Fireman Small To The Rescue ($4.95; Mar. 1998; 14 pp.; 0-395-88122-6): When the alarm sounds, Fireman Small responds quickly. There’s a fire in Farmer Pig’s barn, and it’s up to the tiny fireman to put it out. The farm animals (including a crocodile in purple overalls) are terrified, but the courageous fireman quells the blaze. After a hard day’s work, Fireman Small snuggles into his cozy bed at the fire station. This book provide tidbits of information about the civic duties of firefighters, just right for toddlers wondering what a siren means. And Fireman Small, resembling nothing so much as a busy jellybean, makes a perfect vicarious hero for preschoolers. (Board book. 1-3)
Pub Date: March 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-395-88122-6
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A perfect piece of treasure it is not, but shiver me timbers, it’s fun.
Two pirates and their parrot companion embark on adventures to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
Following Car, Car, Truck, Jeep (2018), Charman and Sharratt team up again for this swashbuckling, musical tale. The two buccaneers and their parrot spend a day at sea engaged in such maritime activities as scrubbing the deck and hoisting the sail along with quintessentially piratical chores like digging up buried treasure. At the end of the day—which culminates in a nonviolent walk across the plank—the two pirates return home. Charman’s rhyming text has a nice cadence, and thanks to the cover note to sing along to the tune of “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat,” it moves along at a nice clip. For the most part, the rhymes work neatly into the tune so that it reads easily the first time through. Sharratt’s black-outlined illustrations are boldly colored and eye-catching. The pirates themselves are not obviously gendered; one presents white and the other has light-brown skin. Most of the ocean creatures have anthropomorphized features—a mostly successful choice with the exception of the jellyfish and octopus, shown awkwardly with humanlike noses and smiles (and, oddly, eyebrows for the octopus). Overall, this one holds high appeal for little readers, and the nature of the singsong-y, rhyming text will make it a highly requested reread.
A perfect piece of treasure it is not, but shiver me timbers, it’s fun. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0319-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
Utterly charming.
All the Dots in Dot Town gather for a swell meal, but one of their number is missing.
Pink Dot has invited all the Dots over to her house for the evening, but the Dots quickly discover Blue Dot is missing. Pink calls Blue and learns he is simply running late, but the message is garbled, and the other Dots conceive elaborate scenarios that Blue Dot may be taking part in. It’s all conveyed in toddler-friendly rhyme. Hearing that he plans to arrive soon, one Dot thinks Blue has gone to the moon; two others think that Blue has gone off with pirates “on a boat” or has turned farmer “with a cow and a goat.” Eventually Blue arrives, and the party carries on. Little readers will delight at the silly things the Dots imagine. The Dots are just that: warmly colored dots with limbs, rudimentary features, and distinctive hair or hats. Soft pastels bring the fantastic scenes to life, ranging from the ballet to the circus and the farm to the beach. Repeat reads will be infinitely rewarding.
Utterly charming. (Board book. 2-3)Pub Date: July 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3589-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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