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32 pp.
| Candlewick
| February, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-7970-5$12.99
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PS
"Yawny and dozy, twitchy and cozy. Good night, rabbits. Sleep tight..." The flip of a flap turns a yawning bunny baby in a parent's arms into a sleeping one. The sweet concept plays out five more times, with different animals, until "it's your turn, sleepyhead." The mixed-media spreads have a soporific glow, and the text uses soft consonants and a soothing cadence.
32 pp.
| Candlewick
| February, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-6951-5$12.99
(3)
PS
Each spread describes an animal's greeting ("A dog hello is licky and loud...") while half-page flaps reveal the sounds of their greeting: "like this! Bow-wow-wow-wow!" It all ends in an exuberant hullabaloo capped off with a hello "from you." Clean, digitally colored ink and watercolor illustrations make way for the simple concept, and the text's repetition encourages rousing participation from a read-along audience.
24 pp.
| Candlewick
| February, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-5267-8$16.99
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"You know, my Yummy One, the world is full of utterly lovely ones," says a bird to her baby, and she proceeds to enumerate the virtues of various animal babies in their midst ("Amazing! Dazzling! Astonishing!"). This is a feel-good rumble through the jungle--no more or less. The mama bird's rhapsodizing applies to the joyful illustrations: they're "lovely--utterly."
32 pp.
| Candlewick
| December, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-6182-3$12.99
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This winsome book uses clever design, childlike art, and playful rhyming language to describe animal kisses. For example, two fish, one large and one small, smile at each other alongside the words "A fish kiss is fizzy and bubbly..." Readers turn a partial page that dovetails with the previous drawing to show the two sharing a kiss--"like this!"
32 pp.
| Candlewick
| August, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-3405-6$15.99
(3)
PS
When Panda Foo invites blue sheep Curly on a picnic, Foo's friends Jigger Bird and Boodle the baby boar are nervous about meeting a new animal. This is a quiet story, but readers will be entertained by the animals' childlike questions about Curly, who, as it happens, fits effortlessly into the group. Tidy watercolor illustrations in springtime colors enhance the friendly atmosphere.
32 pp.
| Candlewick
| October, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-7636-2268-0$$12.99
(2)
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On a "silent night," a little owl sits in his tree with a "waiting feeling." Then a sparkling star calls to him to follow. This revisioning of the Nativity story is both elegantly simple and quite complex, moving beyond plain narrative to an intimation of the religious experience. The illustrations reinforce the simplicity and spirituality of the text. The final spread's firework-like display of shiny gold feels less like indulgence and more like celebration.
24 pp.
| Candlewick
| May, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-7636-2122-6$$12.99
(2)
PS
The animals enthusiastically welcome a baby: "'I fed the baby! Did you feed the baby?' 'Yes! I fed the baby. What a hungry little one!'" The rhythmic exchange is suited to the youngest listeners, and the large pages, all black and white but for a single rim of color on one edge, may even catch the eye of an infant. The baby--a duck--eventually makes an appearance, lit in glowing yellow on the black page.
Reviewer: Lauren Adams
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2003
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PS
Twenty-six once-caged letters elude their matronly keeper by forming words. The surreal set-up may put off some and the wordplay will be too obscure for the non-reader and too easy for the more accomplished, but this could well hit the spot with newly independent readers, especially those with a perverse streak. The art, with its monochromatic colors and heavy black holding lines, suits the story's mood.
(3)
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In this welcome board book edition, a child penguin lists the things it likes to do with its parent. "I like it when you hold my hand. I like it when you let me help. I like it when we eat new things." Flat, bright primary colors are background for the simple paintings of parent and child celebrating their loving relationship.
32 pp.
| May, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-7613-1626-4$$14.95
|
LibraryISBN 0-7613-2674-X$$21.90
(4)
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Living with Raccoon and Badger, two know-it-alls who know nothing, Koala gets little help in finding answers to her questions. Fortunately a donkey leads her to the library, where there seem to be answers to everything. The story is didactic, but Koala's desire to craft flowers is appealing, and the childlike art, a combination of paint and photo collage, is attractive.
32 pp.
| Candlewick
| May, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-7636-1732-6$$14.99
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PS
The artwork takes center stage in this cheerful circular tale. Bold, black lines emphasize the simple shapes of the animal characters in the illustrations, which use only three or four bright, flat colors per page. When Hen gives Pig an egg, he is so taken with her kind act that he decides to do a good deed for Rabbit, who in turn is kind to Cow, and so on.
32 pp.
| Houghton
| March, 2001
|
TradeISBN 0-618-00334-7$$9.95
(2)
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A penguin child explores different sorts of changes in this cheery concept book. Creative play allows a cardboard box to change from cave to ship; fluffy white clouds give way to bright blue sky. Physical changes are noted as proud parent measures growing child. Less tangible concepts are illustrated with familiar examples. Bright, saturated colors on heavy paper provide appealing backgrounds for the warmly depicted family at play.
Reviewer: Lauren Adams
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2001
(3)
PS
This simple, bold, and bright book introduces emotions by showing how puppy friends Milo and Ellie feel as they interact throughout a day of play. When Milo can't find Ellie's hiding place, he feels puzzled. When Ellie goes faster than Milo on Milo's scooter, Ellie's happy, but Milo feels angry. Told in brief text and conversation bubbles, the story provides a simple way to discuss emotions with the very young.
24 pp.
| Houghton
| September, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-395-97113-6$$9.95
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With boundless energy and considerable clatter, a penguin child plays while a homemaking mom--or dad--makes repeated requests for quiet. The resourceful penguin figures out how to play quietly (donning socks to jump rope), and at last we see the reason for all the shushing: a sleeping baby. The illustrations are in the style of Lucy Cousins and hold similar appeal, and the sturdy pages will stand up to eager fingers.
Reviewer: Lauren Adams
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 1999
32 pp.
| Houghton
| September, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-395-97105-5$$9.95
(4)
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"'Choo choo!' Here comes my puffer train. 'Puffa puff puffa' goes my puffer train." The conductor, a cheerful penguin, drives a teal green train to the seashore, picking up various farm animals along the way. While the text is not especially engaging, the bright graphic design enlivens the square-shaped book.
24 pp.
| DK
| March, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-7894-2593-9$$9.95
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DK Toddler Story Book series.
Illustrated with big, eye-catching pictures, these lighthearted books key into toddler experiences and interests and have thick reinforced pages. Panda Big and Panda Small like different things, but both like being together; Baby Loves celebrates a baby's exuberance for life and his parents' for him; Caterpillar's Wish is to fly, which he soon does; a girl tries to coax her busy cat to the dinner table in I'm Too Busy; and after a pig swallows a magic acorn in The Pig Who Wished, she gets all her outlandish wishes and nobody seems to mind.
32 pp.
| DK Ink
| April, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-7894-3484-9$$9.95
(4)
PS
A simple, friendly first introduction to seasons, this book follows a puppy and its parent through seasonal activities, such as picnicking, jumping in leaves, and snowdog building. The brightly colored illustrations with strong black outlines are appealing and appropriate for the intended young audience, although the layout of a couple of the voice balloons in the art makes reading those pages aloud awkward.