On the cover a smiling ladybug beckons readers to “touch and feel.” Pushing up a cardboard tab at the bottom of the cover causes the bug’s carapace to bifurcate and “flap” in spectacular fashion. Inside, however, readers will find a fairly ordinary touch-and-feel book that is distinguished only by its distressing inaccuracy. Following a question-and-answer format, the text informs readers that bumblebees have “[s]parkly silver wings!”, ducklings have “[f]uzzy orange wings!”, ladybugs have “[s]hiny red wings!”, hummingbirds have “[g]listening green wings!” and butterflies have “[s]himmery pink wings!” While the pictures present all those attributes in fuzz, foil or sparkles to touch, with the exception of some hummingbirds, they don’t describe scientific reality. Given that one vital task of a board book is to help babies discover their world, this one fails miserably. Cloying, fatuous and wrong. (Board book. 1-2)
Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4169-8958-5
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
Great for a birthday read and enjoyable all year long.
A little one grabs a pair of shutter shades and gets a major groove on.
"Who loves to party?" The board book kicks off with this question, and each page follows with a different animal enjoying a wild time in increasingly silly ways. Lemurs hang streamers, pheasants wrap presents, and the mole rat wears his party hat. The titular baby makes a grand entrance on the second to last page, answering the original question and taking this party to a whole new level. The rhythmic, internally rhyming lines encourage a thumping beat for little ones to clap or stomp along with. Young readers will delight at all the animals and the funky colors, and adults will snicker at the contemporary quirks of the party. More board books should have parakeets dropping beats and ocelots that rock a lot. Electric colors and busy compositions make for an appropriately frenetic accompaniment.
Great for a birthday read and enjoyable all year long. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2994-8
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
A lovely, simple lift-the-flap book that will stand the test of many a mighty tot.
Little ones learn about bugs.
The world of insects and like small creatures is the focus of this sturdy board book. Each turn of the page gives readers a close view of a particular habitat. The text asks, “Where’s the ladybug?” or “Where’s the snail?” and little ones are encouraged to find the creatures under shaped felt flaps. A caterpillar poses under a leaf with a few bites taken out of it; a bumblebee flies behind a pink tulip. The flaps are made of a reasonably strong material, secured tightly within the book’s pages. Extremely determined readers may figure out a way to pull the flaps out, but most will enjoy flipping them up and over with ease. The last page of the book contains a mirror hidden behind a bush-shaped flap, and readers are asked “And where are you?” The insects smile with big eyes and are composed of large, circular, clean-edged shapes. The color palette is dulled, making the neon flaps pop effectively for little readers. Concurrently publishing companion Where’s the Giraffe? explores the world of jungle animals.
A lovely, simple lift-the-flap book that will stand the test of many a mighty tot. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9335-0
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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