The potty’s for Zaza, but the book’s not for everyone.
This title in the Dutch series about a Black toddler named Zaza shows her mother giving her a potty. “Do you know who it is for?” Mommy asks. In what reads like an inversion of the Goldilocks tale, Zaza seats each of her stuffed animal toys one by one on the potty, finding that none are the right size for it. Her bear is too small, giraffe is too tall, a bunny too big, and a snake too long. Showing herself to be a playful good sport, even elegantly dressed Mommy, a tall Black woman, sits on the potty with a laugh. Finally, Zaza decides to try it for herself, and the book ends with her comfortably seated and the potty “just the right size.” Freeman defers questions of how and when to use the potty to caregivers, making this more an introduction to the process than anything else. While it’s refreshing to see Black characters in a slice-of-life toddler story, some American readers may balk at the exaggerated, wide-set eyes of Mommy and Zaza, which could be seen as veering toward racialized caricature. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.7-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 26.5% of actual size.)
The potty’s for Zaza, but the book’s not for everyone. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-60537-567-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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