Visible through overlapping cutouts, animal residents get set to bed down for the night.
If the sleepy cadences of Hegarty’s rhyme aren’t quite enough to make a onesie-clad audience nod off, the subtle darkening of each woodland scene as pages turn should do the trick. “Sitting by a mountain stream, / here is big black bear, / watching as his baby cubs / play in the cool night air.” (The text may be stronger on atmosphere than on zoology.) Using trees and canopy as a sort of natural proscenium, Le packs the space around the large, naturalistically shaped central cutouts with mostly European flora and fauna. Viewers can pick out families of rabbits, wolves, otters, wild boars, caribou, and others gathering themselves to head toward (mostly offstage) homes, as well as lots of small individual creatures peeking through leaves, flowers, and, here and there, tiny additional cutout windows. The spreads are printed on heavy paper, which makes them at least somewhat resistant to tearing, but the book is nevertheless best shared with the younger end of the audience when they are at their calmest. Eyelids should be drifting down even before the closing “Sweet dreams. Good night” beneath cushiony, moonlit clouds.
A sonorous, effectively soporific snoozer. (Novelty picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-18176-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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A sweet celebration of the bond between a mother and her Pookie.
The eighth installment in this always charming series eschews the episodic drama and silliness of earlier outing such as Spooky Pookie (2015) in favor of a mom’s-eye-view celebration of her child and the time they spend together. There is, of course, nothing wrong with drama and silliness. But while the lack of conflict and plot in favor of unapologetic sentiment makes this book a quick read, that doesn’t make it any less endearing. The rhymed verse captures a mother’s wonder as she observes the many facets of her child’s personality: “Ah, Pookie. My little one. My funny one. My child. // Sometimes you are quiet. Sometimes you are wild.” On the simple joys of shared moments, she notes, “I love to go walking with you by my side. / I love when we sing when we go for a ride. // And I love just to watch as you think and you play. / The way that you are is a wonderful way.” Paired with author/illustrator Boynton’s irresistible renderings of a porcine mommy and her playful, snuggly little piglet, the result is impossible to fault. Whether quietly reading, running in a tiger suit, singing with mom in the car, ears flapping in the breeze, or enjoying the safety of mom’s embrace, Pookie’s appeal continues unabated.
An unabashed love letter from mother. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Dec. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3723-4
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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