6/27/2023 0 Comments Jibber jabber insertIn this board book based on the song “Here Comes Peter Cottontail,” an accident-prone rabbit delivers Easter treats. This reworking is a gentle and conflict-free ode to the special love between little bear and a doting grandma. In that story, the little bear is resisting bedtime. Their illustrations were originally used in Good Night, Sleep Tight by Claire Freedman (2003). Note: “Rory Tyger” is the collective pseudonym for the British artistic team of Richard Greaves, Tracey Simmons, and Gabrielle Murphy. Each of the six rhyming couplets is spread across double-page spreads: “I love the fun we have each day, / And all the funny things you say.” Even in its small board-book trim size, there is still plenty of room for the winsome watercolors to highlight the familiar yet memorable rituals of a day spent with a loving and patient grandma. The narrator, a charming bear cub, is not identified as male or female, which makes it easy for both girls and boys to insert themselves in the story. She simply delights in spending time with her cherished grandchild. Thankfully, this grandma does not have Alzheimer’s and is not dying. This sweet, but not saccharine, board book fills that gap. Grandma is the star in dozens of picture books for older children, but seldom is the special bond between a toddler and their grandmother portrayed in a book for very young children. Infused with an unsettling energy, this might make for a raucous read-aloud with carefully chosen audiences Some, such as the serene wolf or the goose soaring through meticulously shaded white clouds, hit the right balance of quirky yet accessible, but it’s an odd testament when a snake and a mosquito are among the friendliest-looking animals. Muddied color palettes add to the unease, as with the roaring lion with pointy white claws glinting against a blood red background. A lop-eyed cow and slack-jawed horse have jarring faces a donkey in midkick looks vaguely menacing. That parrot, with fuchsia head and golden beak aimed at the sky, with precise lines emanating outward, is the epitome of “Squawk.” However skillfully constructed though, some animals edge closer to creepy than cute. Created in a folk-art style, each linocut animal is a technical triumph. ![]() Pairings vary between rhyming (“Moo” and “Hooo”) or purely onomatopoeic combos (“ZZZZ” and “SSSS”). Running beneath square-framed linoprints of animals, the bold, dynamically sized black and brown letters (also linoprinted) leap off the page, starting with a tiny mouse’s “Squeak” and an exuberant parrot’s imposing, askew “Squawk.” Small, neatly typed labels underneath mean the text can be read as commands (“Howl wolf” “Growl bear”) or simply animal sounds. Eclectic linocut animals are arranged into rhyming or sound-alike pairs.
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