by Wednesday Kirwan
A board book my three-year-old picked out at the library. Simple concept: each page shows an animal and creates a fun play on words with a typical characteristic (or popular saying) about that animal paired with a musical style. The end shows the baby on one page rocking out with a guitar and sunglasses, but also grinning aboard a rocking horse on the other side. Cute and fun.
Rating: 3/5 26 pages, 2013
by Todd H. Doodler
The day starts with one person on the bus: the driver. He picks up two girls talking on the phone, three firemen whose truck broke down, four boys dirty from playing etc.- each page a successive number up to ten. You see them all pile on until the seats are completely full- including eight dogs carrying fleas- which makes no one happy! Then we count down from ten to one again as people (and dogs) get off the bus- but your child can practice a little math, too. Sometimes two groups of people get off at the same stop- five basketball players get off at the stadium plus the four boys, who want to watch the game. Seven nurses and six doctors get off at the hospital together- even more counting to do! It\’s also educational for little kids because it gets them thinking about where different people might want to go on the bus, and the purpose of their destination. The rhymes are a little awkward sometimes; I found myself rephrasing to make them smoother, and the illustrations are goofy but my kid doesn\’t care about that.
Rating: 3/5 20 pages, 2013
more opinions:
Journey of a Bookseller
Jean Little Library
The Little Puddle
by Axel Scheffler
A mouse and bunny friend play all day together- walking their dolls, building a city, pretending to be lions. They are having so much fun the bunny forgets to stop when he has to pee, and has an accident on the floor. His friend reassures him, helps clean up, loans some dry clothes, and they continue playing. Next time he has to go, bunny boy remembers to use the potty. And they take a bubble bath together. Cute little reminder for kids who are potty training (mine is not perfect at it yet so this was a nice book for her).
Rating: 3/5 24 pages, 2011
more opinions:
There\’s a Book
Read with Rosie
Kids\’ Book Review
Buzz Words
by Taro Gomi
Cute little book that has hidden pictures. One page shows an object, on the facing side it\’s hidden within an image. It\’s cleverly done. In a line of giraffes; one has candles on its head instead of horns. A group of raccoons- one has a striped sock instead of a tail. A rooster\’s comb is a glove, a praying mantis body is a green pencil, the negative space in an alligator\’s mouth forms a toothbrush. And so on. My favorite is the last page, which has a group of children. A spoon and fork are hidden in the shapes of a girls\’ pigtails. Fun.
Rating: 3/5 24 pages, 1990
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Picture This Book
Waking Brain Cells
by Maria Frazee
This cute little book depicts a new baby as a corporate boss. Black and white onesie styled like a business suit, holding long lists of demands, crying and screaming to call his parents to \”meetings\”. Cute metaphor to how a baby can completely overtake a home, get mom and dad hopping to do his bidding, demand instant results (even when no one can figure out what he really wants) and get all his perks: music played to soothe him, drinks prepared round the clock and so on. Until the baby\’s \”staff\” of mom and dad collapse in complete exhaustion. Baby calls for attention, but gets no response. So he must find a new way to communicate. Really cute. My little girl just thinks the baby is being silly, it\’s parents who will really get a chuckle out of this one, recognizing how demanding infants can really be.
Borrowed this one from the library. It\’s fun to read the author\’s words about how her concept for the book evolved here.
Rating: 3/5 36 pages, 2010
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Maw Books Blog
Help Readers Love Reading
The Book Chook
Munchkin\’s Book Journey
by Robert Munsch
A little boy wakes up in the middle of the night, hears a strange sound and finds his father sleeping in the kitchen- on top of the fridge! He yells at his dad to wake up, then goes back to bed. Wakes up a little later to find his father asleep in the garage, on top of the car- yells at him, goes back to bed. Repeat scenario in more and more strange places. Finally after finding his dad asleep outside in the snow, he pulls his dad inside, ties him by the toe to a door handle with a long rope, and goes back to bed rest assured that his dad won\’t get into a mess again. But it\’s mom who wakes up next time…
My kid thinks this story is really silly (which it is) but I find myself wondering if the author meant to depict sleepwalking? Reading a few other reviews online I realize that this is a shortened version, I bet the full story makes more sense. My three-year-old picked this one off the shelf at the public library.
Rating: 3/5 22 pages, 1986
more opinions:
02b heavenly minded
Back to Books
Where Would I be Without Books?
by Samantha Berger
This simple little book compares sizes. It shows photographs of large and small animals (great dane next to a chihuahua, mother elephant with a small baby, etc) little kids next to older kids, a huge elaborate sand castle next to a small molded one, a grown-up\’s hand holding a child\’s, etc. My toddler likes the page with the hands, she always puts her hand on the small one and announces: \”my hand!\” and points to the other: \”mommy hand!\” As a little variation, the last page shows a pair of twins, which are the same size. This book is read often at my house. Liked so much that when I moved and realized I\’d left it behind, I bought a new copy for my daughter.
Rating: 4/5 …….. 14 pages, 1999
A Book You Can Count On
by Lois Ehlert
This is a fun counting book. It\’s full of fish with all kinds of different shapes, patterns and vivid colors on a dark blue background, which really makes them pop. They\’re drawn with basic shapes and bold markings, but I recognize a lot of the species. The eyes are cut-out holes which always intrigues my toddler, she likes to poke her finger into the holes. She\’s even starting to count along with me on the pages. The first few pages have rhyming text leading a child along on an imaginary swim through the ocean: If I could put on a suit of scales / add some fins and one of these tails / I\’d close my eyes and then I\’d wish / that I\’d turn into a beautiful fish… then counts one through ten all the fish you encounter. The very last page is even bolder, with fish eyes glowing off the dark page, bodies as obscured silhouettes. My kid really likes it.
Rating: 4/5 …….. 32 pages, 1990
by Stephen Krensky
illustrated by Sara Gillingham
Another charming book we found by chance at the library. I Can Do It Myself seems to be a companion volume to Now I Am Big! In this case, a little girl is featuring showing off all the things she can now do on her own: get a snack, reach a book on a shelf, turn off a light, blow her nose, ride a tricycle and so on. The cutest picture is where she chooses her own clothes- they are all terribly mismatched but she is so proud of her outfit! It\’s a charming reminder on how much little accomplishments mean to small children.
Rating: 3/5 …….. 12 pages, 2012
by Dr. Seuss
illustrated by Joe Mathieu
I never saw a Dr. Seuss book as a board book before, and it works perfectly in this format. I\’m also mostly familiar with Dr. Seuss books illustrated by the man himself, which are most of the ones I grew up with in my mother\’s collection (and have re-gathered to put on my own kids\’ shelves). So this one was a bit different for me. It has cute illustrations that show different ways a boy and his companion (in this case a bunny) use their eyes to see stuff. The rabbit and boy both have large, exaggerated eyes, but not so much to be goofy. My daughter really likes this book.
Rating: 3/5 …….. 22 pages, 1968
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All books reviewed on this site are owned by me, or borrowed from the public library. Exceptions are a very occasional review copy sent to me by a publisher or author, as noted. Receiving a book does not influence my opinion or evaluation of it
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