a reason: It’s a big move toward independence! This sweet, slightly oversized board book captures the energy of that process along with the uncertainty, dedication, and, yes, the falls required to learn. Featuring a variety of oversized baby animals with giant heads and expressive eyes and clad in adorably patterned diapers, the simple cartoon illustrations sit against plentiful white space. A lightly saturated palette puts the speckled elephant, stripey mouse, or peachy piglet on full display, and the lack of discrete outlines makes the animals look appropriately babylike. An omniscient narrator speaks directly to the animals in the book but also to readers who are mastering this skill alongside them. Always wise and reassuring, the narrator describes the usual process, starting with “lift[ing] up your head first,” using a sofa to steady, then standing “for almost ten seconds.” The animals go “thud!” or “thump!” but the narrator is matter-of-fact and encouraging about that part too, and the warm reminders that “that’s okay” are steadying. After plenty of practice, the book culminates with a human child with beige skin and black hair successfully toddling along, walking “further and further and further.”

Endearing and just right for little ones trying out their own first steps. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: April 13, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-60537-622-6

Page Count: 20

Publisher: Clavis

Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT ABOUT SCOUT?
by Guido Van Genechten ; illustrated by Guido Van Genechten

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT DO YOU DO TO FALL ASLEEP?
by Guido Van Genechten ; illustrated by Guido Van Genechten

- BOOK REVIEW
PIP'S BOOK
by Guido Van Genechten ; illustrated by Guido Van Genechten

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SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2014

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORRY-WORRY WHALE AND THE CLASSROOM JITTERS
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
POUT-POUT FISH
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POUT-POUT FISH AND THE MAD, MAD DAY
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

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MERRY CHRISTMAS, LITTLE POOKIE

by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer...

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Seven years after Little Pookie (2011) first appeared, this popular piglet is finally celebrating Christmas.

“Oh Pookie! Come look! It’s beginning to snow,” says a maternal-looking pig. But where did Pookie go? Past the Christmas tree, to put on a snowsuit of course. Pookie’s ever cheerful mama is willing to go out too. After all, “It’s a magical time to be walking with you.” When she observes, “Our noses are frozen. It’s time to go in,” Pookie protests in typical toddler style: “But I’m not c-c-c-cold!” The next three pages highlight indoor holiday preparations—making paper garlands, baking and decorating cookies. The rhyming text mirrors the spare illustrations. A spidery type that emulates handwriting makes it clear when Pookie is speaking. Then “the doorbell is ringing. / Our family and friends have arrived for the singing.” The second-to-last spread shows Pookie, mama, and six other pigs—and Boynton’s requisite chicken—singing (“Con brio”), “MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! AND A HAP-PY NEW YEAR!” Conveniently, this text is placed beneath the musical notation. Finally Pookie hangs a stocking and goes off to bed without any fuss, anticipating presents on Christmas morning.

The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer or an ideal Christmas Eve read to share with other little piggies. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)