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DOWN IN THE DAISIES

Name: DOWN IN THE DAISIES
Author: Lucy Coats
ISBN: 1-85881-513-4

A BABY ANIMAL COUNTING BOOK

by Lucy Coats & illustrated by Emily Bolam ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 15, 2003

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With a rhyme constructed along the lines of “Over in the Meadow” and big, very simple paintings, Coats takes toddlers and post-toddlers on a tour of animal families in various climes. From a mother seal and her one pup, “ ‘Dive!’ Says the mother / so they both dive together” to a “croaking mother frog” and her ten “squirmy wormy tadpoles” each group’s activity takes place in “stormy stormy weather” or “rainy rainy weather,” etc. There are a few glitches in this import’s language, including references to a “cold and draughty house” and a clan of kittens “all along the strawstacks”—but children will enjoy the text’s pleasing sonority, and crowd around at the author’s invitation to “Count the mums and babies up / In every kind of weather!” (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2003

ISBN: 1-85881-513-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orion/Trafalgar

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2003

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
CAPTAIN BEASTLIE'S PIRATE PARTY
by Lucy Coats ; illustrated by Chris Mould

- BOOK REVIEW
ONE SMILING SISTER
by Lucy Coats & illustrated by Emily Bolam

- BOOK REVIEW
ONE HUNGRY BABY
by Lucy Coats & illustrated by Sue Hellard

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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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TEN LITTLE FISH

by Audrey Wood & illustrated by Bruce Wood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2004

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This charming, colorful counting tale of ten little fish runs full-circle. Although the light verse opens and closes with ten fish swimming in a line, page-by-page the line grows shorter as the number of fish diminishes one-by-one. One fish dives down, one gets lost, one hides, and another takes a nap until a single fish remains. Then along comes another fish to form a couple and suddenly a new family of little fish emerges to begin all over. Slick, digitally-created images of brilliant marine flora and fauna give an illusion of underwater depth and silence enhancing the verse’s numerical and theatrical progression. The holistic story bubbles with life’s endless cycle. (Picture book. 3-5)