Here’s hoping Deneux can find a more developmentally appropriate package for his accessible cartoons.
This French import is an encyclopedic exploration of the world of a 2-year-old bunny named Jojo.
On thinner-than-normal board pages, readers learn about Jojo and his family, Jojo’s house, his neighborhood and other places he visits, and various animals. Each section is divided by a tabbed page of thick paperboard. Deneux’s graphically simple and appealing cartoons on mostly white backgrounds in warm and inviting colors are the attraction here. Everyday objects are recognizable without being boring. The disjointed animal section is the least successful, and the spider and octopus as well as many insects have incorrect numbers of legs. The text, set in a difficult-to-read scriptlike type, consists of short sentences describing the scene (there is no story here) and captions just below the objects and animals. The whole package sports a thick paperboard “house” glued to the front cover, and a handle made of cord is fastened to the spine. These gimmicks undoubtedly triggered the choking-hazard symbol (indicating that the book is inappropriate for children under 3) found on the back of the book, despite the suggestion right above it that reads “Ages 18 months and up.”
Here’s hoping Deneux can find a more developmentally appropriate package for his accessible cartoons. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: March 25, 2014
ISBN: 978-2-84801-943-7
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
There are enough color-concept books for young children to overflow a crayon box without adding this developmentally...
Illustrator Girard's visually striking work suffers from uninspired text.
The chunky compilation features crisp lines and patterns. Bare of references to Girard's career, the introduction seeks to provide a total visual experience rather than an introduction to the artist. Slight rhyming phrases detract rather than enhance, implying relationships that don't exist. “A daisy in the garden, / green and growing; / multi-colored friends, / where are they going?” illustrates, first, a stylized daisy-woman and then a tiny army of three-dimensional figures, for instance. The flimsy spine proves too weak to support repeated readings of the 58-page book. Some descriptions fail to identify the shades featured in the illustrations (this is a book about colors), and the text itself is often confusing, peppered with oddly placed commas. “Alexander Girard, shows us colors in this book.”
There are enough color-concept books for young children to overflow a crayon box without adding this developmentally inappropriate offering to the mix. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: June 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-9344-2977-8
Page Count: 58
Publisher: Ammo
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
The flimsy construction and poor art and verse make it ill-suited for older children, too.
In this “pull-the-tab book about the seasons,” a chick and a bluebird visit the same tree throughout the year.
Readers pull none-too-sturdy sliding panels to alter the tree’s appearance. In the four internal double-page spreads, autumn leaves fall off the tree, snow covers it, blossoms speckle it, and apples change from green to red in this before-and-after interactive feature. The graphically flat art in springtime colors is rather fussy; the striped backgrounds resembling wallpaper patterns in various muted hues are an odd choice for these outdoor scenes. The rhyming verse, with stilted line breaks, describes the birds’ reactions to the changing seasons: “Chick Pea and Sweet Pea look up and see / new leaves and flowers all over the tree! / But the flowers drop their petals. / They’re starting to fall. / And Chick Pea is trying to / catch them all.” The pull-tab also reveals an additional couplet in which an unseen narrator reassures the critters and gives hints as to what the duo will see next season. While is does not point to any choking hazards, the fine print on the back of the book states that it is “Not suitable for children under 3 years of age.”
The flimsy construction and poor art and verse make it ill-suited for older children, too. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7641-6593-1
Page Count: 8
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
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