Hey kids! Learn how to read an analog clock just like your (grand)parents!
A big, round hole cut into the front cover and every subsequent heavy cardboard page reveals a clock face with hours marked in Arabic numerals; the minutes are marked likewise but only by increments of five. The two ratcheted plastic hands can be individually set according to prompts delivered by a bear and the titular crocodile, evidently roommates. They rise in the crowded, flat cartoon illustrations at “7 o’clock” (“If the long hand points straight up to 12, the time is a whole hour,” Clockodile informs the bear). Improbably, they get set to retire at “25 after 7” that night. In between, they catch a bus, paint some pictures (at “half past 9”), eat lunch, swim (at “quarter after 2”) and share dinner. Meanwhile, an inconspicuous printed clock in each scene provides the proper configuration of hands, and a small blue robot helpfully supplies the “digital time” equivalents on a band running along the bottom. Explanations of seconds, minutes other than those divisible by five, Roman numerals and alternative expressions (“nine thirty,” “two fifteen,” etc.) are evidently reserved for another time.
A rudimentary introduction to a classic skill. Up next: how to dial a phone, play CDs, use a film camera…. (Novelty. 3-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-58925-552-4
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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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 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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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 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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