This book feels like it came from another era. The sweet little ducks in this book have an
almost nostalgic feel to them. It’s a
great story of a duck’s life from duckling to dad. Fun to read and you’ll even learn a bit more
about the life and habits of your friendly neighborhood ducks.
I have recently become acquainted with the Toot and Puddle TV
series. It seems like a fun and
educational show, but I don’t want to overlook the books. I read these books for the first time many
years ago when my oldest was a toddler and she adored them. The illustrations are adorable as are the
situations. Toot travels to lots of
exciting destinations and provides a great opportunity to introduce geography
and study other cultures with your young ones.
This is the story of an unusual family that ends up with a
basement full of pet penguins. They are
even taken on walks with a leash from time to time. It is a great one to read aloud to the family
or as a read on your own for an older child.
Enjoyable and imaginative!
A perfect audience for this book is fairly obvious in the title,
but children without siblings, moms, dads, and maybe even brothers will also
enjoy it. The pictures had us all
laughing out loud at the similarities we could see in our own family. It could also help kids understand
differences and see that it is OK that we are not all the same even if we are
related!
When things around the Greenstalk farm go wrong…never
fear…”chickens to the rescue”. This is
a hilarious little picture book. It’s
short, simple, and easily predictable which makes it perfect to hold a little one’s
attention. The illustrations require
close examination to catch all the humor in the chickens’ various
activities. Check it out for a great
laugh with the kids!
If you happen to have a little girl in your house who loves
wearing things that sparkle and feathery boas then you should definitely bring
this book home. The illustrations are so
detailed and full of color. There are
several references to French words and lots of opportunity for vocabulary
expansion.
Nancy
is fancy and unfortunately she lives in a house full of people who are NOT fancy. Moms will laugh and might relate to the familiar attitudes and apparel and little girls will love it! Be prepared to read this one over and over!
This book is written by Robert McCloskey who is probably most
famous for his book Make Way for Ducklings (if you haven’t read it, pick it up
too). Blueberries for Sal is full of
amazing realistic drawings and the story is absolutely adorable. It’s about a little girl named Sal who goes
up to Blueberry Hill with her mother to pick blueberries, meanwhile, little
bear and her mother are also on blueberry hill eating blueberries to get
fattened up for winter. It is a fun
story of mistaken identity. A pleasure
to look at and read!
I hope that you are already familiar with Mo Willems and his
Pigeon books. He also has a fantastic
series with an elephant and a pig (my favorite being Today I Will Fly). Knuffle Bunny is today’s feature. It is a story many small children will easily
relate to. It takes place with a
background of real photographs topped with colorful and expressive
illustrations. The main character,
Trixie, has a cherished bunny that is accidentally left at the Laundromat. Dad doesn’t understand why she is so upset on
the walk home until mom asks that key question, “where’s knuffle bunny?”. It is enjoyable over and over, especially for
the toddler in the family (best if read with your favorite cuddly creature). There is also a Knuffle Bunny Too and for
that matter just about anything with the name Mo Willems on it would be a good
choice.
This book has been around since the early 1950’s. It is now available in several versions, but
my favorite remains the classic with illustrations done by George and Doris
Hauman. The illustrations offer a taste
of another time. The theme is familiar
and we have all heard the mantra quoted, “I think I can, I think I can”. It also shows the importance of taking time
and helping others. This has been an
important book in our home and there have been many times when I have said,
“remember the little engine…”.
My daughter and I first got this book from the library and read
it together. It was difficult to put
down. We both were anxious for times
when we could sit down and read together.
The book is a beautiful mystery that is told through words and pictures. We have since checked it out again for my
daughter to read on her own. Don’t let
the size intimidate you—it is full of beautiful illustrations. It would be great for a new chapter book
reader because it is so big and yet still an easy read. Finishing it will give them a sense of confidence
to tackle something more substantial and it will easily hold their attention!
