Saccharine and ephemeral.
The 10 felt flaps in this board book seem incidental to its message of love.
Little fingers will quickly grasp the heart-shaped cover cutout decorating a polka-dot cat. Within, whimsical animals set against pastel backgrounds illustrate rhyming text printed in a clean but light all-caps type. The rhymes mostly work, though “Surrounded by a curlicue. / Or playing games of peekaboo” doesn’t exactly slide smoothly off the tongue. The felt tab on each spread is a gimmick, inessential to the narrative. The initial heart hides a bouquet of flowers. A pink elephant’s felt ear hides a baby elephant. One of the panda papa’s arms is felt, barely covering two pink cubs. Young children may miss a baby panda on the opposite page being carried in the mama panda’s mouth. A lion cub hides behind a larger lion’s felt mane, though in real life mane-free mother lions are the protectors. Turquoise felt mittens hiding brown fingers decorated with rings and rainbow-colored fingernails grace the spread with the most awkward rhyme: “A helpful hand, a gentle squeeze. / Love is kindness, comfort, peace.” On the final spread, decorated with animals, hearts, flowers, rainbows, and faces with varied skin tones, a pink felt speech bubble hides the words, “You are loved.” The felt flaps, while tactile and inviting, also stretch when pulled.
Saccharine and ephemeral. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7260-6
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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
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
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