Hello Fall!

In the follow-up to Hello Spring! and Hello Summer! (2013), Sanrio's Hello Kitty explores fall activities. The iconic white kitty and several of her friends visit a pumpkin patch, enjoy a variety of pumpkin and apple pies, play football and more in double-page spreads that feature bold, black outlines and highly saturated, flat colors. The text is composed of simple greetings to the various autumnal scenes ("Hello hay rides! / Hello school bus!") and appears on the upper-left or upper-right side of the page in bold white type. The companion book, Hello Winter!, uses exactly the same format to depict kitty and company building snowmen, drinking hot cocoa and roasting marshmallows. A few of the activities in both titles are not particularly toddler-friendly, such as going ice fishing and riding in hot air balloons. One scene in particular, showing the kitten getting dressed and captioned "Hello flannel!," is an odd choice considering little ones are still learning to label basic articles of clothing let alone the fabric they are made out of. While this and Hello Winter! complete Hello Kitty's year, they are not quite as successful as the earlier volumes. (Board book. 18 mos.-3) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.