Solid board-book fan service.
Miss Clavel and the iconic “twelve little girls in two straight lines”—including the indomitable Madeline—joyfully experience the seasons.
Illustrating the book in the style of Bemelmans’ artwork, Salerno devotes a spread to each season. The girls slip and slide across the ice in winter, then stop and smell the flowers in spring. Madeline takes a dip under the summer sun; later, falling leaves and trees with fiery-red foliage make for a lovely autumnal walk. The book wraps up in a flurry of bedtime preparations as the girls brush their teeth and wipe their faces and bid Miss Clavel goodnight. The illustrations have a crisp, modern, computer-assisted feel. There is plenty to observe and some appealing details—one child’s hat flies off while sledding down a hill. Though there’s nothing groundbreaking here, Madeline is a beloved series, and this is sure to please enthusiasts. Given that Bemelmans’ original books are on the lengthy side, this quick, rhyming board book easily serves as an introduction to the series for toddler readers. The text keeps the pace moving, holding reader interest. Fans of the original stories will smile at cameos from Madeline’s pal Pepito and her dog, Genevieve. While the main characters are light-skinned, people of color are seen in the background. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Solid board-book fan service. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-34992-2
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As with many holiday gifts, the sparkly packaging may interest toddlers more than what’s inside.
Readers can count down eight of Santa's reindeer as they jump up and out of the scene.
In each one of the mostly double-page spreads, one reindeer, from Dasher to Blitzen, plays a central role in a winter activity (sledding, ski jumping, ice skating—and soccer and yoga?) that launches the creature into the air. Glitter-speckled tabs, each with small portraits of a member of Santa's herd, appear at either the top or the right side of each page, which little fingers will enjoy flipping. In what looks to be pencil-and-watercolor cartoons, Rogers uses different facial expressions, as well as collars, bows or other accessories, to distinguish the reindeer from one another. Donner (not Donder) and Blitzen are squeezed together on the penultimate spread, likely to keep the page count down. The verse mostly scans, but the rhyme scheme has become the cliché of counting books: "Eight jolly reindeer / stretching up to heaven. / Up goes Dasher / and then there are... // Seven...." Santa, his iconic sleigh and the eight reindeer in flight make a dramatic and required appearance on the book's final double-page spread.
As with many holiday gifts, the sparkly packaging may interest toddlers more than what’s inside. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-65145-5
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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