Cute but far-fetched.
A small elephant rejects bedtime; Dad is patient.
As this tale (translated from Spanish) begins, it’s night, and all is silent on the savanna. Daddyphant, blue, wears a small hat, and Littlephant, pink, wears a nightcap. (Other animals are cartoonish in form but in expected colors—surprisingly bright in the starry setting.) Though it’s bedtime, Littlephant wants to play: to gallop like a zebra and to remain “awake and alert” like a meerkat. Daddyphant never points out that zebras, meerkats, and other creatures sleep at night, but he counters by encouraging Littlephant to follow the example of animals like giraffes (“sleepyheads!” scoffs Littlephant), snakes (“boring!”), or hyenas—a suggestion that backfires as Littlephant begins to laugh loudly. With each suggestion, Daddyphant chants a lullaby incorporating that animal’s name, which will challenge readers with the uneven meter. Littlephant’s antics are disturbing the savanna but wearing him out, and he eventually falls asleep. At that point, all the animals he has awakened creep up on him and make noise, rousing him. With incredible self-awareness, Littlephant says no when they ask to play and instead chants the Daddyphant verse, causing the animals to instantly fall asleep. (Littlephant seems unaware of nocturnal animals.) The images are sweet, but the idea of a lullaby with such quick effects stretches credulity. And how many small children would reject friends’ midnight efforts to play?
Cute but far-fetched. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9788419253767
Page Count: 48
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
A tender book to help little ones make sense of the emotions around prayer.
Actor Metz and songwriter Collins join illustrator Fields in their second faith-related title for young children.
Instead of focusing on the language of prayer—what to say or how to say it—this book explores a topic central to the lives of the very young: their feelings around talking to God. Rhymes and near-rhymes in the AABB verses enumerate the simple challenges and triumphs experienced by a series of animals: “Sometimes I’m sad, not sure what to do. / There are days I feel teary, unhappy, or blue. / I fell off a log. I’m embarrassed and hurt. / My coat and paws are all covered in dirt.” An accompanying illustration depicts a sad wolf pup, a definite contrast to its siblings, who are delighting in their play. The highlight of the book is Fields’ animal characters. Whether happy, nervous, or sad, their expressive faces are easy to read, and their feelings will be familiar to young tots. The beaver’s frustration is palpable, and the tears in the scared raccoon’s eyes may just make readers’ own eyes well up. Some of the animals have a God stand-in to help them with their feelings—a friend or family member—but the final spread shows all the individual animals coming together in a couple of group hugs that express where children can find support (and sweetly defy predator–prey relationships).
A tender book to help little ones make sense of the emotions around prayer. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593691366
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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