A pairing of trains and animals that is sure to be a bedtime hit.
Bedtime approaches for the animals at the zoo in Otto’s picture book.
As the sun sets, a brown-skinned child with curly black hair, acting as the conductor of the titular Zoo-Choo train, ushers each of a zoo’s residents back into their homes. They begin with a single lion coming back to his den before moving on to a pair of giraffes sleeping neck-to-neck and a trio of hippos sinking into a pond. When the conductor looks for the expected set of five penguins, however, they find that four of them have vanished. With the remaining penguin, the conductor must go back to the other animals’ habitats to find the missing birds and return them to their icy home. This simple but effective narrative teaches the basics of counting to five by presenting five types of animals in increasingly larger group sizes. Otto also sneaks in educational zoological information, as the reader can learn where each of these animals sleep. The text is fashioned into rhymes (“Here comes the Zoo-Choo Train / chugging down the track / The animals played all day! / Time to bring them back”) that pair well with RUi RUi’s rounded, bold illustrations to make this book particularly preschool-friendly.
A pairing of trains and animals that is sure to be a bedtime hit.Pub Date: March 1, 2024
ISBN: 9798886184884
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Read With You
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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