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HELLO SPRING!

Name: HELLO SPRING!
Author: Sanrio
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0688-2

From the Hello Kitty series

by Sanrio ; illustrated by Jean Hirashima ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2013

While the action is minimal, the clear, simple art lends itself to toddlers’ learning to identify and name objects.

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Hello Kitty, the well-known cartoon cat of Japanese origin, explores the seasons.

In typical Sanrio style, the little white kitty, often shown sporting a bright pink bow, enjoys springtime activities in double-page spreads that feature bold, black outlines and highly saturated colors. In backgrounds that stretch to the edges of the pages, she plays baseball, enjoys a picnic, strolls in the park, cavorts in rain puddles and flies a kite with several of her friends. The text is a simple salutation that mirrors the title (“Hello flowers! / Hello butterflies!”) and appears on the upper-left-hand side of the page in a bold white font (the only exception is the final spread, where it appears in the upper right). The sister book, Hello Summer!, uses exactly the same format to depict a day at the beach, an ice cream social, a sailboat ride, a tennis game, a swim in a pool, bike riding and a trip to an amusement park for Hello Kitty and her buddies.

While the action is minimal, the clear, simple art lends itself to toddlers’ learning to identify and name objects. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)

Pub Date: May 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4197-0688-2

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Abrams Appleseed

Review Posted Online: April 23, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
HELLO KITTY SUMMERTIME FUN
by Frankie Jones ; illustrated by Frankie Jones

- BOOK REVIEW
HELLO KITTY, HELLO NEW YORK!
by Sanrio ; illustrated by Jean Hirashima

- BOOK REVIEW
HELLO FALL!
by Sanrio ; illustrated by Sanrio

- BOOK REVIEW
HELLO KITTY, HELLO NEW YORK!
by Sanrio ; illustrated by Jean Hirashima

- BOOK REVIEW
HELLO FALL!
by Sanrio ; illustrated by Sanrio

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SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2014

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORRY-WORRY WHALE AND THE CLASSROOM JITTERS
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
POUT-POUT FISH
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POUT-POUT FISH AND THE MAD, MAD DAY
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

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ALL ABOUT ME

From the Look & Learn series

by National Geographic ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 11, 2014

Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...

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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)