A warm introduction to an old favorite.
The American classic is presented with some cuddly illustrations.
The nursery song "Old MacDonald" is known to millions young and old, and this board book does it justice, or at least one stanza of it. Illustrator Brown brings to it the same warmth she used in her illustrations in Grandma Loves You (2013), presenting the titular farmer as a large, anthropomorphic rabbit. With her wide-brimmed hat and polka-dot farmer's boots, Old MacDonald tends to her farm as the text describes the abundance of yellow chicks on the farm, one line per double-page spread. Accompanying "Here a chick, there a chick” are a dog and cat benignly watching the busy baby birds; accompanying “Everywhere a chick, chick” are two hogs in a wallow, a Jersey cow, and still more chicks. The chicks poke around the pumpkin patch and the barn, and they hitch rides on the other barnyard animals. The final pages of the book feature an identification activity, with pictures of all the farm animals and the noises they make. Motivated adults can then take their little readers through many more iterations of the song on their own.
A warm introduction to an old favorite. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-58536-609-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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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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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