ONE LITTLE TWO LITTLE THREE LITTLE CHILDREN

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ONE LITTLE TWO LITTLE THREE LITTLE CHILDREN

Name: ONE LITTLE TWO LITTLE THREE LITTLE CHILDREN
Author: Kelly DiPucchio
ISBN: 978-0-06-234866-1

by Kelly DiPucchio ; illustrated by Mary Lundquist ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2016

An uneven effort at inclusion.

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A multicultural spin on an old rhyme stops short of rehabilitating its problematic history.

“One little, / two little, / three little children” is both the title and the first line of this picture book. The children depicted in the opening illustrations are a racially diverse group occupied in various activities. The rhyme then turns to depict “One loving, / two loving, / three loving daddies” and includes a picture of a two-dad family. Mommies come next, and then the focus shifts to houses. The first homes are in a bucolic, rural setting, and then a verso page shows an apartment building. Facing this page is a trio of homes: “Snow-cozy, / stick-cozy, / brick-cozy houses,” and herein lies the rub: the igloo and teepee depicted here are juxtaposed with a child making a structure of building blocks, undermining efforts at multicultural inclusion by falsely equating these so-called “snow” and “stick” structures with toys. These depictions also bring to the forefront the text’s similarities to versions of the rhyme referring to “One little, / two little, / three little Indians” that have been roundly critiqued as racist, or, even more egregiously, other versions that use the n-word. The appearance of another teepee on the outskirts of the closing illustration is perplexing—is it a plaything like the soccer goals? Or just a visual balance for the ice cream truck? Or something else?

An uneven effort at inclusion. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: May 3, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234866-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S POETRY

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MOUSE & GIRAFFE
by Kelly DiPucchio ; illustrated by Jen Corace

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BECOMING CHARLEY
by Kelly DiPucchio ; illustrated by Loveis Wise

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OONA IN THE ARCTIC
by Kelly DiPucchio ; illustrated by Raissa Figueroa

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CHICKA CHICKA HO HO HO

From the Chicka Chicka Book series

by William Boniface ; illustrated by Julien Chung ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2024

A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

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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)