Ages 0-3

Whatever the Weather! Series by Carol Thompson

As diverse as the weather is, so are the babies illustrated by Carol Thompson, in this four book Whatever the Weather! board book series which includes: SNOW, RAIN, SUN, and WIND, (Child’s Play International Ltd., $4.99, Ages 0-3).

In SNOWSnow-cvr.jpg, a child puts on his warm clothes and goes out to experience the sounds and sensations of playing in the snow.

Slide…
… and…
… slip.
Whump!

When the sun gets low in the sky he must say goodnight to his snow monsters (snowmen), and go inside to warm his chilly nose and toes.

Sun-cvr.jpgIn contrast to the cold and snowy weather, Thompson has brightly illustrated the book, SUN, with babies donning sun hats and sunscreen, and little else. They strip down to the bare necessities of clothing for a day of fun in the sun.

Shoes off, socks off…
…clothes off!

This barefoot romp takes us from sun up to sun down.

RAINRain-cvr.jpg is a delightfully lighthearted dance through the raindrops. Little ones will love the onomatopoeia and rhythm of the text.

Drip drop, Plip plop, Splish splosh……sploosh!

From first drop to sunshine and rainbows, this is a fun read!

 

Wind-cvr.jpgHold onto your hats and hounds when you read WIND. Thompson’s illustrations capture the movement and chaos of a windy day.

Wind ruffles and tickles …
…and snatches!
Wheeeeeeeeee…

This briskly paced read lends itself to drama and sounds effects, as the wind lifts us up and sets us back down to a calm ending.

It’s no surprise that Thompson has done such a beautiful job of illustrating stuffed bunnies, pinwheels, and kiddie-pools, as well as many other easily recognizable items in this delightful 12 page board book series. She’s illustrated more than forty-five books for children and is the recipient of the Mother Goose Award for Children’s Book Illustration.

– Reviewed by MaryAnne Locher

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Leo Lionni’s Who?, What?, When?, and Where?

Who?, What?, When?, and Where?: Four fabulous board books from the late Caldecott Honor Winner Leo Lionni are simple yet oh so satisfying for babies to toddlers. (Alfred A. Knopf, 2014; $5.99, Ages 0-3)

Who?-cvr.jpg

IWhat?-cvr.jpgt’s easy to see Lionni’s Modernist roots and graphic design background when you turn the pages of any of these four books. In Who?, What?, When? and Where?, his signature torn paper artwork combined with graphic elements are visually delightful. The gray mice look as though they were created from boiled wool, and fans of Lionni’s classic, Frederick, will find these board books a perfect intro to his body of work.

With just 16 pages, these four question-themed board books are asking to be shared with your youngsters When?-cvr.jpgWhere?-cvr.jpgso they can explore the world with beginning concepts. The parent and child mice first look at different animals in Who? including a fluffy squirrel, a slow turtle, a hungry rabbit, a curious chicken, a big owl and a sharp porcupine. In What? there’s a bit more humor infused in the marriage of artwork and text as little ones are asked to guess what objects they’re looking at: “Let’s make a call.” (a phone), “Do you see what I see?” (a pair of eyeglasses) and a chuckle inducing, “Dinner time!” has to be cheese. In When? the seasons and times of day are featured and I’ll admit this one is my personal favorite because the images are especially rich and colorful, particularly for fall. I also like that daytime and nighttime are included in the mix. Some of the questions posed are:

“When does it snow?”

“When do the flowers bloom?”

“When do the stars shine?”

In Where? it’s all about location, location, location. And kids’ll get a kick out of all the different places where the mice can be found. Whether they’re up high, popping out or squeezed inside, Lionni’s mice are cute and curious, just like toddlers. These short, sweet, and accessible board books are an appealing and interesting approach to early concepts.

– Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

 

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Best Kids Books for Halloween – A Round Up

 90-small_pumpkinBooks We Love For Halloween

Short, chunky, and sweet, describes this Halloween board book designed for the youngest audience. Wickle Woo Has a Halloween Party, written by Nosy Crow with illustrations by Jannie Ho (Nosy Crow 201; $7.99, Ages 0-3Wickle-woo-cvr.jpg) cleverly incorporates a game of peek-a-boo with a holiday theme. Sturdy tabs are easy for chubby little hands to pull out and reveal various animals in their Halloween costumes, then push back in again.

Wickle Woo, an owl in a wizard’s hat and robe, is having a Halloween party. He can hear his friends, but their costumes are so good, that he has trouble recognizing them. Ho has an interesting cast of characters, dressed in adorable child-friendly outfits. Bear is masquerading as a flower, lion is a pirate, and monkey is disguised as an astronaut, to name a few. There are pumpkins and spiders and bats and witches, but Ho keeps them cute, not creepy.

This is a perfect treat for those who are too young for too many sweets!

It’s time to break out the glitter pens, colored pencils, tin foil, and any other art supplies you might have. Just in time for Halloween, Marnie Edwards (author) and Leigh Hodgkinson (illustrator), along with the help of the reader, have cast a magic spell with their anti-coloring/activity book. Magical Mix-Ups, Spells and Surprises (Nosy Crow 2014; $6.99, Ages 7 and up), has an enchanting story line as well.

Magical-Mix-Ups-cvr.jpgPrincess Sapphire and Emerald the Witch are best friends. They live in Mixtopia, where things are, well, mixed up, and they ​attend St. Aubergine’s School. They make a new friend, Violet, who has trouble controlling her broom and has trouble learning to fly. Emerald has troubles of her own. She’s a witch who isn’t very good at casting spells. The girls are preparing for the Halloween Festival and decide to help each other out. There are tiaras and tutus, dancing and candy, magic and friendship and all the things girls love at this age in this well-crafted book.

Oh, Nosy Crow, I love you so! Hmmm, maybe I’ll use that when I help Emerald with her rhyming spell assignment.​

– Reviews by MaryAnne Locher

Other terror-ific & recommended great books for Halloween time are:

Shivery Shades of Halloween: A Spooky Book of Colors by Mary McKenna Siddals with illustrations by Jimmy Pickering from Random House Books for Young Readers ($12.99, Ages 3-7)

Backwards Moon (watch for our review next week) by Mary Losure from Holiday House ($16.95, Ages 7-10)

Charlie Bumpers vs. The Squeaking Skull by Bill Harley with illustrations by Adam Gustavson from Peachtree Publishers ($13.95, Ages 7-10)

Scream Street: Terror of the Nightwatchman written and illustrated by Tommy Donbavand from Candlewick Press ($5.99, Ages 8-12)

The Gloomy Ghost by David Lubar from Starscape/Tor Teen ($15.99, Ages 8-12)

The Shadow Lantern by Teresa Flavin from Templar Books ($15.99, Ages 9-12)

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Baby Animal Farm by Karen Blair

Baby Animal Farm

Written and illustrated by Karen Blair

(Candlewick Press; Ages 0-3)

 

 

Baby Animal Farm cover

 

★Starred Review – Kirkus

Come along, and bring a picnic lunch! We’re headed off to the Baby Animal Farm, (Candlewick Press, board book $6.99, Ages 0-3) written and illustrated by Karen Blair. It’s never too early to start developing an appreciation for books, and this one is sure to be a crowd-pleaser with its traditional storyline and pleasing illustrations done in lithographic crayon and watercolor.

Blair starts the story on the cover of the book where one of the diverse group of toddlers has unknowingly dropped his teddy bear. What a great time the friends have following in a row like baby ducks, chasing baby chicks, and feeding a lamb from a bottle, all before lunchtime. There are no adults shown in this board book, just five independent little ones who settle down for a healthy lunch of fruit, cheese, and what appears to be a rice cake, while a watchful puppy looks on from a distance.

After lunch, it’s back to petting and patting the kittens, piglet, and calf, until one youngster discovers he’s lost his teddy. Your little reader will love it when the puppy saves the day and shows up with the teddy bear.  It’s fun but tiring playing with all those baby animals and learning all the sounds they make …

Cuddle the kittens.
Mew, mew, mew.

Pat the piglet.
Oink, oink, oink.

Touch the calf.
Moo, moo, moo.

Which is why at the end of the book five sleepy toddlers go Zzz…Zzz…Zzz…

  • Reviewed by MaryAnne Locher
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