A quick and cozy read-aloud perfect for bonding between caregivers and their children.
Everybody loves kissing their babies!
Whether it is a tiny mouse father giving a tiny mouse child a peck on the nose or a gigantic mother elephant kissing her baby by touching trunks, every animal parent featured in this book loves his or her child. On the final page, which features an illustration of a female-presenting human parent kissing a baby, the voice shifts to second person, prompting the adult reading to shower the child listening with affection. The book itself is well designed: Each sturdy page is cut into the shape of a different animal, making it fun and easy for small fingers to manipulate, and inviting children to explore the outline and texture of each creature featured in the narrative. Aracil’s soft, smudgy illustrations, rendered in pastel colors, are soothing and cozy, infusing the simple, clean text with a sense of warmth that enhances the read-aloud experience. Laudably, none of the babies are gendered, allowing the readers flexibility in the characters’ gender assignments and giving children the chance to identify with them no matter what their identity. Unfortunately, the same is not true of the parent animals: The author assigns genders via name (mama, papa) and/or pronoun to all of the parents, thereby excluding families that may have different structures and adult caregivers that might have more complex gender identities than what’s depicted on the page. Despite this shortcoming, it remains a delightful, visually interesting read.
A quick and cozy read-aloud perfect for bonding between caregivers and their children. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 979-1-02760-702-0
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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