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CUTIE PIE LOOKS FOR THE EASTER BUNNY

From the Tiny Tab series

An upbeat, interactive offering sure to make an appearance in Easter baskets and storytimes come spring.

In the latest Tiny Tabs offering, tots can pull and slide large tabs to help a chick named Cutie Pie as she searches high and low for the elusive Easter Bunny.

A sweet yellow chick called Cutie Pie, rosy-cheeked with long-lashed eyes set wide apart, goes in search of the Easter Bunny. When she looks in the woods, she finds only Dog and Squirrel, but they each have their very own Easter egg! In the playhouse, she finds Owl, Horse, and Turtle, and they all have Easter eggs too. Cutie Pie continues her search, finding her friends and their special Easter eggs in every place she looks until she finally spots the Easter Bunny behind a bush and is rewarded with an egg of her own. Tots are encouraged to participate in the story by pulling on the large, easy-to-grab tabs to reveal Cutie Pie’s friends and, finally, the Easter Bunny and his basket of eggs. The simplicity of the plot, the cheery and colorful digitally rendered illustrations, and the interactive pull-tabs make this one a solid holiday selection. 

An upbeat, interactive offering sure to make an appearance in Easter baskets and storytimes come spring. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-7636-7599-8

Page Count: 8

Publisher: Nosy Crow

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015

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THE ITSY BITSY BUNNY

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

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SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

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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