Kass ReichReseñas

This is the first book that my one-year-old liked enough to actually bring over to me in order to get me to read it again! It's a cute book to help a child learn about colors.

Hamsters are always a popular theme at our library, due to our own library hamster (the current version is Humphrey).

A group of hamsters, portrayed in a blocky style with pink hands and various splotches of color, cheerfully troop across the pages in various modes of transportation. They are shown on a bus, train, unicycle, plane, car, boat, moon rover, parade float, etc. The penultimate spread shows all eight hamsters with drawings, toys, and costumes showing their vehicles and the final, wordless, spread shows the hamsters in a variety of headgear.

The soft but cheerful colors and somewhat shapeless hamsters give this a gentle, stuffed-animal feel. The silly costumes of the hamsters are cute and add humor for adults as well as children. The book is a horizontal rectangle with a thinner cardboard pages than the average board book.

Verdict: This is sweet and attractive. It's not an extremely sturdy board book, but it's quite acceptable for the amount of use it will get. The only drawback is that Orca's board books are more expensive than the average board book.

ISBN: 9781459810167; Published 2016 by Orca; Purchased for the library

This little book reminded me of Kate Duke's guinea pig board books, sadly out of print.

A series of blocky hamsters illustrate various opposites. "IN hamster" shows the two little hamsters in a fishbowl, complete with flippers and bubbles. "OUT hamster" shows them outside the bowl, wrapped in cozy towels. There is "SHHH" and "SHOUT", "DAY" and "NIGHT", "LOST" and "FOUND". Each page is a couple that rhymes, ending with a panorama of all eight hamsters tucked into bed and then a last page that pictures all of them, bright and cheerful, with accessories.

The illustrations have broad lines with splashes of color that spread over the lines. Each page has a simple illustration - a hamster pulls a friend in a wagon - against a simple colored background. Yellow, gray, blue, and other pastels set off the subdued colors of the hamsters and their doings. The book is a smallish rectangle, about 4x6.

Verdict: I usually prefer bolder colors, photography, or more defined illustrations for board books, but this was a really cute concept and nicely done so a variety of ages can enjoy the silly antics of the hamsters on different levels. The only drawback is that Orca's board books tend to be pricy, ranging around $9. A nice addition to your board book collection if it's within your budget.

ISBN: 9781459810136; Published 2015 by Orca; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

I can’t help but feel like sometimes the most fun to be had with a book for really little kids is in a story that is a little bit wonky and odd, but in that sort of clever way that never veers entirely into the completely chaotic or incoherent.

To read the full review, check it out at Noodlenuts Children's Books.

Counting to 10 with cute, colorful hamsters.

Cute counting board book featuring simple line drawings of hamsters doing all kinds of stuff!