by Nick Ackland ; illustrated by Jennie Bradley ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2016
A nifty book for tots who love baths and puddles, though it will not itself stand up to a dunking
Little readers explore the world of water.
There’s water on the brain of this simple board book. Each page features something to do with water, ranging from bath to umbrella to bubbles. Each object is clearly labeled with big, black letters and illustrated with deep, dark blues, yellows, greens, and reds. The illustrations are rounded and eye-catching, with turquoise foil accents thrown in for good measure. Onomatopoeic words accompany each image, with “rub-a-dub” for “bath,” “flap” and “zoom” for (sail)“boat,” and “rustle, rustle” for “raincoat.” The book itself is compact, ideally designed for early readers just getting to learn their ways around a book. Each page has a tab on the side, which makes flipping through the book easy for tiny hands. The tabs are labeled with miniature images of the corresponding objects, so favorites are an easy find. The only human depicted is a brown-haired white child in a raincoat on one page.
A nifty book for tots who love baths and puddles, though it will not itself stand up to a dunking . (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: March 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7641-6847-5
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Nick Ackland
BOOK REVIEW
by Nick Ackland ; illustrated by Jackie Clarkson
BOOK REVIEW
by Nick Ackland ; illustrated by Bella Bee
Awards & Accolades
Likes
10
Our Verdict
GET IT
New York Times Bestseller
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2021
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.
Awards & Accolades
Likes
10
Our Verdict
GET IT
New York Times Bestseller
A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.
Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
Share your opinion of this book
More by Alice Hemming
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2014
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
Share your opinion of this book
More by Alice Schertle
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
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.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.