Positive, engaging, and, most of all, fun; an outstanding introduction to derring-do.
Eye-popping adventure served up with lessons in opposites and conflict resolution.
This colorful, sturdy board book delivers a simple yet surprisingly satisfying narrative via minimal but powerful text and dynamic comic-book graphics. Riffing on the eternal, archetypal struggle of good versus evil, author Fuller presents a series of paired opposite words or phrases in a sequence that suggests an uncomplicated but exciting storyline, complete with surprise denouement. The titular hero is a powerful, confident girl of color garbed in the obligatory heroic mask and cape; her opponent is a wild crocodilian creature with long jaws, big teeth, a large, popping eyeball, and a diabolical-looking top hat. The narrative is advanced in two-page set pieces, usually with opposing ideas on facing pages: “hero / villain // smile / frown // up in the air / down in the lair,” and so on. Artist Meyer’s wildly bright colors and strong, playful images lend thrills and narrative continuity to the storyline. In panels in which the villain is looking most villainous, his nemesis is usually rendered slightly larger and more at ease and in control, which keeps things exciting but never frightening. When the hero’s constructive labors are wrecked (“build / destroy”), each blames the other (“truth / lie”), but the conciliatory powers of a well-timed cupcake turn enemies into friends.
Positive, engaging, and, most of all, fun; an outstanding introduction to derring-do. (Board book. 18 mos-4)Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2825-9
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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
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