Overview
Join a sneaky puppy for a joyous barnyard jaunt, and meet the many adorable babies spring has brought to a farm. There are ponies and puppies, piggies and duckies. And whether it's munching or snoozing, hiding or playing, they're all busy doing the things they love best.
Rhyming text describes what various animals do and what they love, as well as a baby who loves his bed and his mother.
Synopsis
New from Cynthia Rylant
Publishers Weekly
A farmyard's worth of animals smile their way through this rhyming poem cum bedtime book about what makes each one of them happy. Rylant (Baby Face, reviewed above) starts off with brisk, chirpy lines: "Kitty loves a garden/ Kitty loves a rose./ Kitty loves to walk up high/ On her kitty toes." Working in watercolors and wax crayons, in panels and vignettes, Bates (Farmer Dale's Red Pickup Truck) animates the verse with an unapologetically anthropomorphized cast of creatures: his Bunny lounges against a gardener's workbasket as it snacks on lettuce leaves; his Mousey clasps pretty leaves in its paws as it gazes, enthralled, at a ladybug overhead. It's almost as if a particularly cute stuffed-animal collection had been the models. The tempo slows down a little as the woman seen gardening earlier reappears, now indoors and holding a smiling baby: "Baby loves his mama, who will/ Kiss his sleepy head." By the last page, the baby sleeps ensconced in his crib, with all the beaming animals arrayed in the window and along the sill: Chickie on Piggy's head, Mousey next to Kitty and so forth. A good choice for those who like their bedtime books served sunny-side-up. Ages 3-5. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Editorials
Publishers Weekly
A farmyard's worth of animals smile their way through this rhyming poem cum bedtime book about what makes each one of them happy. Rylant (Baby Face, reviewed above) starts off with brisk, chirpy lines: "Kitty loves a garden/ Kitty loves a rose./ Kitty loves to walk up high/ On her kitty toes." Working in watercolors and wax crayons, in panels and vignettes, Bates (Farmer Dale's Red Pickup Truck) animates the verse with an unapologetically anthropomorphized cast of creatures: his Bunny lounges against a gardener's workbasket as it snacks on lettuce leaves; his Mousey clasps pretty leaves in its paws as it gazes, enthralled, at a ladybug overhead. It's almost as if a particularly cute stuffed-animal collection had been the models. The tempo slows down a little as the woman seen gardening earlier reappears, now indoors and holding a smiling baby: "Baby loves his mama, who will/ Kiss his sleepy head." By the last page, the baby sleeps ensconced in his crib, with all the beaming animals arrayed in the window and along the sill: Chickie on Piggy's head, Mousey next to Kitty and so forth. A good choice for those who like their bedtime books served sunny-side-up. Ages 3-5. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Children's Literature
AGERANGE: Ages 3 to 5.Brief rhymes summarize what a variety of creatures love, from puppies and kitties through bunnies and piggies to young chicks, mice, geese, and ponies. Puppy may love the rain, Bunny some lettuce and peas, Piggy his slop. The final character is Baby, who loves his blanket, his bed, his mama, and is happy, "Just like YOU!" The sweetness of the cover scene, with all the animals frolicking in comfortable togetherness, makes an appropriate introduction to the singsong text. Bates uses wax crayon drawings and transparent watercolors to evoke pleasant emotions. The anthropomorphic facial expressions on the characters guarantee smiling responses from the very young reader. The mainly framed, full-page scenes and vignettes tell the visual story with subtle comic overtones. Pale yellow backgrounds also contribute a sense of peace to this slice of life. This should be a popular read-aloud, particularly one on one. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
School Library Journal
PreS- "Puppy loves the farmyard,/Puppy loves the rain," but it has just stopped falling, and all the animals on the farm have begun to enjoy the day, too. "Pony loves to stretch her legs/In the summer sun." An Easter-egg palette of pastels on a pale yellow background effectively renders the creatures more like nursery toys than farm animals. On the final spread, they peer through Baby's bedroom window as he sleeps, almost as if they have taken on the role of their stuffed equivalents. Unfortunately, the theme of discovering joy in life's small pleasures is undermined by forced rhymes and an overall syrupy tone, exacerbated by the persistent use of diminutive titles (e.g., "Piggy," "Mousey," etc.). And while phrases such as "Happy little lovey-doveys" may adequately soothe young children, eye-rolling is a possible side effect for adults who are sharing the book.-Madeline Walton-Hadlock, San Jose Public Library, CA