Overly ambitious and too busy; the counting is overshadowed. Count this one out.
A counting board book illustrated with nature collages.
A row of 10 die-cut eggs across the front hints at the game within. Each spread follows the same format: On the left are a numeral, the number spelled out, and the word “eggs”; a parent animal guarding the eggs; and a one- or two-line riddle about that animal. Another hint can be found in the eyes or tails seen through small die-cut holes in the flap on the right. Lift the flap to find the answer along with a brief animal fact and sometimes another conversational question. Children at the older end of the recommended age range will quickly learn the pattern. Younger toddlers will quickly tear the rather thin flaps. The first five egg-laying critters are birds (flamingo, hen, owl, hummingbird, and duck). The sixth and seventh are crocodiles and chameleons, which are shown approximately the same size. The eighth, octopus, is a confusing choice, as the eggs are neither easily recognizable nor labeled (eight elongated, white ovals hang from a rock; in reality, there would be dozens). Nine is a tortoise. For 10, caterpillar eggs (again, not to scale) are shown on the left with the caterpillars on the right; the flap reveals 10 butterflies to count with no mention of the pupa stage). The final spread arranges all the critters on a number chart.
Overly ambitious and too busy; the counting is overshadowed. Count this one out. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-14654-7866-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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