With or without cocoa, savor this one slowly, especially on long winter days when toddlers are stuck indoors.
Nothing much really happens in this board book, and that’s perfectly OK.
Instead, following the pattern set in previous titles in the Mindfulness Moments for Kids series, Willey, a children’s yoga-and-mindfulness musician, translates the philosophy of mindfulness into practical, everyday terms. On a chilly day, Fox, the anthropomorphic protagonist, joins a small group of friends (who are also all anthropomorphic animals) in the forest to drink hot cocoa. The text demonstrates how a simple act like enjoying a hot drink can be treated as a mindfulness exercise. Fox brings her attention to the present moment as she blows on the hot cocoa, deeply inhales the delicious aroma, then sips and savors the treat. Young readers are guided to slow their breath and breathe in and out along with Fox: “Fox blows on her hot cocoa to cool it off. Can you blow on your hot cocoa?” The simple language makes each step of the process very clear: “Slooowly blow the air out.” The animals appear distinctly meditative as they sit cross-legged with eyes closed, patiently waiting for the cocoa to grow cool. The result? “Now Fox feels warm, cozy, and calm.” The illustrations, rendered in bright, almost psychedelic colors with colored snowflakes shining in the animals’ fur, is a striking contrast to the book’s calming message.
With or without cocoa, savor this one slowly, especially on long winter days when toddlers are stuck indoors. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11987-7
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Rodale Kids
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
Wonderful, indeed
A love song to baby with delightful illustrations to boot.
Sweet but not saccharine and singsong but not forced, Martin’s text is one that will invite rereadings as it affirms parental wishes for children while admirably keeping child readers at its heart. The lines that read “This is the first time / There’s ever been you, / So I wonder what wonderful things / You will do” capture the essence of the picture book and are accompanied by a diverse group of babies and toddlers clad in downright adorable outfits. Other spreads include older kids, too, and pictures expand on the open text to visually interpret the myriad possibilities and hopes for the depicted children. For example, a spread reading “Will you learn how to fly / To find the best view?” shows a bespectacled, school-aged girl on a swing soaring through an empty white background. This is just one spread in which Martin’s fearless embrace of the white of the page serves her well. Throughout the book, she maintains a keen balance of layout choices, and surprising details—zebras on the wallpaper behind a father cradling his child, a rock-’n’-roll band of mice paralleling the children’s own band called “The Missing Teeth”—add visual interest and gentle humor. An ideal title for the baby-shower gift bag and for any nursery bookshelf or lap-sit storytime.
Wonderful, indeed . (Picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37671-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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