Welcome to the World by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
*Review copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Writing: In rhyming text, the author welcomes a new baby to all the new experiences of life. The rhythm and rhyme are as delightful as in any of this author's beloved books.
Illustration: Helen Oxenbury's illustrations are as charming as ever, filled with little babies from all backgrounds and their parents, animal friends, and siblings. They are very reminiscent of her pictures in books like Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, but with even more sweet little details to love.
Content: This book features a variety of caregivers, including moms and dads, grandparents, and what appears to be a daycare worker. It includes an image of breastfeeding and one picture where there is a bottle in a diaper bag, which I appreciate, and it's an all-around gentle celebration of babyhood.
Overall: This feels like a book from a bygone era of children's classic picture books, in a good way. It feels contemporary in terms of the characters' dress and the cultural diversity of the people in the pictures but also timeless in its carefully crafted text. We don't need a book about babies, but we're keeping this one anyway.
Peek-a-Boo Haiku by Danna Smith, illustrated by Teagan White
*Review copy courtesy of Little Simon
Writing: Each spread features a haiku that describes the behavior of a particular woodland animal, whose identity is revealed behind each of a few flaps. Each haiku is a perfect fit for the traditional 5-7-5 syllable pattern, and the words are very carefully chosen to evoke just the right feel for each animal.
Illustration: The pictures are cozy and warm, with animals that are softened but not anthropomorphized. The flaps add an element of suspense and excitement, and they are large enough to be manipulated by clumsy little fingers without ripping the first time through.
Overall: This is such a clever concept for a board book, and the whole thing is designed beautifully. My three-year-old daughter loved it, and immediately added the word "haiku" to her vocabulary. My poetry-loving seven-year-old daughter was drawn to it as well. This is one of the few five-star board books I've seen in the past five years or more.
Good Morning, Good Night by Anita Lobel
*Review copy courtesy of Paula Wiseman Books
Writing: A child wakes up in the morning, and after waiting what seems like forever for the grown-ups to be ready, goes on a walk through the city describing everything in terms of opposites. The opposites are not the usual pairs found in typical concept books, but different choices, including fresh vs. painted flowers, and calm vs. fierce cats. The book brings us from morning to night, describing city life as well as teaching vocabulary.
Illustrations: The pictures are done in this author's beloved style, which in this particular book is especially reminiscent of On Market Street and One Lighthouse, One Moon. They perfectly evoke the feeling of a walk in a city, and they add some urban flavor to a topic that is often either not set anywhere, or set in a rural setting.
Content: There is lots of cultural diversity among the figures in the pictures, as well as a heavy emphasis on architecture and flowers, as well as textures of all types.
Overall: It's lovely to see a new book from an old favorite. Night and day is one my go-to story time themes, and this book will be a great addition to my repertoire on that subject, as well as to our homeschool library bookshelves.
The Honeybee by Kirsten Hall, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
*Review copy courtesy of Little Simon
Writing: This rhyming book describes the behavior, habitat and daily life of a honeybee. It uses lots of great vocabulary in its descriptions and the way the text is formatted contributes to the reader's immersion in the world of bees.
Illustration: The bees are a bit cartoonish which is jarring when I compare them with the very naturalistic backgrounds in the pictures. But the nature drawing is lovely, and the bees' appearance gives them a bit of personality that gives the young reader characters to engage with as they learn the scientific information presented in the book.
Content: This is a science lesson about bees packaged in an age-appropriate format for little ones. It's the board book version of a previously published picture book, and it does seem to be abridged. I was vaguely annoyed by the back matter where the author urges readers to tell Congress they love bees. Toddlers don't write to Congress, and I don't like having political messages to parents stuck into my children's books.
Overall: While I'm not ready to label this a classic board book the way the publisher has, I think it's a solid book on an interesting topic. My three-year-old son who loves nonfiction will be the next one in our household to look at this book.
One Tiny Treefrog: A Countdown to Survival by Tony Piedra and Mackenzie Joy
*Review copy courtesy of Candlewick Press
Writing: This is a counting book in which ten treefrog eggs slowly meet their demise until just one is left to grow to adulthood. The text only mentions the remaining number of frogs on each page and their action and leaves out explicit mention of the way the young creatures are killed. It ends up being less morbid than it sounds.
Illustrations: The pictures depict very well the atmosphere of the jungle, and they subtly show the fate of each treefrog as it falls victim to a predator. The pictures also show a variety of other animals that share the treefrog's habitat.
Content: This book is appropriate for kids as young as 2. My son became obsessed with a small plastic treefrog we happened to have and he loved this book despite the fact that most of the treefrogs don't survive. For older readers, there is some good back matter describing what actually happens at each point in the story.
Overall: This is a solid nonfiction title for learning about the life cycle and the food chain.
