Sturdy stand-ins for the more traditional—and more fragile—folk toys.
Five flat dolls nesting matryoshka-style in a shaped plywood holder present opportunities to count and play.
More durable if, being separate pieces, also more fugitive than in their previous appearance (as “sisters” rather than “friends”) in the board book Masha and Her Sisters (2017), the five White, kerchiefed figures are decorated with folk art–style painted cues to interests. These are unchanged from the original book: Olya the chef appears with cookware, for instance, and Galya the budding naturalist with diverse flora and fauna. That’s on the fronts of the figures; turning each over reveals an animal companion (also kerchief-clad) rendered in the same heavily stylized way along with a numeral 1 to 5 and a legend such as “Olya & Rabbit cook with 3 carrots,” or, with a compass rose, “Galya & Owl explore in 4 directions.” The back of the holder is slotted so that the dolls can be stood up and rearranged at will. Parents of teething toddlers may want to exercise caution, because though the outer wrapper includes a claim in tiny type that the toy conforms to various international safety standards, there are no plain-language reassurances to allay fears about splinters or toxic chemicals in the paint. Still, preschoolers not quite ready for a thinner-walled 3-D set of nesters can treat these as roughly as they wish while mixing, matching, and spinning out scenarios. Sturdy stand-ins for the more traditional—and more fragile—folk toys. (Novelty. 2-4)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-8164-6
Page Count: 6
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name.
A brief rhyming board book for toddlers.
Spurr's earlier board books (In the Garden and At the Beach, both 2012; In the Woods, 2013) featured an adventuresome little boy. Her new slice-of-life story stars an equally joyful little girl who takes pleasure in flying a new kite while not venturing far off the walkway. Oliphant's expressive and light-filled watercolors clearly depict the child's emotions—eager excitement on the way to the park, delight at the kite's flight in the wind, shock when the kite breaks free, dejection, and finally relief and amazement. The rhymes work, though uneven syllable counts in some stanzas interrupt the smooth flow of the verse. The illustrations depict the child with her mass of windblown curls, brown skin, and pronounced facial features as African-American. Her guardian (presumably her mother) is also brown-skinned. It is refreshing to see an African-American family settled comfortably in a suburban setting with single-family homes and a park where the family dog does not need to be leashed.
A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-56145-854-7
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
The joys of counting combine with pretty art and homage to Goodnight Moon.
This bedtime book offers simple rhymes, celebrates the numbers one through 10, and encourages the counting of objects.
Each double-page spread shows a different toddler-and-caregiver pair, with careful attention to different skin tones, hair types, genders, and eye shapes. The pastel palette and soft, rounded contours of people and things add to the sleepy litany of the poems, beginning with “Goodnight, one fork. / Goodnight, one spoon. / Goodnight, one bowl. / I’ll see you soon.” With each number comes a different part in a toddler’s evening routine, including dinner, putting away toys, bathtime, and a bedtime story. The white backgrounds of the pages help to emphasize the bold representations of the numbers in both written and numerical forms. Each spread gives multiple opportunities to practice counting to its particular number; for example, the page for “four” includes four bottles of shampoo and four inlaid dots on a stool—beyond the four objects mentioned in the accompanying rhyme. Each home’s décor, and the array and types of toys and accoutrements within, shows a decidedly upscale, Western milieu. This seems compatible with the patronizing author’s note to adults, which accuses “the media” of indoctrinating children with fear of math “in our country.” Regardless, this sweet treatment of numbers and counting may be good prophylaxis against math phobia.
The joys of counting combine with pretty art and homage to Goodnight Moon. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93378-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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