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Dodd, Emma
25 Reviews
(4)
PS
Dodd continues her rhyming odes to parental love. An otter parent savors the many types of days with its pup (Together) and a rabbit defines love through everyday interactions with its baby (Love). The sentimental texts will touch new parents; Dodd's cuddly digital art with well-placed metallic accents may catch little eyes. Review covers these titles: Love and Together.
Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen
(4)
PS
Dodd continues her rhyming odes to parental love. An otter parent savors the many types of days with its pup (Together) and a rabbit defines love through everyday interactions with its baby (Love). The sentimental texts will touch new parents; Dodd's cuddly digital art with well-placed metallic accents may catch little eyes. Review covers these titles: Love and Together.
Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen
(4)
K-3
Though Billy is delighted as a bear-costumed entertainer careens through the house on a skateboard, eating everything in sight and popping balloons at his birthday party, Billy's stunned and dismayed parents are happy to see him go, especially when the entertainer turns out to be an actual bear. Dodd's high-spirited illustrations with wide-eyed characters carry the singsongy text and predictable plot twist.
Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden
(4)
PS
"Until you came into the world, / I thought my life was complete." Each of these book-length greeting cards features a loving animal pair: owl and owlet in Happy; bear and cub in Grow Up; wolf and pup in Wish. The well-composed digital illustrations invite readers into the animals' forest homes. Gold and/or silver foil accents add a bit of magic to the scenes. Review covers these titles: Happy, When I Grow Up, and Wish.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn
(4)
PS
"Until you came into the world, / I thought my life was complete." Each of these book-length greeting cards features a loving animal pair: owl and owlet in Happy; bear and cub in Grow Up; wolf and pup in Wish. The well-composed digital illustrations invite readers into the animals' forest homes. Gold and/or silver foil accents add a bit of magic to the scenes. Review covers these titles: Happy, When I Grow Up, and Wish.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn
(4)
PS
While there is nothing original about rhyming odes to parental love, these sweet books do it well. Everything features a koala family, while When You Were Born shows a variety of animal families, including people. Warmhearted illustrations in saturated colors with metallic accents complement the comforting language that tells, from a parent's viewpoint, how a child changes everything. Review covers these titles: Everything and When You Were Born.
Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth
(4)
PS
While there is nothing original about rhyming odes to parental love, these sweet books do it well. Everything features a koala family, while When You Were Born shows a variety of animal families, including people. Warmhearted illustrations in saturated colors with metallic accents complement the comforting language that tells, from a parent's viewpoint, how a child changes everything. Review covers these titles: Everything and When You Were Born.
Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth
(4)
PS
"Until you came into the world, / I thought my life was complete." Each of these book-length greeting cards features a loving animal pair: owl and owlet in Happy; bear and cub in Grow Up; wolf and pup in Wish. The well-composed digital illustrations invite readers into the animals' forest homes. Gold and/or silver foil accents add a bit of magic to the scenes. Review covers these titles: Happy, When I Grow Up, and Wish.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn
(4)
PS
Spare rhyming texts describe a parent's love for a child in this pair of sentimental picture books, acknowledging a child's ups and downs and assuring them that love is constant. Sweet digital illustrations of elephants (Always) and monkeys (More and More) are complemented by glossy metallic accents that will entice very young readers. No surprises, but plenty of heart. Review covers these titles: Always and More and More.
Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby
(4)
PS
Spare rhyming texts describe a parent's love for a child in this pair of sentimental picture books, acknowledging a child's ups and downs and assuring them that love is constant. Sweet digital illustrations of elephants (Always) and monkeys (More and More) are complemented by glossy metallic accents that will entice very young readers. No surprises, but plenty of heart. Review covers these titles: Always and More and More.
Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby
(4)
PS
"When you're happy, having fun, / I feel happy, too. / When you giggle, play, and run, / I laugh along with you." A polar bear parent speaks to its child in Hallmarkian rhyme. Deserving better are the illustrations, which show parent and child cavorting together in crisp, snow-speckled wintertime scenes, some of which have the look of icy woodblocks.
Reviewer: Nell Beram
(4)
K-3
This incarnation of the Cinderella story features a kindhearted elephant and her "Furry Godmouse," with the wicked stepsisters depicted as warthogs. There is little other novelty in the text, which stays true to the original tale: "As she rushed from the palace, she dropped one of her beautiful shoes." However, the wacky, cartoon-style art is perfectly suited to depict lumbering fairy-tale elephants.
Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay
(3)
PS
Foxy shakes his bushy tail to make the things Emily loves magically appear for her Valentine's Day card, but instead of balloons, flowers, and hearts, out pop raccoons, flour, and larks. When something is still missing, Foxy reminds Emily that the day is about who, not what, you love. The playful text and bright, boisterous illustrations celebrate the special love between friends.
Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden
(3)
PS
To help Emily prepare for her first day of school, Foxy waves his magical tail, but produces a penguin not a pencil, and an elephant instead of an eraser. Eventually he gets everything right; in the meantime, his silly mistakes have relieved Emily's jitters. Foxy's fluffy orange tail dominates most of the large, bright, bold illustrations, adding to the story's cozy comfort.
Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden
(3)
PS
In terms of picture book pairings, rhymes and farm animals are nothing new; but here's a barnburner of a twist: upon being awoken by a rooster crowing, a cat seeks revenge through magic, giving each animal another's sound ("'Meow,' said the cow. 'Meow, meow! What has that cat been up to now?'"). The digital art does a stellar impersonation of cut-paper collage.
Reviewer: Nell Beram
(4)
PS
A baby penguin muses about being small compared to the deep ocean, steep mountains, strong wind, long winter, etc. The final contrast is to its large mother, but the chick knows it's "the biggest thing" to her regardless. Dodd's gently rhymed text is reassuring (verging on sentimental); her bold illustrations in cool blues with touches of silver foil shine.
Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen
(3)
K-3
A girl describes what sorts of cat she does and doesn't want ("Not a scratch or scrap cat. / A curl-up-in-my-lap cat"); her desire is ultimately fulfilled. With wit and winsomeness, Dodd's illustrations get across the spectrum of prospective felines. As an exercise in rhyme for cat lovers, the whole thing works wonderfully.
Reviewer: Nell Beram
(4)
PS
Dodd's protagonist--a curly-haired tyke--loves bugs of all kinds: "the hang-from-the-ceiling bugs... / and send-me-squealing bugs!" Energetic illustrations of the child and large cast of insects make interesting use of perspective. Though the text is occasionally clunky, the book is still an engaging read-aloud.
Reviewer: Pearl Higgins
(3)
K-3
A little girl searches for the perfect dog. Simple rhyming text follows her careful scrutiny and ultimate rejection of a wide variety of canine candidates as too "posh" and "snooty," "snappy" and "growly," "speedy" and "itchy." Finally, she finds a "silly...willy-nilly" best friend who's just the right companion for her. Humorous and unfussy mixed-media illustrations capture the pups' personalities.
Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo
(4)
PS
In these books featuring animal children and their caregivers, the illustrations, with their simple, textured shapes and eye-catching compositions, outshine the serviceable rhyming texts. The cub in You tells the adult what he wants to be when he grows up. In What, the big elephant promises to love the little one, no matter how she behaves. Review covers these titles: Just Like You and No Matter What.
Reviewer: Martha Sibert
25 reviews
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