Carpenter’s predicable, interactive titles in the I Say, You Say series offer appealing introductions to basic concepts just...
This new addition to the I Say, You Say series invites a young audience to playfully explore the world of emotions.
Quickly falling into a predictable and comforting pattern, the left-hand page introduces a feeling—“I say happy, you say…”—and the gatefold flap on the right-hand page lifts to reveal a corresponding response: “SMILE!” Other feelings include grumpy, silly, sad, excited, sleepy, hurt and love. The bright, busy pages, which star wide-eyed, cartoon-style animal characters in situations typically associated with the emotions featured, will appeal to little ones and help them to understand the concepts presented. For instance, a scowling cat getting drenched in the rain illustrates “grumpy”; a crying gorilla with a bee sting on his thumb aptly represents “hurt”; and pairs of cuddling and kissing animals symbolize “love.” In companion title Colors! (978-0-316-20072-1), the left-hand page offers an object—“I say apples, you say…”—and the gatefold reveals the name of the color: “RED!” Little ones will enjoy the repetition and interactivity of these offerings, celebrating as they correctly guess the words hiding under the flaps.
Carpenter’s predicable, interactive titles in the I Say, You Say series offer appealing introductions to basic concepts just right for toddlers and preschoolers. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-316-20074-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: LB Kids/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013
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
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers.
A board-book ode to parental love as old as the dinosaurs.
A line of text on the left of each spread reads like a dinosaur-themed valentine that a third grader might choose, with punishingly punny wordplay that incorporates dinosaur-related words. On the facing page a dinosaur pair—a baby and an adult—gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes against whimsical, pastel-hued prehistoric-ish backgrounds. In smaller print, in all caps, at the bottom of the left page is the scientific name for the dinosaur referenced by the text and picture followed by a helpful phonetic pronunciation guide. White-outlined footprints appear next to their names, though the white is sometimes difficult to see against the pastel pages. Ten of the best-known dinosaurs are included. Twisting the dinosaur names to fit the loving sentiments succeeds some of the time but more often results in tortured text, well beyond the understanding of the board book audience. The line accompanying two hugging velociraptors, for instance, is just confusing: “Wrap-TOR arms around me, / with you I’ll always stay.” Others are just plain clumsy: “I-wanna-GUANODON you kisses, / I truly just adore you.” Very young children, even those fascinated by dinosaurs, will not get it. Older dinosaur fans will be put off by the babyish format.
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2295-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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