Another pleasant outing with Lois and Bob
Uncluttered illustrations in muted shades set a beachy tone for Lois and Bob’s third outing.
Following the pattern established in Lois Looks for Bob at Home and Lois Looks for Bob at the Park (both 2018), Lois, a big-eyed tuxedo cat, looks behind a bucket, a rock, a beach bag, a sailboat, and an ice cream cone before finding Bob the bird behind a beach ball. Lois is always on the left-hand page; the large, die-cut gatefold flap is on the right. A hint of what might be hidden behind each flap is visible. On the final spread, Lois is also behind the beach ball, having found her friend. Where the gatefold is hinged changes on each spread. While this adds to the guesswork, it also presents a challenge for youngsters just learning how to manipulate pages and suggests an audience with some degree of small-motor skills. The flaps are also thinner than the board pages and may tear when pulled by strong little hands. As in the earlier titles, each hidden animal is greeted by a proper name (the sea gull is Geoffrey, the sea turtle is Maureen, etc.) rather than the name of the species. Most adult readers will automatically supply that missing information. A follow-up question printed on the inside of each flap (“Aren’t his feet a lovely color?”) invites further adult/child interaction.
Another pleasant outing with Lois and Bob . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0588-6
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers.
A board-book ode to parental love as old as the dinosaurs.
A line of text on the left of each spread reads like a dinosaur-themed valentine that a third grader might choose, with punishingly punny wordplay that incorporates dinosaur-related words. On the facing page a dinosaur pair—a baby and an adult—gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes against whimsical, pastel-hued prehistoric-ish backgrounds. In smaller print, in all caps, at the bottom of the left page is the scientific name for the dinosaur referenced by the text and picture followed by a helpful phonetic pronunciation guide. White-outlined footprints appear next to their names, though the white is sometimes difficult to see against the pastel pages. Ten of the best-known dinosaurs are included. Twisting the dinosaur names to fit the loving sentiments succeeds some of the time but more often results in tortured text, well beyond the understanding of the board book audience. The line accompanying two hugging velociraptors, for instance, is just confusing: “Wrap-TOR arms around me, / with you I’ll always stay.” Others are just plain clumsy: “I-wanna-GUANODON you kisses, / I truly just adore you.” Very young children, even those fascinated by dinosaurs, will not get it. Older dinosaur fans will be put off by the babyish format.
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2295-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 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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