Lively illustrations give oodles of discussion topics, making this a book young children will love listening to over and...
Page after rhyming page, playful words dance from beginning to end in this read-aloud for the very young.
“Stretchy / yawny / wide awake at dawn-y.” Waking with a morning stretch, one child starts the action as different children are shown throughout a day full of inside and outside activities. According to the second-person text, each child is “a buzzy, busy bee” until they fall into bed, “comfy, cozy” at the end of the story. The diverse cast of young children interact with one another in scenes brimming with exciting details. As the day moves from morning to evening, the journey includes a summertime backyard garden, a cheery, toy-filled playroom, a make-believe theater complete with an audience of stuffed animals, and the craft room in a library. Children will enjoy the singsong pace of the text as they follow the characters from place to place. Little ones can point out familiar events (pre–Covid-19, that is) such as going to the market and stopping at the playground on the way home. The endpapers are just as much fun as the book. Seventeen colorful miniscenes are packed with whimsies of their own. This bonus gives extra material for making up even more stories to entertain wiggly preschoolers. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.)
Lively illustrations give oodles of discussion topics, making this a book young children will love listening to over and over. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4572-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an...
A little boy exults in his new role as big brother.
Rhyming text describes the arrival of a new baby and all of the big brother’s rewarding new duties. He gets to help with feedings, diaper changes, playtime, bathtime, and naptime. Though the rhyming couplets can sometimes feel a bit forced and awkward, the sentiment is sweet, as the focus here never veers from the excitement and love a little boy feels for his tiny new sibling. The charming, uncluttered illustrations convincingly depict the growing bond between this fair-skinned, rosy-cheeked, smiling pair of boys. In the final pages, the parents, heretofore kept mostly out of view, are pictured holding the children. The accompanying text reads: “Mommy, Daddy, baby, me. / We love each other—a family!” In companion volume I Am a Big Sister, the little boy is replaced with a little girl with bows in her hair. Some of the colors and patterns in the illustrations are slightly altered, but it is essentially the same title.
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an older sibling can do to help. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-68886-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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