Review by Booklist Review
This large-format picture book illustrates hundreds of vocabulary words for children who are learning to speak or to read. The double-page spreads feature bright, cheerful paintings of individual objects as well as broader scenes depicting everyday life and, occasionally, fantasy elements. Opening with a cutaway view of a house in the early morning, the lightly fictional narrative follows a family through a busy day, stopping along the way for viewers to observe and discuss matters such as the variety of vegetables in the family garden, or the people and equipment at a construction site. While word books have a venerable history, this one stands out because of the inclusiveness represented in its illustrations. The Let's get dressed! page includes a dashiki, a sari, and a kimono as well as a T-shirt, a skirt, and a tracksuit. More important, the biracial family's community is culturally diverse and accepting of its members' varied backgrounds, choices, and abilities. An enjoyable choice for reading aloud one-on-one.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Inviting acrylic-and-pencil cartoons introduce more than 700 words within the context of such familiar environments as a park, library, and market. A spread featuring the people and businesses on a busy street precedes one devoted to various professions: "Sam wants to be a chef. What do you want to be when you grow up?" Tiny portraits of dozens of workers include a bus driver, artist, reporter, and arborist. Later, the park scene leads to an overview of emotions: "Everyone in the park looks happy and relaxed. How do you think these children feel?" A friendly and diverse cast of characters helps create a book with broad appeal, as well as plentiful whimsical details to examine. Ages 2-6. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Fashioned in word-book style, this loosely constructed "story" follows a busy Palabra family, including their pets Crunchy the crocodile and Zanzibar the cat. On colorful spreads, readers view the family members' various interactions from sunrise to sunset. For example, the book opens with "It's morning time at our house. The birds are chirping. Wake up, everyone!" The illustration is a cross-section of the house, introducing the characters and showing everyone waking up, getting dressed, and getting ready for the day. Vocabulary words are incorporated into the art and provide details of their house-kitchen, back door, porch light. Trips to the garden, market, library, and more are included along with more open-ended, direct address spreads that ask readers to decide, "What would you like to wear today?" and choose from clothing options such as salwar kameez, dashiki, kimono, or pink party dress. Another spread states, "Sam wants to be a baker. What do you want to do when you grow up?" Although inclusive of many cultures, this diverse word book lacks a glossary or back matter to assist readers with items they might not be familiar with, like a dream catcher, sari, or solar panels. An additional purchase.-Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Fatus presents an irresistible word compendium, ` la Richard Scarry's Busytown. Spanning from morning to night, the cheerily packed spreads concentrate on a wide variety of topics, including clothes, homes, and story characters. The whole focuses on Maya and Sam's trip into town with their grandfather; the text invites participation: e.g., "What would you like to wear today?" "What is your favorite kind of weather? (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This multicultural take on a Busytown sort of place is rife with opportunities for I-spy reading and language acquisition. The multigeneration, multiethnic Palabra family lives in a house that buzzes with activity. A helpful title-page illustration first introduces Mom, Dad, Pop Pop, Sam, May, Felix and Zanzibar the cat. There's also an anthropomorphic crocodile named Crunchythis is the only clear instance of fantasy to enter the little world, and while it might be intended for comic relief from page to page, it ends up undermining the earnest multicultural worldbuilding of the rest of the book. Multiracial families, same-sex couples, people using wheelchairs and others wearing hijab are just a few examples of the diversity of humanity that is included in the pictures, and Crunchy ends up seeming simply intrusive. Most of the story follows Pop Pop, Sam, Maya and, alas, Crunchy, as they go out into their town to visit the library, play in the park and have lunch. The brief narrative text introduces these activities, but the aim of the book is to invite perusal of spreads that are jam-packed with detailed, labeled pictures of people, places and things in the community. The boldly colored art adopts a nave style with a folk-art sensibility that is accessible and engaging. A fine addition to the word-book shelf, aside from that crocodile. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
