Review by Booklist Review
This seemingly simple but quietly effective oversize picture book works equally well as a source for early elementary curriculum support and as a calming bedtime story. Addressing habitats, the text considers a variety of animal homes: dens and burrows, nests and hives, hollowed-out logs and warrens. The sparse text, sometimes only two or three sentences per two-page spread, is complimented by busy, full-page mixed-media collages done on paper in acrylics and colored pencils. The accessible language effortlessly introduces new vocabulary (""Hatchlings go forth, Fox cubs nuzzle, Beaver kits swim, Owlets huddle"") and the drawings provide lots of little details while their muted tones evoke feelings of safety and serenity. This is a lovely introduction to how animals survive outdoors, and a good way to encourage conversation, whether comparing and contrasting types of forest dwellings during story hour, or chatting about how critters manage to stay warm and dry as they snuggle down to sleep.--Kathleen McBroom Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-While Bajaj's This Is Our Baby, Born Today followed the birth of one elephant, this new offering explores how an array of woodland animals build safe habitats for their babies. Owls, tortoises, ants, foxes, bees, and many other critters make their homes in trees, grass, on ridges, in the water, and underground. Mulazzani uses acrylic colored pencils and collage on paper to create expansive illustrations with pink sky tones, giving readers a sense of calm. Soft dark blue night skies, sparkling with stars, and sleeping animals complete this vision of serenity. The illustrations suggest, rather than attempt a factual representation. A honeycomb-shaped intersection of a beehive appears to be floating in mid-air, but careful inspection will lead to discovery of an attached beehive under a bridge earlier in the book. While sometimes the text and pictures do not entirely connect, the overall impression is that of poetic narrative, interpreted artistically by the illustrator. Simple elegant rhyming words lead readers to learn the names for each animal baby, but not the adult counterpart, suggesting that this picture book is not meant to instruct but rather encourage little ones to immerse themselves in the lush experience. By using the pictures to fill in the missing details, adults and children can explore and interact, creating a conversation prompted each -discovery. VERDICT A recommended purchase for large collections seeking gentle nighttime reads about animals, babies, and habitats.-Eva Thaler-Sroussi, Needham Free Public Library, MA © Copyright 2019. 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
This picture book invites children to observe nature for themselves as a variety of creatures busily create their homes: Do you see the home builders? The builders work under the earth, / Below the bridge, / In the tall grass, / High on the ridge, and the pictures show a mole digging underground, a beehive full of buzzing bees attached to the underside of a bridge, deer sheltering in the hollow of a hill, and an eagle in flight. Do you see the builders work? the book continues, going on to detail how, for example, the beaver gnaws wood and the mole digs underneath a row of root vegetables. Bajajs text is simple, specific, and active, reflecting the hard work of each type of creature to stay alive. The book concludes with the animals each in their own homes with their babies. Mulazzanis mixed-media illustrations use soft colors and have a generally cozy feel, yet their clarity and precision allow viewers to spot even the smallest insects on the pages. Children can follow their favorite animal throughout and may come away with the (possibly) new idea that the animals they see outside must work to provide homes for their families, too. susan dove lempke March/April 2019 p 55(c) Copyright 2019. 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
What will young readers encounter in the peaceful landscape of this picture book?Lush, full-bleed double-page spreads in a predominantly blue, green, and brown palette, executed in a soft mix of media that includes acrylics, colored pencils, and collage, accompany simple poetic text with an abcb rhyme scheme. The words are quiet, meant to convey safety and security. Many of the titular "home builders" appear in the first spread: Tortoises inch along a path, red foxes peek out from hiding, a deer grazes in the background, beavers cavort in the water, a great horned owl snoozes in a tree. The restmoles, honeybees, and eaglesarrive after the page turn. Bajaj structures her book with questions. "Do you see the homes?" The answer is simple: "Beds in leaf piles, / Dens snug and warm, // Lodges on ponds, / Shelter from storms. // Burrows with rooms, / Beehives and nests, / Each of these homes / Soon will be blessed." (Some may wonder at the word "blessed," but it seems to owe its use more to the rhyme scheme than underlying religiosity.) Babies arrive and, satisfyingly, learn to "work and play." Throughout, Mulazzani prioritizes intimacy over accurate scale or reproduction of animal architecture, offering lovely but sometimes confusing compositions.Whether children are listening in a group or as individuals at home, they will enjoy this book, but the science learning is limited. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
