Distracting design aside, the book’s wholehearted embrace of its subject should make it welcome in many a toddler’s...
A potty-training book with potty humor aplenty.
Mason and Mia are ready to potty train. But the story starts before they reach toddlerhood, when a woman holds baby Mason aloft and at arm’s length while a man with a purplish-gray beard holds baby Mia out in front of himself. “When Mason and Mia were babies, they pooped a lot,” reads the explanatory accompanying text. It seems they’re fraternal twins in a multiracial family (mom presents black and dad presents white), although different-colored backgrounds in the digitally produced cartoon art could make some readers think they’re unrelated and are in different settings. But such understanding isn’t the point—potty humor is. Wherever these babies are, and whoever they are to each other, their “small…big…messy…tidy…easy…tough...smelly…and cute poops” are referenced with parents’ attending, funny reactions. Then toddler Mason stands before a green background on the verso and toddler Mia in a yellow space on the recto, each beside a potty labeled with their name. They joke about what the potties are for until they simultaneously realize, “A poop is coming!” Seated on their respective thrones (which have, for some reason, switched pages) they successfully encourage each other to follow the titular injunction.
Distracting design aside, the book’s wholehearted embrace of its subject should make it welcome in many a toddler’s household. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-12440-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
Despite the happy ending, a story meant to serve as reassurance to little ones giving up their own pacifiers comes off as...
It’s time for little Duck to give up his beloved pacifier.
Like many tots, “Duck likes his pacifier,” and the first double-page spread shows him sucking on it happily. Mama Duck, though, believes he’s outgrown it: “Only in bed, sleepyhead,” she admonishes, plucking the pacifier from Duck’s beak as he sits down to a meal. On subsequent pages, she repeats this phrase and pulls away the pacifier as surprised, sad-looking Duck sits in his car seat and reads a book. Adult readers will wonder here—why wouldn’t Mama Duck just put away the pacifier instead of repeatedly snatching it from her wee one throughout the day? Then, surprise, Mama Duck announces that Duck doesn’t need his pacifier at all: “Not even in bed, sleepyhead.” Here, a pleased-looking Mama Duck is pictured with the pacifier hanging from a cord around her neck, out of little Duck’s reach. The following double-page spread features Duck wailing in his crib. Turn the page, and readers see that “soon enough, Duck stops crying…and falls asleep” with no pacifier and no comfort from Mama. When morning comes, he proudly announces: “I’m a BIG DUCK now!”
Despite the happy ending, a story meant to serve as reassurance to little ones giving up their own pacifiers comes off as harsh and decidedly unpleasant. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4795-5793-6
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Picture Window Books
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A helpful way to prepare toddlers for a visit to the doctor with a character who’s easy to love.
In this episode in the life of toddler Leo, younger brother to Lola (Lola Reads to Leo, 2012, etc.), his parents take him to the doctor’s office for a checkup.
Leo, a brown boy with tightly curled hair, dressed in a onesie and holding onto a table, “is a big boy now.” His mother and father, who are exactly the same shade of brown, are in the background as Leo feeds himself, plays ball, sings, and dances. When it is time to go, he “puts his toys away” and gets “his blankie and Mister Seahorse.” Daddy packs a bag and brings him to the clinic, where Leo sits on the floor playing with Mister Seahorse while they wait for their turn. (This doctor evidently has a separate well-child waiting room, as every soul in the diverse gathering is smiling happily—there’s not a runny nose in sight.) When it is Leo’s turn, he shows his doctor, a white woman, “what he can do now.” He gets a sticker and a book and gets checked all over. He even continues smiling while he gets his shot, which “will keep him healthy.” The rounded features and shining, rosy cheeks of the invariably smiling characters make for a pleasant trip with Leo through his safe and welcoming world.
A helpful way to prepare toddlers for a visit to the doctor with a character who’s easy to love. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-58089-891-1
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
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