Bound to be as popular as a bubble bath.
It’s clean-up time for a delightful flock of chicks.
A cute but dirt-flecked ball of teal fluff, proudly sprouting three tiny feathers on its head and an additional three on its tail, heads to a grand, old-fashioned porcelain clawfoot tub in a tiled bathroom with a checkerboard floor. Three more chicks—pink, peach, and mango—enthusiastically join the preparations, each in charge of one ingredient: “Sponge, bird”; “Soap, bird”; “Shampoo, bird.” As the original bird runs off, the unseen narrator asks, “What have you forgotten?” Bath toys—an essential element! Everyone shares nicely. All four chicks and the toys just barely fit in the tub, but there’s always room for bubbles. As the bath bubbles over, the narrator wonders if the chicks are still there underneath. “Ah! There you are. Silly billies.” Then it’s time to rinse, dry off, and preen like the pristine puffballs they are. But wait: “Who else needs a bath?” Six completely different baby birds—a penguin, an owl, a flamingo, a toucan, a stork, and a hummingbird—cram themselves into the tub as our protagonists helpfully bring supplies. The towels’ colorful rainbow design matches the book’s endpapers. Background details are clear, but the focus is on the birds. The utterly adorable chicks have big eyes and pale pastel feathers.
Bound to be as popular as a bubble bath. (Picture book. 0-4)Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781250392237
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring through rhymed puns and sentimental art.
The title sets the scene for what’s to come: The owl asks the owlet as they fly together, “WHOO loves you?”; the kangaroo and joey make each other “very HOPPY”; and the lioness and cub are a “PURRRFECT pair.” Most of the puns are both unimaginative and groanworthy, and they are likely to go over the heads of toddlers, who are not know for their wordplay abilities. The text is set in abcb quatrains split over two double-page spreads. On each spread, one couplet appears on the verso within a lightly decorated border on pastel pages. On the recto, a full-bleed portrait of the animal and baby appears in softly colored and cozy images. Hearts are prominent on every page, floating between the parent and baby as if it is necessary to show the love between each pair. Although these critters are depicted in mistily conceived natural habitats and are unclothed, they are human stand-ins through and through.
The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers. (Board book. 6 mos-2)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-1374-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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