As a visit with Maisy goes, it’s a typically colorful day, but readers should be aware they’ll have to mind the gaps
Maisy the mouse and her pals visit London.
They ride a double-decker bus, admire the lights in Piccadilly Circus, pose on a stone lion in Trafalgar Square, pass Buckingham Palace, walk along the Thames, stop in at the Tower of London, take a ride on the Underground, and more. At each stop, shutterbug Maisy takes a picture, and her captioned photographs appear on the rear endpapers. (Except for the one of all the friends together taken by a kind penguin bobby, every single snapshot is endearingly off-kilter.) In this whirlwind tour of London, Cousins makes a few odd choices. While all the sights the friends visit are standard tourist destinations, it’s a little peculiar that in this book for toddlers and preschoolers the protagonists hang out in the National Gallery rather than take a spin on the London Eye, for instance. Though the latter attraction is depicted in one scene, the emphasis is on culture and education rather than strict entertainment. Tots introduced to London through this book as preparation for a family visit will recognize the ravens and the Beefeaters but will be unprepared for the blood-soaked history of the Tower of London said Beefeaters cheerily unfold.
As a visit with Maisy goes, it’s a typically colorful day, but readers should be aware they’ll have to mind the gaps . (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8399-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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