Review: Binky

By: Leslie Patricelli

Candlewick Press; 2005; unpaged

Board book

Ages: 6 mos-2 years

ISBN: 0-7636-2364-4

This book features a baby who has lost his binky. He searches all over the house for it. He looks in the various places he has been, and checks with the members of his family. He works himself up into a state of distress before the binky is finally found and the problem resolved.

My Thoughts:

This board book is delightful, both for adults and for babies. The stylized drawings are spare but make a big impact. Bold black lines and brightly contrasting colors will hold a baby's interest, and be easy for them to see. (I particularly enjoyed the drawing of the baby's face through the fishbowl...and the fact that the baby is "anatomically correct.") The text is simple and predictable...with a repeated theme of "is it (somewhere)...no..."(The fact that baby makes daddy turn out his pockets and doggie open his mouth is endearing.) Also, the plot is one that babies will be familiar with: the loss of a precious item, and the relief when it is found. It teaches the reward of perseverance. Baby kept looking until his binky was found. I think that infants and toddlers deserve resolution to their stories. I appreciated that the binky was found... instead of mommy and daddy trying to explain to baby how to deal with the absence of it.

The Thoughts of Others:

School Library Journal, in a 2005 review, stated that Binky and it's companion book Blankie were "perfect selections for short attention spans." (School Library Journal, vol 51, issue 7, p80)

Publisher's Weekly reviewed Binky in 2005 as well, and praised the reassuring nature of the text and the alluring and colorful illustrations.