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Susan Reagan's adorable board book Tweet Hearts features two little yellow canaries with lots of heart--or hearts.
Starting with "Ten little hearts," each turned page opens onto the next step in a number countdown. Every number's double-page spread features the first half of one line from a simple rhymed couplet. The countdown numeral in larger bolded text is followed by the number word, an adjective, and the word "hearts" ("Eight bubbly hearts," "Seven silly hearts," etc.). The second half of each line, most of which are on the right page of each spread, describes what the image illustrates.
Ten little hearts come to me
Nine happy hearts set them free
An illustration of one canary holding a magnet that draws 10 pink hearts and the second smiling canary to it from across the page accompanies the first line. The second line is paired with nine red hearts fluttering over to one canary from a wire cage whose door has been opened by the other bird.
The pared-down shapes and simple lines of the illustrations are set against a variety of colored backgrounds ranging from pale pink to spring green and bright teal. Reagan adds little pops of pattern that surprise and draw the reader in more deeply, from the scarf one canary wears while riding a bicycle built for two to the baskets of heart-shaped hot air balloons floating serenely overhead.
A pattern of tiny, lighter-colored polka dots against a deeper red background recurs throughout. The quickly familiar rhythm of the text and the innocent joy of the illustrations lead to a surprise pop-up at book's end that will have parent and child hugging with the sheer ebullience of the whole package.
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Sharon Schulz-Elsing/2014 for curled
up with a good kid's book |
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visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)
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Tweet Hearts