While little ones will enjoy pushing the buttons, there is little here to satisfy burgeoning ballet enthusiasts
An introduction to classic ballet stories, including Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty.
Each of eight double page-spreads depicts one scene from these and other famous works and offers a short summary of the ballet’s plot. A plastic extension attached to the back page includes eight buttons that sample brief, tinny passages of the ballets’ music. The plot synopses are confusing and may leave the preschool audience baffled or bored. There is a long description of the nearly plotless The Afternoon of a Faun. Perhaps in a nod to those caregivers who are not ready to delve into the teen suicide of Romeo and Juliet and the idea of human sacrifice in Coppélia, the text glosses over these plot points. The smooth art, which looks to have been created with the aid of a computer, is a mix of muted and bold colors. The overall look combines the retro feel of early Disney animation with the big and languid eyes of anime; all dancers depicted are white. While the action is as fluid and lithe as one would expect, not all sequences clearly illustrate the scenes. For example, the Don Quixote spread features an image of a female, tutu-wearing ballet dancer front and center, but the summary references only Don Quixote and a robber.
While little ones will enjoy pushing the buttons, there is little here to satisfy burgeoning ballet enthusiasts . (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-2-7338-5245-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Auzou Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
It’s a bit hard to dance, or count, to this beat.
Dinos that love to move and groove get children counting from one to 10—and perhaps moving to the beat.
Beginning with a solo bop by a female dino (she has eyelashes, doncha know), the dinosaur dance party begins. Each turn of the page adds another dino and a change in the dance genre: waltz, country line dancing, disco, limbo, square dancing, hip-hop, and swing. As the party would be incomplete without the moonwalk, the T. Rex does the honors…and once they are beyond their initial panic at his appearance, the onlookers cheer wildly. The repeated refrain on each spread allows for audience participation, though it doesn’t easily trip off the tongue: “They hear a swish. / What’s this? / One more? / One more dino on the floor.” Some of the prehistoric beasts are easily identifiable—pterodactyl, ankylosaurus, triceratops—but others will be known only to the dino-obsessed; none are identified, other than T-Rex. Packed spreads filled with psychedelically colored dinos sporting blocks of color, stripes, or polka dots (and infectious looks of joy) make identification even more difficult, to say nothing of counting them. Indeed, this fails as a counting primer: there are extra animals (and sometimes a grumpy T-Rex) in the backgrounds, and the next dino to join the party pokes its head into the frame on the page before. Besides all that, most kids won’t get the dance references.
It’s a bit hard to dance, or count, to this beat. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1598-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
Leave this on the shelf and take the kids outside to really move.
An interactive board book promises a variety of experiences.
A book that gets kids up and moving sounds like a great idea. The half-circle cutout of the spine and large handle formed by another die cut on the right side are intriguing. Unfortunately, the rhyming instructions for using the book as an exercise prop are confusing. Even adults will find themselves puzzled when told to “paddle the floor,” or to “hang on the handles. Step over the book. / You're a turtle in its shell! Go peek out and look.” The busy pictures shift perspective according to each scenario presented but give few visual clues. For example, the only hint of a dinosaur on the page where readers are told to “put this book to your mouth and let out a roar” like a dinosaur are the teeth that line the edges of what is meant to be a gaping maw. It’s not always obvious whether the book is meant to be facing readers or turned away from them, adding another layer of confusion. Furthermore, many of the instructions run counter to how young children are typically taught to treat books, as when they are told to step on it and then waddle or to lift it with their feet. The relatively thin board pages and weak handles will soon be torn by normal handling; following the directions in the text will only hasten the destruction.
Leave this on the shelf and take the kids outside to really move. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-8733-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
