Toddlers who need the board-book pages will be confused by the story, and there are better choices for preschoolers...
Like Eric Barclay’s Counting Dogs (2015), a sturdy “book in a box” that will hold up to rough handling.
Five layered, die-cut pages visible on recto upon opening the book hint at five race cars. Each page turn changes the background and reveals in turn more information about the vehicles—which, it turns out, are not race cars like the first one but a green sedan, blue van, yellow pickup truck, and purple SUV (which looks rather more like a hearse than an SUV). Unfortunately, the rhyming verses don't always work with the illustrations. The first stanza says, “Bob is zooming to the lead,” but the red race car is actually at the rear of the pack. Similarly, the text says that “green smoke comes out” of the green car, but the smoke in the picture is clearly gray. Spoiler alert—the final page turn and verse find the animal drivers leaving their cars and changing into running gear for a track meet. The rhymes scan, and there are plenty of signs and pictures to discuss, but there is a hair too much text for toddler attention spans.
Toddlers who need the board-book pages will be confused by the story, and there are better choices for preschoolers fascinated by cars and trucks. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-79958-4
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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