While its conceit isn’t entirely successful, this jaunty book brims with positivity, and who can’t use a little more cheer?...
It’s baby’s first metafiction!
Brief introductions to a range of concepts culminate in an enthusiastic shoutout to “readers like you!” Relentlessly enthusiastic, this self-aware book charges through, informing readers about its many snippets of information. Peppy rhyming couplets exclaim that “THIS BOOK has shapes like circles and squares. / And fruit like bananas and apples and pears.” It’s a perky meter, so an abrupt alteration to the rhyme scheme on the last page sounds unexpectedly jarring. Like its narrative, the cartoon illustrations are also resolutely cheery, drawn with brilliant candy-colored hues and a touch of kawaii-like cuteness. Wide, round eyes and enormous grins personify the gamut of concepts, from the “BIG and small” kittens to the vivid paint splotches. A dizzying final page, with all the concepts clustered together in party hats to triumphantly celebrate the book’s readers, epitomizes both its most and least successful elements. There’s an awful lot of energy and heart, but its intent is never completely clear. Its metafictive theme is likely too sophisticated for the intended audience, and with only a smattering of concepts superficially discussed, it’s less a concept book and more a book about concept books.
While its conceit isn’t entirely successful, this jaunty book brims with positivity, and who can’t use a little more cheer? (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7881-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
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
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