You just gotta “love, love, love” this joy-filled book
This Australian import is a 24-page affirmation of self-worth for children everywhere.
Morgan and Kwaymullina, both from the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, use traditional Aboriginal-style art to illustrate the unique attributes that make a child loved and lovable. Vibrant, patterned colors in deep, rich hues frame each page while dots, stripes, stars, and swirling bands of color emphasize the joyous message. Two smiling brown-skinned children, sometimes joined by a black-and-white spotted dog, are haloed in variously colored auras that emphasize their singularity and seem to radiate self-love. The occasional rhymes in the text are unobtrusive but not forced. “Thin” is rhymed with “green,” and “loud” with “proud.” But when a rhyme is not readily available, the rhyme scheme is sensibly abandoned in favor of clarity; there is no attempt to rhyme “I love me! I love my ears. I love my laugh. / I love the way my toes make art.” Onomatopoeic words repeated three times (“tap,” “thump,” etc.) add energy and rhythm. On the next-to-last page, one child with crossed arms looks directly at readers to ask, “Who else would I be?” before returning to the refrain, “And I love, love, love me!”
You just gotta “love, love, love” this joy-filled book . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5248-5116-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...
An exploration of the human body through colorful photos.
Every other double-page spread labels the individual parts on one major area: head, torso, back, arm and leg. Ethnically diverse boy-girl pairs serve as models as arrows point to specific features and captions float nearby. While the book usefully mentions rarely depicted body parts, such as eyebrow, armpit and shin, some of the directional arrows are unclear. The arrow pointing at a girl’s shoulder hits her in the upper arm, and the belly button is hard is distinguish from the stomach (both are concealed by shirts). Facts about the human body (“Guess what? You have tiny hairs in your nose that keep out dirt”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of kids in action. Baby Animals, another title in the Look & Learn series, uses an identical format to introduce readers to seal pups, leopard cubs, elephant calves, ducklings and tadpoles. In both titles, the final spread offers a review of the information and encourages readers to match baby animals to their parents or find body parts on a photo of kids jumping on a trampoline.
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on the right track despite earlier titles that were much too conceptual for the audience. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4263-1483-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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