Barnyard Bubbe makes latkes and applesauce out of the ingredients delivered by her farm-animal friends.
This board book invites readers to play two simultaneous guessing games: Which animal has left each food item, and why are they leaving them at Barnyard Bubbe’s door? On each night of Hanukkah, Barnyard Bubbe discovers different gifted food, and each night she asks, “Oh, my. Who has left this for me?” It’s a mystery to the readers, too, save the swish of a chicken’s tail, for example, which is accompanied by the word “Bwak.” The final double-page spread reveals the culmination of the animals’ gifts and Barnyard Bubbe’s hard work: those latkes with applesauce, of course. Klein-Higger and Sharf’s text follows a repeated, rhyming pattern that is largely successful until it falls apart on the last two pages. There is no inclusion of the religious aspects of Hanukkah, and the only related symbol is the menorah at the end. Gutierrez’s Bubbe looks the part of a stereotypical white grandmother, down to the apron and granny glasses. The illustrations vary little except for the changing animal part, limiting engagement in Barnyard Bubbe’s world. The anthropomorphized animals at the end are cute enough but lackluster. Overall, a sweet, secular book for Hanukkah.
Formulaic but fun. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2215-2
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
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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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A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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