Loveblock (An Abrams Block Book)

by Christopher Franceschelli, Peski Studio (Illustrator)

Overview

Learn how animals around the world show their love in this interactive board book

Love is strong.
You have my back and I’ll always have yours.

Animals show their love in so many ways! This interactive board book, with its chunky, die-cut pages and surprise-filled gatefolds, is the perfect gift for anyone you love. Featured animals include elephants, sea otters, swans, giraffes, sloths, penguins, kangaroos, pandas, hippos, foxes, and golden eagles.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419731532
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	12/01/2020
Series:	An Abrams Block Book
Pages:	84
Sales rank:	124,157
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 5.60(h) x 1.80(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

Christopher Franceschelli is a seasoned publisher, editor, and creator of children’s books. He runs Chronicle’s Handprint imprint and the SmartInk packaging company. A born-and-raised New Yorker, Franceschelli lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. David Partington is an illustrator based in Bristol, UK. His influences range from mid-century design to Saturday morning cartoons. As part of Peski Studio (formerly Peskimo) he enjoys screen printing, a process which often informs his approach to illustration. David’s work can be seen in kids’ books, food packaging, and jumbo floor puzzles around the world. He especially enjoys creating characters, drawing friendly robots, and sending them on incredible adventures.

Editorial Reviews

"While love is the topic of this board book, it’s the inventive gatefolds and charmingly vintage illustrations that readers will fall for." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2020-12-25
A hefty board book filled with ruminations on the nature of love.

While love is the topic of this board book, it’s the inventive gatefolds and charmingly vintage illustrations that readers will fall for. Brimming with sweeping declarations along the lines of “Love is / strong. // You have my back and I’ll always have yours,” the text sounds like a series of greeting cards strung together. It’s benign enough, but are most toddlers interested in generic proclamations about love? Some statements, like the ones on “unsinkable” hippos or a panda parent holding a cub “steady,” could introduce new vocabulary. At least there’s plenty of winsome critters to fawn over as the surprisingly sturdy flaps tell dramatic little ministories for each cartoon-style animal species. A downcast baby giraffe looks longingly up at a too-high tasty branch; lift a flap to bring an adult giraffe—and the delicacy—down to the baby, or watch an adventurous young fox retreat into a fold-down–flap burrow to learn that “my heart will always be home with you.” At points, the pages are tricky to turn in the correct order, but clever touches, like a series of folds that slow readers down to a sloth’s speed, make up for it. The book concludes with a gatefold revealing a vibrant playground populated with racially and ethnically diverse humans; two are wheelchair users.

Fun format; bland text. (Board book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews