An educational, if overlong, bedtime story set in nature.
Bridgman’s illustrated children’s book offers readers an alphabetic walk through the four seasons in Manitoba, Canada.
In this ABC primer, each letter of the alphabet is highlighted in a sentence referencing a detail of a particular season, such as summer’s “T is for tennis—win, tie or lose,” and winter’s “H is for hot chocolate, for your tum-tum-tummy.” The letters X, Y, and Z remain the same for every season. X is for XOXO (“hugs and kisses, just for you”), Y is for yawn, and Z is for ZZZzzz (“Sweet dreams, sleep tight / good night, good night!”). Young readers will find it helpful that each occurrence of the letter is highlighted in a different color than the rest of the sentence text. The typeface is easy to read, and each double-page spread presents a rhyming couplet, which will be a helpful tool for early readers. Some lines feel slightly awkward and may require context regarding the real-life Victoria Beach area, such as “G is for Gate—gazed from afar,” which may be a bit confusing unless the reader already knows the specific gate described. Overall, the book’s length causes the story to feel disjointed; a stronger narrative arc or consistent characters could have created a better flow, or the work could have been split into four separate books. Bridgman’s painterly illustrations don’t follow a narrative arc or share many common elements aside from the setting of Victoria Beach. They are whimsical, however, and often feature anthropomorphized animals. Jackrabbits—the inspiration for the book, according to an author’s note—appear frequently; one is even dressed up as a ghost to celebrate Halloween with some jack-o’-lanterns. A few humans with varying skin tones pop up every now and again.
An educational, if overlong, bedtime story set in nature.Pub Date: April 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-03-913270-2
Page Count: 120
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
© Copyright 2025 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.
