Pair this grand read-aloud with Na’s Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit (2010) for preschool natural-history awareness.
Bear discovers there's no place like home.
Tired of waking up every morning “in the same green forest under the same blue sky,” Bear decides to try out some other animal homes. Bird's nest is too high. It’s stuffy underground with Mole, too steep on Goat’s cliff, and too deep with Octopus in the ocean. It’s too cold where Polar Bear and the puffins live and too hot in Camel’s desert; it’s too rainy with Orangutan and too muddy with the hippos. Home is satisfying after all. This familiar trajectory and story pattern has been set in a stylized natural world, recognizable and yet unusual, starting with the blue-toned forest that spreads across the endpapers. Na has combined handmade painterly textures with digitally generated layers into imaginatively colored digital images that show well and suggest the various animals’ distinctive habitats, each on a double-page spread. Bear is appealingly portrayed, with highly expressive body language. Some of his friends are, amusingly, quite surprised by his visit. The text is spare, usually only a sentence on each spread, but carefully and engagingly written. Listeners can’t help but sympathize with Bear in his frustration and rejoice when he finds the place that’s “just where he wanted to be.”
Pair this grand read-aloud with Na’s Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit (2010) for preschool natural-history awareness. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-75375-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An upbeat Easter outing with a beloved character.
Pookie celebrates Easter with a play date and holiday activities.
Pookie’s friend Bean, a gray puppy, comes over for Easter fun that includes lots of bouncing around and egg decorating. After Bean goes home, Pookie gets excited about the Easter Bunny’s arrival and goes to sleep dreaming of a large chocolate egg. Like the other Pookie books before it, this one is told in rhyme from the perspective of a loving grown-up addressing the little pig, which keeps the pace moving and makes for a great read-aloud. Bean and Pookie are realistically—and endearingly—childlike, from Pookie’s pronunciation of yellow as “lellow!” to the joyful mess they make while decorating eggs. There are plenty of sweet and festive touches, such as the bunny ears that Bean and Pookie (and Pookie’s teddy) wear and the daffodils painted on the end of Pookie’s bed. The illustrations include large, full-page images as well as smaller vignettes against solid backgrounds. One page shows Pookie and parent looking out the window at the moon, anticipating Easter’s spoils. For fans of Boynton and little Pookie, this Easter tale is exactly as expected: a touch of playfulness, a relatable story, and comfort in the familiar. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An upbeat Easter outing with a beloved character. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-838-0
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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