Board Books

Review: Lexie by Audrey Couloumbis

| Tasha

lexie

Lexie by Audrey Couloumbis

The shore has always been one of ten-year-old Lexie’s favorite places in the world.  She would spend the summer there with her parents, playing on the beach, finding treasures in the sand, and reading picture books.  Now though, her parents are divorced.  So her mother isn’t going to be going to the shore at all.  Lexie is spending a week there with just her dad.  Or so she thinks!  On the way there, her father announces that his new girlfriend will be joining them, and her two sons too.  Lexie is pushed out of her usual bedroom into one that is as tiny as a closet.  Teenage Ben is also not enthusiastic about being stuck together.  Little Harris is messy and doesn’t even want to head outside at first.  As the two families try to live together, Lexie discovers that connections can be created over the smallest things and that there is still room for everyone even if the house is a lot more crowded.

This is a book that takes a moment in time, a week at the shore, and creates a world out of it.  Couloumbis writes with a voice that celebrates the small things, yet doesn’t wander.  The characters are real, each written with an honesty that is surprising.  The adults have faults, make mistakes.  The young people are struggling with this new situation, facing it with various emotions that all read as true.

Lexie is child who can see past her love for her father and see him through the others’ eyes.  At the same time though, she has to spend time with the others to understand them as deeply.  It all works well as the reader is also learning about these characters.  When truths are revealed is a crux of the story.  Throughout the book, honesty is explored.  Lexie struggles with trying to be kind and then finding herself in situations where it may have been better all along to tell the truth.  The situation with the adults mirrors this as well.

This is a radiant read that explores deep issues of divroce and truth while never losing the sunshine of the shore.  It would make an intriguing pairing with Junonia by Kevin Henkes which is for a similar age and also is set on the beach. Appropriate for ages 8-11.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

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Arctic Board Books

| Tasha

ArcticLand ArcticSea ArcticSky

Arctic Land

Arctic Sea

Arctic Sky

Author Vladyana Krykorka has created three board books that each look at a different aspect of wildlife in the Arctic.  The books are done in accordion style, so they spread out across laps or tables, creating even more of a vista of the Arctic landscape.  Arctic Land features caribou, wolves, musk ox, Arctic hare and polar bears.  Arctic Sea has whales, seals, narwhal, and walrus.  Arctic sky is filled with swan, crane, raven, ptarmigan, loons, and owls. 

There is a short verse that ties the animals together, but the real beauty here are the illustrations.  Done in watercolor, they have a movement that is captivating.  The long line of animals when the book is fully open is beautiful, filled with color and creatures.

While this book’s format may not survive long in public libraries, it will make a charming and education gift for a tiny naturalist.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copies received from Annick Press.

A Couple of Fall Board Books

| Tasha

go baby go

Go Baby Go! by Marilyn Janovitz

As baby gets fussy, they head out to the garden where baby is distracted by all sorts of things.  The bubbles going pop, pop, pop.  The blocks tumbling down and clickity clacking.  There are mud pies, water from the hose, even treats to munch.  Then everything gets quiet as baby falls asleep.

This charmer of the picture book has a jaunty rhythm mixed with plenty of repetition to catch the attention of very small children.  Everything that happens here is what a child would find in their own backyard, making the book all the more interesting to children who will see themselves in it.

scariest thing in the castle

I’m the Scariest Thing in the Castle by Kevin Sherry

This board book has the same colorful, bold artwork as Sherry’s previous picture books.  Here his creature is a merry bat who declares himself scarier than all of the other monsters in the haunted castle.  And he does manage to play pranks and frighten all of the others, until the lights go out. 

This jolly Halloween board book will appeal to small children with its bright colors, humor and the not-very-scary tone.

Review: Baby Unplugged Board Books

| Tasha

BlanketCoverweb HuttonPetsCover Web YardCoverBoxes

I rarely review books by self-published authors, but when I saw the covers for these books, I made an exception.  These are board books that have a particularly sunny and cheery point of view.  Each of these three books takes a subject and then spends time exploring many facets of it.  Blanket will surprise readers with a touch of humor and then ends with bedtime.  Pets talks about a wide variety of pets and ends with an emphasis on connection and love.  Yard, which is my favorite of the three, explores what children will find in their own yard as well as some of the wonder of wider nature. 

The illustrations of the books are done in a flat, friendly style where everyone is happy.  Filled with bright colors and done very simply, the illustrations are just right for the toddler or infant.  The books are written in rhyming pairs that work well, making reading aloud easy.

A particularly successful series of self-published board books, these books speak to the quality of some of the self-published work on the market.  They have a nice blend of modern illustration and timeless subjects.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copies received from Baby Unplugged.

Board Book Reviews

| Tasha

i feel happy yoon little book

I Feel Happy by Salina Yoon

Explore emotions in this board book.  The book comes with one puzzle piece that has a rotating wheel.  The piece is the face of the child and children can rotate the mouth so that the face shows different reactions.  Turn pages in the book, and different situations are explained.  The child can then show the emotion that they would feel in that situation.  The puzzle piece is attached to the book with yellow ribbon.  It’s a novelty book that would work well in public libraries thanks to the durability of the piece and the pages.

It’s a Little Book by Lane Smith

A version of It’s a Book that is perfect for the toddler set.  Here you have the donkey and gorilla in diapers, exploring what a book is.  Is it for chewing?  Is it for wearing?  Is it for flying?  Each time the donkey comes up with an idea, the gorilla gives it a “no.”  Until the end, “It’s a book, silly.”  None of the controversy of the first book but all of the charm.  And yes, it did take a lot of effort to call the character “donkey” here.

Board Book Reviews

| Tasha

American Modern Books shared two new board books that are coming out in September.  Both have a modern art vibe that is captivating:

colors harper counting in the garden

Colors by Charley Harper

This is the third board book by Harper and follows his alphabet and counting books.  Here the colors correspond to animals and natural colors in the illustrations.  There are red birds, blue water, orange leaves, and a yellow moon.  There are also some more man-made items in the book like fire hydrants, cars and hats.  The design here is very successful with the small size of the board book format creating a very nice frame around the illustrations.  There is also a lot of variety in the images, though all are thoroughly modern.

Counting in the Garden by Emily Hruby, illustrated by Patrick Hruby

This counting book counts visually as well as in the text of the book.  Steadily count from 1 to 12 with items from the garden.  After each new number is counted, readers turn the page to see that item added to the garden.  What starts as a green and brown, but fairly open and plain field becomes robust and crowded with plants.  The illustrations are strong with plenty of color and lots of energy.  They have modern lines and are very clean and clear.

These two books are sure to please parents looking for books that they too will enjoy reading again and again. 

Reviewed from copies received from AMMO.

Board Book Reviews–Hello Friends Series by Emma Quay

| Tasha

sleep-tight-a-book-about-bedtime letsplayhouse 

puddlejumping yummy-ice-cream-a-book-about-sharing

Good Night, Sleep Tight by Emma Quay and Anna Walker

Let’s Play House by Emma Quay and Anna Walker

Puddle Jumping by Emma Quay and Anna Walker

Yummy Ice Cream by Emma Quay and Anna Walker

Four new board books welcome the youngest readers into a group of three friends.  There is Panda, Sheep and Owl, who are all different, enjoy different things, but manage to be the best of friends despite that.  The series has warm illustrations that are done with a mix of paint and fabric.  This lends a real richness and friendliness to them.  The text of the books is brief, humorous and engaging.  These are stories that are simple and great fun.

Good Night, Sleep Tight is a bedtime story.  The three friends decide to go camping in their sleeping bags.  They all settle in, but both Owl and Sheep are uncomfortable.  Only Panda is cozy, so the other two decide to join Panda in the one sleeping bag.

Let’s Play House has the friends building a play house together out of a blanket and some chairs.  But the house doesn’t work out so well, especially after Panda stands up to leave, taking the roof with him.  But all is not lost, as a new game is invented.

Puddle Jumping is about bravery.  Owl and Panda have great fun jumping over a big puddle the three friends discover.  But Sheep is scared to try, scared she will fall on her bottom and get hurt.  Eventually Sheep does try to jump the puddle, and she ends up having a lot of fun in an unexpected way.

Yummy Ice Cream is about sharing.  Sheep and Panda both have ice cream cones that are very yummy.  But Owl doesn’t have any.  The three friends find a very inventive way of making two ice cream cones into more.

As you can see, children will recognize their own play and activities in these books.  These are modern, stylish board books for the youngest of children.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copies received from Penguin Books.

Book Review–Oliver by Christopher Franceschelli

| Tasha

oliver

Oliver by Christopher Franceschelli

This minimalist board book has an interesting novelty piece at the end.  On most of the pages there are only an egg and one line of text.  The text explains the limitations of being an egg.  An egg can roll from side to side, even stand on its head, but still it is just an egg.  Until something happens.

In this book, the final moment where the egg becomes something else is told through a non-removable ribbon that runs through two pages.  Turn the page and the egg is transformed into a chick.  The process of turning that page is fascinating and will have children turning the page back and forth from egg to chick to egg.

The book has a sturdy feel that would make it a novelty book that could survive a public or school library.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Lemniscaat.

Book Reviews–Bunches of Board Books–The Second Bunch

| Tasha

busyelephants

Busy Elephants by John Schindel and Martin Harvey

The latest in the Busy Book series from Tricycle Press, this book features wonderfully crisp and clear photos of elephants.  Nicely, the photographs are also dynamic with elephants of different sizes interacting, running, splashing and blowing.  Get this into the hands of the smallest animal lovers.

grandmagigglepie

Grandma Calls Me Gigglepie by J. D. Lester, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata

A third board book from the pair who gave us Mommy Calls Me Monkeypants and Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug.  The book moves through human and animal grandparents interacting with their grandchild and calling them a variety of suitable endearments.  This is an adorable concept that continues to work well due to the sweet illustrations and sentiments inside.

littlecomposter

The Little Composter by Jan Gerardi

This lift-the-flap board book not only promotes composting but has an intriguing premise where the flaps conceal the remains of the eaten food.  A jaunty rhyme moves the book forward to the end where the worms start to do their work and the garden work begins.

All books reviewed from copies received from Random House.