Synopsis
It's Valentine's Day! Join the Backyardigans on a royal adventure!
Sheilah Egan - Children's Literature
Part of the "Nick Jr. Backyardigans" series, this Level 1 reader is presented in the rebus format. The pictures of wind, snow, ice, a river, and the various characters have the word itself spelled out in small type beneath each symbolic drawing. This will help emergent readers "decode" the text. The characters—Tasha, Uniqua, Tyrone, Pablo, and Austin—are all different animals. Tyrone and Pablo are charged by Queen Tasha to deliver a Valentine to her best friend, Queen Uniqua. The pair must face a strong wind (The wind blows. This wind is strong, says Pablo. Wind will not stop us says Tyrone), a snow storm, and a river-wide. Each time, they repeat the refrain "Nothing can stop us!" and reiterate the obstacles already faced, as well as the new one to come. Queen Uniqua loves the Valentine and returns with Pablo and Tyrone to give Queen Tasha a big Valentine hug. The word "special" may be hard for early readers to sound out and I, personally, wish that the use of "bring" when the word should be "take" had not become acceptable to editors through popular usage. 2006, Simon & Schuster, Ages 4 to 7.