In the age of YouTube and downloadable music, a holiday board book with recordings is probably not an essential purchase,...
Six of the most recognizable songs from Tchaikovsky’s ballet receive brief board-book treatment.
The prominently boldfaced title of each dance is followed by a brief suggestion of what to listen for or find in the illustration. Toddlers will easily locate and press the button that plays 13 to 16 seconds of the opening bars of each song. There is no real attempt to place the whimsical tunes in context or to follow a storyline; instead, each spread is illustrated with dancing cartoon animals dressed in brightly colored, vaguely ethnic costumes. For example, for the “Russian Dance,” three gray foxes wear Cossack-type hats and embroidered jackets. Two pandas wearing Mandarin suit jackets dance around a teapot to illustrate the “Chinese Dance.” Most readers, whether toddlers or adults, will wonder what’s going on in the “Dance of the Mirlitons”; the animals “performing” it are wearing generic Western play clothes. No matter; the real point of this book is the music, which comes through clearly regardless of how the book is handled. A power supply installed in the last, extra-thick page has an “on/off” switch hidden under a flap. Instructions in tiny print explain how to replace the three button cell batteries.
In the age of YouTube and downloadable music, a holiday board book with recordings is probably not an essential purchase, but this is a well-executed alternative for caregivers wanting to incorporate music with reading time. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-26720-4
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cute and sprightly but not a standout.
Deck the stalls?
A bevy of barnyard animals, a cat, and some dogs get fully into the Christmas spirit by sprucing up the farm with colorful decorations, including holly berries and sparkling baubles. They have a great time and sing while going about their merry chores in a manner somewhat in keeping with the rhythm of the classic tune “Deck the Halls.” (In fact, a flock of sheep are shown holding song sheets for it.) As might be expected with these particular celebrants, some of the familiar lyrics are altered just a bit; for instance, “boughs of holly” is “translated” as “cows and holly.” Adult readers expecting the rhythm here to work exactly as it does in the original will be disappointed, because it doesn’t—it’s clunky. This is merely a brief, lightweight spoof of the familiar ditty, so it’s recommended that grown-ups read rather than sing this—except for that final line!—to very young targeted audiences, who may be unfamiliar with the actual song anyway. Some fun is still to be had in the illustrations, however. The spirited, wittily expressive animal characters are depicted having a fine time romping about and producing a variety of onomatopoeic sounds throughout. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cute and sprightly but not a standout. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66591-435-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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