While not a complete standout in a crowded field of similar books, this attempt at a different approach does succeed overall.
A counting, lift-the-flap book in which each page reveals a hidden picture.
Each spread of this simply structured board book features a white page with a bold, black numeral and letters spelling that number on the left-hand side and an accompanying countable image beneath a flap on the right. On the page for the number five, for example, beneath a mitten-covered hand is a naked, pink-skinned hand with five fingers; the act of lifting the flap makes it seem as though readers are removing the mitten from the hand themselves. Underneath each flap, the illustration features items that can be counted along with brief, descriptive text that repeats the numeral: “5 warm fingers.” By and large, this concept works well, as readers find “1 baby chick” hatching from an egg or pull “6 fresh potatoes” from the ground. The flaps open in different directions, which adds variety and movement to the illustrations. Some of the images are harder to decipher, such as a blanket and a sea anemone, and they really only make sense once the image below is revealed. A paper-wasp nest, once lifted, reveals “9 buzzing bees,” perpetuating a common mistake. The illustrations themselves are very plain, with bold colors outlined in black, allowing readers to focus.
While not a complete standout in a crowded field of similar books, this attempt at a different approach does succeed overall. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: March 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-988-8341-39-9
Page Count: 20
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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