With tracing, flaps, rhymed text, and farm scenes, there is an awful lot going on, and adult readers may wish to skim some...
Down on the farm, little fingers can trace shapes and open flaps.
On every other double-page spread, readers are encouraged to trace a variety of lines debossed into the board pages. Below the tracing feature, youngsters can lift a flap and locate the same pattern just painted in an image beneath. On the following double-page spread, these traceable lines appear again in the context of a larger farm scene. For example, readers can trace a zigzag line. Underneath, kids can locate the zigzag pattern on the jagged edge of the chick’s shell, and, below the flap, the zigzag appears again in a pattern on a dog’s collar. All of this is repeated on the next double-page spread, and this time, readers can draw the zigzag in the chick’s shell in a busy scene. Often forced rhyming couplets accompany the illustrations, instructing readers to trace this or that pattern; with the dotted lines showing the direction to trace, these directions feel superfluous. The variety of shapes for tracing will be helpful for little ones engaging in pre-writing activities, particularly traceable circles, loops, zigzags, and straight lines. Youngsters will enjoy the final spread, featuring a tractor’s long trail for readers to follow.
With tracing, flaps, rhymed text, and farm scenes, there is an awful lot going on, and adult readers may wish to skim some elements to keep from overwhelming children . (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-58925-220-2
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Nothing riveting but serviceable enough.
Children are introduced to the concepts of sorting and classifying in this bedtime story.
It is getting close to bedtime, and Marco’s mother asks him to put his toys away. Marco—who thinks of himself as a scientist—corrects her: “You mean time to sort the animals.” And that’s what he proceeds to do. Marco sorts his animals into three baskets labeled “Flying Animals,” “Swimming Animals,” and “Animals That Move on Land,” but the animals will not sleep. So he sorts them by color: “Mostly Brown,” “Black and White,” and “Colors of the Rainbow,” but Zebra is upset to be separated from Giraffe. Next, Marco sorts his animals by size: “Small,” “Medium,” and “Large,” but the big animals are cramped and the small ones feel cold. Finally, Marco ranges them around his bed from biggest to smallest, thus providing them with space to move and helping them to feel safe. Everyone satisfied, they all go to sleep. While the plot is flimsy, the general idea that organizing and classifying can be accomplished in many different ways is clear. Young children are also presented with the concept that different classifications can lead to different results. The illustrations, while static, keep the focus clearly on the sorting taking place. Marco and his mother have brown skin. The backmatter includes an explanation of sorting in science and ideas for further activities.
Nothing riveting but serviceable enough. (Math picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62354-128-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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