Plant a kiss

Employing a graphic style and mixed-media approach that's a real departure from the "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" enterprise, which she illustrated, and previous books like "Tumble Bumble," Bond works with white space and dabs of collage to create portraits of animals locked in embrace. Rabbits are calmly intimate; a pride of lions, joyous; and bats serenely hug each other upside down. Minimalist text describes upstairs and downstairs hugs, inside and outside hugs until a "Brown Bear"-like finale displays the whole menagerie embracing at once. THE BIGGEST KISS By Joanna Walsh. Illustrated by Judi Abbot. 32 pp. Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster. $12.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 5) "Kisses on noses, kisses on toes-es. Sudden kisses when you least supposes" begins this delicious paean to parental affection. Walsh's genial rhymes and hypercute drawings by Abbot, a first-time illustrator, make this square-shaped picture book, first published in Britain, stand out from the Valentine pack. Spots of humor amid the syrup also help: "Some kisses are misses, they land on the ear or near" accompanies a frowning monkey speckled with lipstick marks. Some kisses, let's face it, are too sweet. PLANT A KISS By Amy Krause Rosenthal. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. 40 pp. Harper/HarperCollins Publishers. $14.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 5) This very girly tale about a "Little Miss" who plants a kiss pairs the best-selling author Rosenthal ("Little Pea," "Duck! Rabbit!") and the award-winning illustrator Reynolds ("Ish," the Judy Moody series) for the first time, with great success. Splashes of sparkle adorn the pages as the seedling kiss causes "doubt" and a "pout" before it sprouts and spreads in a cheery wash of yellow and pink. Rosenthal's and Reynolds's straightforward and gently humorous sensibilities are well matched in this story about love beyond the boundaries of parent and child. And what child doesn't like a page sprinkled in gutter? ALL KINDS OF KISSES Written and illustrated by Nancy Tafuri. 32 pp. Little, Brown & Company. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 5) Tafuri ("Goodnight My Duckling," "I Love You, Little One"), queen mother of warmly soothing animal bedtime stories, uses notably bright and vibrant watercolors to introduce very young readers to animal baby names and noises. Goat and puppy eyes are soft and dewy with love as mothers, children and siblings exchange displays of affection. "Have You Seen My Duckling?" fans will welcome a return visit from the little ones with their "peep kisses." LITTLE TREASURES Endearments From Around the World. By Jacqueline K. Ogburn. Illustrated by Chris Raschka. 32 pp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) A book to make any Montessori or multicultural parent happy! This fascinating introduction to global endearments shows children how American parents call their offspring "Pumpkin" and "Doodlebug," while the English prefer "Poppet" and "Ducky." No judgment here (though American children may scoff at the French "Little Cabbage" and "Flea"), just marvelous illustrations by the Caldecott winner Raschka and an inclusive look at expressions of love from Poland to Uganda. Little "Light of My Hearts" (Arabic) and "Little Fatties" (Chile) will relish the experience. PAMELA PAUL ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.

PreS-Gr 2-When a girl (Little Miss) plants a kiss, it is treated like any other seedling in a gardener's patch. She patiently tends it, with plenty of TLC, and when at last it sprouts, she decides to share the harvest with the world. The format is ideal for this spare, rhyming picture book text with Reynolds's sweetly expressive cartoon art. While the storytelling is a bit abstract, children who are old enough to appreciate the fanciful premise (and a bit of glitter) will embrace the loving message. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.