One puffy little sheep is ready and willing to help readers navigate to slumberland.
Playing on the associations of counting sheep and making a silly substitution of “sheep” for “sleep,” this rhyming catalog discusses ways to “go to sheep.” An all-knowing sheep narrator shows two sibling sheep as well as readers how it’s done in bouncy rhyme, advising them when to rest, of places to sleep, what to wear, and all about dreams, with a final page showing the sheep trio tucked in and drifting off. Though it might be too boisterous for actual bedtime reading, it’s fun to read aloud, with a perky cadence and natural moments of drama, as when the sheep cozy up during a thunderstorm in a recto captioned: “you can sheep all alone… / but sometimes you can’t.” Deeply shaded watercolor vignettes with impressionistic detailing make the sleepy sheep appear ultracomfy while containing enough slapstick to hold readers’ interest: The narrator naps in heart-printed undies or dozes off while leaning against a startled friend—though the two siblings dumping water on the “grumpy” resting narrator edges toward mean-spirited. It’s a shame that the illustrator genders the female sheep with those ubiquitous long eyelashes and that it ends so specifically with “mama” doing the bedtime routine.
This pleasant going-to-bed book isn’t essential, but it might be worth snuggling up to for a read. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0395-6
Page Count: 11
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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A hefty board book filled with ruminations on the nature of love.
While love is the topic of this board book, it’s the inventive gatefolds and charmingly vintage illustrations that readers will fall for. Brimming with sweeping declarations along the lines of “Love is / strong. // You have my back and I’ll always have yours,” the text sounds like a series of greeting cards strung together. It’s benign enough, but are most toddlers interested in generic proclamations about love? Some statements, like the ones on “unsinkable” hippos or a panda parent holding a cub “steady,” could introduce new vocabulary. At least there’s plenty of winsome critters to fawn over as the surprisingly sturdy flaps tell dramatic little ministories for each cartoon-style animal species. A downcast baby giraffe looks longingly up at a too-high tasty branch; lift a flap to bring an adult giraffe—and the delicacy—down to the baby, or watch an adventurous young fox retreat into a fold-down–flap burrow to learn that “my heart will always be home with you.” At points, the pages are tricky to turn in the correct order, but clever touches, like a series of folds that slow readers down to a sloth’s speed, make up for it. The book concludes with a gatefold revealing a vibrant playground populated with racially and ethnically diverse humans; two are wheelchair users.
Fun format; bland text. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3153-2
Page Count: 84
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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Little ones can explore a day in the life of a rubber-covered, audio-enabled tractor.
The “5 noisy parts!” promised on the cover are powered by a battery embedded in the back of the book, the compartment securely screwed shut. Youngsters are prompted by the text to press various parts of the tractor to make interesting sound effects, such as an engine starting then chugging, a horn, and tire noise on muddy or rocky terrain. A large, tractor-shaped die-cut hole in every page allows children to access the vehicle on every double-page spread but leaves the left-hand pages dominated by that tractor-shaped hole. Farm animals make their signature sounds via speech bubble (horses, chicks, and cows, to name a few) along with other critters offering suggestions about which buttons on the tractor to press. For additional play value, a ladybug and a caterpillar can be spotted on every double-page spread. Labels for most of the animals appear in a clear font along with other farm-centric vocabulary words: pitchfork, seedlings, trough. Elliott’s art is busy, but the simple, eye-catching patterns and graphically clean lines in bright colors will appeal to the audience. While this offering is perfect for toddlers, the extensive warnings in the fine print on the back of the book about what may happen if the button battery is swallowed should scare adults into being vigilant. Thankfully, there is an on/off switch allowing for toggling between a quiet and noisy reading experience.
Grown-ups be warned: Young fingers will delight in pressing the tractor’s buttons (and yours!) over and over. (Novelty board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68010-669-5
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
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