A cleverly illustrated wordless outing that is a natural progression for readers of Jocelyn’s previous board books.
The titular yellow ribbon explores the world.
In this book and its companion, One Patch of Blue, a yellow ribbon tied around a child’s braid and a patch sewn onto a pair of jeans find new lives out in the world. The ribbon forms the mane of a lion, crops on a farm, and the dress on a woman dancing with her family, while the blue patch becomes the car on a Ferris wheel, the window of an ice cream truck, and the diamond in the middle of a stained glass window. On each page, readers must find the patch or the ribbon and, if inspired, can tell a story about what they see. As in earlier titles One Red Button and One Piece of String (both 2017), Jocelyn’s textured and vibrantly colored collage-style illustrations are filled with delightful detail and feature diverse characters; the children on the covers of both books have brown skin. Unlike the previous books, the materials are often well-hidden in the pictures, presenting a challenge for very young children. Furthermore, while each picture is rich in detail, they are not grouped thematically, making it difficult for older children to tell a coherent story that flows page to page. That being said, the images are beautifully rendered, and, in both books, the double-page spreads are breathtaking.
A cleverly illustrated wordless outing that is a natural progression for readers of Jocelyn’s previous board books. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-2076-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
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
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