Next book

SOUNDS

From the Amazing Machines First Concepts series

Serviceable—nothing more.

The small 5-inch-square trim and the perennially popular vehicle theme will find an audience for this addition to the Amazing Machines First Concepts series.

It recycles images of machines from the earlier, machine-specific titles in the series to illustrate the concept of sound, while its three companions do likewise to cover Numbers, Colors, and Opposites. Parker's illustration style is reminiscent of Richard Scarry's, with anthropomorphic rabbits, mice, possums, and others driving the trucks, trains, boats, planes, and construction equipment. The book encourages interaction, though some of the noises seem too abstract for the toddler audience. It takes a bit of looking to figure out that the hose being used to wash mud off a backhoe makes the “splish, splash” sound or that “glug, glug” could be the sound of a tanker being filled. Each sound is repeated, which makes sense for “choo, choo” and “beep, beep,” but the plane making a “bump, bump” sound gives one pause. The information presented earlier is repeated on a flapped back page, but it is so slight its repetition seems superfluous. However, it is convenient, since most toddlers won't be begging to reread these books from the beginning.

Serviceable—nothing more. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-7534-7232-3

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Kingfisher

Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

Next book

THE ABCS OF LOVE

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

Next book

SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.

This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.

Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Close Quickview