Just the ticket for the tot who’s applying early-early-early-early-early decision to Harvard; better hope the RAs will...
The melodramatic French novel of sin and redemption set against various backdrops of unrest is boiled down to 12 words.
Yep: 12. Words. This board book for the nascent genius begins with “poor,” includes such stirring language as “happy” and “climb” and ends with “together.” Perfectly adorable felt dolls posed against (mostly) three-dimensional backgrounds depict the characters displaying the emotions/characteristics or engaging in the actions described. “Rich” positions a prosperous-looking Jean Valjean in a blue frock coat in front of, presumably, his factory; turn the page to see a “sad” Cosette dressed in rags and wielding a broom, looking out a window. With or without significant interpolation (like, several hundred pages’ worth) from an adult, there is absolutely no way any baby chewing and drooling on this book will make the connection between those two figures and the now-adult Cosette and graying Jean Valjean out for a merry “stroll.” But forget the gaps in narrative; how many babies have yet wrapped their heads around the concepts of “rich” and “poor”? Publishing simultaneously, Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace delivers a similarly sweetly illustrated, ludicrous truncation.
Just the ticket for the tot who’s applying early-early-early-early-early decision to Harvard; better hope the RAs will change diapers. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-927018-21-7
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Simply Read
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...
An exploration of the human body through colorful photos.
Every other double-page spread labels the individual parts on one major area: head, torso, back, arm and leg. Ethnically diverse boy-girl pairs serve as models as arrows point to specific features and captions float nearby. While the book usefully mentions rarely depicted body parts, such as eyebrow, armpit and shin, some of the directional arrows are unclear. The arrow pointing at a girl’s shoulder hits her in the upper arm, and the belly button is hard is distinguish from the stomach (both are concealed by shirts). Facts about the human body (“Guess what? You have tiny hairs in your nose that keep out dirt”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of kids in action. Baby Animals, another title in the Look & Learn series, uses an identical format to introduce readers to seal pups, leopard cubs, elephant calves, ducklings and tadpoles. In both titles, the final spread offers a review of the information and encourages readers to match baby animals to their parents or find body parts on a photo of kids jumping on a trampoline.
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on the right track despite earlier titles that were much too conceptual for the audience. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4263-1483-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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