A thoroughly engaging, ingeniously designed Latino celebration.
A concertina-style board book features the Spanish nursery rhyme “Los pollitos dicen” on one side and an English translation on the other.
Readers who tap the book out of its slipcase can choose either version; neither language is prioritized in the book’s accordion-fold presentation. The illustrations are identical, as are the interactive features. The plot is simple: the chubby-cheeked yellow chicks squeal when they hatch, when they’re cold, and when they want a meal, and their hen mother fetches corn to feed them and then cuddles them to sleep. Charmingly, even in the English translation, the chicks squeal in Spanish: “¡pío! ¡pío! ¡pío!” a protest that is printed in large, red letters on the undersides of several flaps. (Others lift to allow readers to husk corn and to see the chicks nestled under the hen’s wing; a spinning wheel allows readers to send the rather tired-looking hen walking out to the cornfield.) The English translation shows itself in a couple of places, when the mother warms the chicks “head to heel” in a rather forced rhyme and in abandoning the sonorously stretched-out “a-cu-rru-ca-ditos” for the rather paler “snuggled up with mummy.” Still, in an environment when all too often it’s the non-English language that is the second-class citizen, this seems entirely forgivable. English speakers will want to read the Spanish so they can enjoy it fully.
A thoroughly engaging, ingeniously designed Latino celebration. (Board book. 1-5)Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9969959-0-0
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Encantos
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
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
Toddlers are better served by a chorus of the original, accompanied by the finger motions
Yet another remake of the classic fingerplay.
Burton and Rescek need to find a new song to parody or, better yet, come up with something original. As in earlier remakes—The Itsy Bitsy Pilgrim, The Istsy Bitsy Bunny, The Itsy Bitsy Reindeer (all 2016), and The Itsy Bitsy Snowman (2015)—the words are meant to be sung to the tune of the favorite nursery rhyme. In this outing, the rhymes work, but the meter is clunky. Rescek’s characters are cheery enough as they celebrate the transition from winter to spring. The question is why ducklings should replace spiders. “Down came the rain and chased the snow away” is simply not as satisfying as “washed the spider out.” The elements of danger, pluck, and mastery inherent in the original song are missing, as are the actions. A scene of anthropomorphic animals of different species sharing a den confuses rather than enlightens. There is no clear change from winter to spring; the color palette throughout is bright and springlike, and the duckling is about as realistic as an Easter Peep. Sturdy board pages may stand up to lots of handling, but young children are unlikely to ask for it more than once.
Toddlers are better served by a chorus of the original, accompanied by the finger motions . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8655-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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