Entertaining if a tad pat.
Charming pairs of human and animal characters celebrate their similarities and differences.
Characters might look obviously dissimilar, like the brown-skinned child holding hands with the sharply dressed white dog—but they’re also alike in many ways, like the sand-colored cat and the sandy-haired white kid who both wear the same striped shirt and overalls. Alternating between contrasting pairs on solid-color backgrounds and comparable pairs in full-bleed scenes, cartoon illustrations reminiscent of Richard Scarry’s depict a mixed group of animals and humans exploring their varied identities and experiences with joy. Minimalist rhyme makes for an easy read-aloud and an amusing counterpoint to slapstick antics: “I am gentle. You are rough,” reads the text above a llama in a goofy hat dashing toward the page turn as a dark-haired white child holds onto its reins for dear life. Animal characters often serve as an evasion of responsibility for diverse human representation, but this book takes care to show a range of human skin tones as well as a wheelchair user. The art also offers just enough detail to charm observant readers, from an elephant double-fisting pastries to a bus-stop sign reading “BLEAK ST.” next to two characters standing in the rain. Somewhat oddly, the loose and otherwise nonchronological narrative ends with bedtime, although that does allow for a well-placed vertical turn to show all the animals stacked in a bunk bed.
Entertaining if a tad pat. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1201-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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