Baby Loves to Rock!

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

The Bus Driver

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

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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

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Hide and Seek

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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The Boss Baby

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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50 Below Zero

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

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BIG and Little

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

Fish Eyes

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

I Can Do It Myself!

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

The Eye Book

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

Little Bo-Peep

by Tracey Campbell Pearson

This short baby book illustrates a familiar nursery rhyme by turning it into a little storyline about a child who should be sleeping but drops her stuffed toys (sheep) out of the crib and then cries until mom and dad come to retrieve them for her. It's simple, clever and effective.

I've seen another one that featured the rhyme Diddle diddle dumpling/my son John in the same fashion. I like how it makes old-time rhymes something more familiar, applicable to a child's own life.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 14 pages, 2004

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

In this fun little book, the letters of the alphabet dance up the trunk of a tree singing out about who will get there first, is there enough room? I'll meet you there! Telling of their little adventure with a singsong chant introduces all the letters in order, making it a fun way for kids to become familiar with the alphabet. At the end the tree can't support the weight of all the letters and they fall down in a big pile (boom! boom!) My toddler just loves seeing that last picture with the jumble of letters, she'll often insist on turning to it before we finish the rhymes on the previous pages. A silly book full of bright colors, bold simple shapes and plenty of fun. One of my daughter's favorites.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 14 pages, 1989

Are You a Cow?

by Sandra Boynton

Silly illustrations of animals ask the reader's identity as you go through this little book: are you a cow? perhaps a pig? and so on. They get a bit more ridiculous as you near the end- a bear with sunglasses and a big cheesy grin, a chicken upside-down on the page (my kid gets a big kick out of that one). Finally insisting you're not a penguin and then the final statement: you must be you. Isn't that great! It's simple, cute and fun. What more could a toddler want?

Rating: 3/5 ........ 14 pages, 2010

Baby ABC

by Deborah Donenfeld

This is one of my daughter's favorite books right now, probably because she just loves looking at photographs of other babies and is fascinated with her own belly button. The babies are all pictured just in their diapers (except when the illustrated word calls for a piece of clothing) with cute pudgy tummies and belly buttons galore. We get stalled on nearly every page as she pokes the babies' tummies with glee and exclaims "belly! belly!" over and over. Each picture illustrates a letter of the alphabet. The only color on the page is the item the baby holds or wears matching the featured letter (yellow boots for B, blue socks for S, and so on). In contrast the baby himself is black-and-white, which makes the pictures full of interesting contrasts. They're all really cute, too.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 28 pages, 2013

Now I Am Big

by Stephen Krensky
illustrated by Sara Gillingham

This book caught my attention just because the illustrations are so unique. With a limited palette of red, yellow, blue and gray plus shades created by overlaying the colors with small, closely spaced stripes or dots, it has a very retro feel. It has a nice message, too. Shows a boy comparing activities he can do now to similar ones he did as a small toddler. From his height to his mobility to overcoming shyness and interacting with other kids on the playground. I like the page that shows his involvement in the garden: as a toddler he watches from his mother's arms while she waters sunflowers; as an older child he helps dig holes to plant seeds. It's a very charming book showing a child being proud of his accomplishments and recognizing how his abilities change as he grows up.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 12 pages, 2012

The House in the Night

by Susan Marie Swanson
illustrated by Beth Krommes

Wonderful kid's book with vivid black-and-white illustrations that look like they were done as scratchboard or woodcuts, highlighted with areas of yellow color that emphasize things mentioned in the text. The storyline shows a girl coming home with her family at the end of the day, getting ready for bed, and reading a book with a bird in it. The bird flies out of the pages and she goes on the bird's back for a little adventure in the nighttime sky. Then the book traces its steps back through the window into the bedroom, shows mom tucking the now-sleeping child in, with the phrases repeating themselves in reverse even as the pictures show slightly different events. Personally I don't care for the illustrations, the people's faces are very flat, the animals' heads are oddly shaped ovals that look strange to me. But the complexity of the environment in the pictures are very well done and make this book stand out. All the illustrations, whether showing the interior of the house or the wide landscape outside, are full of little details, figures, objects of daily life and so on. The patterns of different clothing. The shapes of various trees in a landscape. The forms of flowers covering a hillside. My daughter loves pointing out all sorts of items she recognizes: socks, book, a cat, little cars on the road, etc. Every time we read the book there's something new she discovers. This book won a Caldecott Medal in 2009.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 36 pages, 2008

Eco Babies Wear Green

by Michelle Sinclair Colman

When we first borrowed this book from the library, the way the illustrations are stylized put me off a bit. I think my kid didn't even recognize the figures as people, at first. But the book has really grown on us, and now I'm very fond of it. It simply makes repeated statements of how to be environmentally-friendly and shows a baby or child participating in some way- often amusingly. The page that says Eco babies save water shows a kid sitting in the rain, catching water in all kinds of cups, mugs, bowls, pots and toys. Even his open mouth to the sky. Eco babies compost shows a toddler in a highchair tossing cheerios on the floor, with a container labeled compost nearby and pattern of plants climbing the wallpaper. Eco babies recycle has a kid in a cardboard box with a hat and sail made of newspaper, looking adventuresome. I think my favorite page is the one that says Eco babies eat local, showing a baby stuffing his face with strawberries, while mom picks a basketful. Brought back fond memories of visiting local strawberry farms and picking our own when I was a kid. And of course the last page as a fitting close shows a baby in pajamas reaching out of her mom's arms towards a lamp in the falling dusk: Eco babies turn off the lights. I love all the little reminders on how children can be involved in being "green".

Rating: 4/5 ........ 18 pages, 2008

Noodle

by Marison Billet

Attracted by its bright colors and cute characters, my toddler picked out these two books about a little panda bear from the library. One shows the bear doing activities at home, the other has him at the beach. It's those touch-and-feel kind of books. The first one, Noodle Loves to Cuddle, shows the bear pulling a fuzzy duck toy, playing with a ball that has plastic texture with raised bumps, talking on a toy phone and playing with his blankie, which covers his face. This is my daughter's favorite page, although she used to be concerned that the panda was upside-down.

Noodle Loves the Beach has one of the most unique touch-and-feel features I've ever seen. It has a rough patch for sand, sparkly blue material for water, the cloth sail of a boat (which you can lift to find a cute bunny) And one page has the bear eating a sticky peach, and the peach sufrace is actually sticky. Like the backside of an old sticker might be. It's a very realistic peach color, too. A little gross, as by this time the sticky surface had caught lots of little specks of things (and being a library book that could be more disturbing but I don't think about it too much). My toddler finds this page most intriguing and will spend a good several minutes poking the peach surface with her finger.

Both books end with a mirror on the last page where your child can see her face (if a bit unclearly). My kid really likes these books, will even ask for them by name ("Bear! Bear!"). They don't have many pages but the illustrations are cute, fun for kids, and the pages are very sturdy. It's one where I don't have to worry about the flap getting torn off, as the lift-able parts are cloth and securely sandwiched between the board layers of the page, instead of being heavy stock paper glued atop it as you often see.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 10 pages, 2011

Things That Go

by Say and Play

We've had this book borrowed from the public library for months, that's how much my kid likes it. (My library doesn't have a time limit on baby books). It just has pictures showing objects that provide various modes of transportation, or some that are pieces of machinery, and names them. Simple, but intriguing because of the variety. There's the familiar cars, trucks, motorcycle, fire engine, bulldozer, train, helicopter, boat, airplane etc. But there's also a blimp, scooter, bicycle, cable car, hot air balloon, roller skates and child's tricycle. There's a double-decker bus and a yellow school bus. There's not only a regular pickup truck but a cement-mixer, a semi tractor-trailer, a tow truck, a dump truck and a garbage truck. You get the idea. Lots of things that go. Nice, clear pictures. To amuse my kid I started making distinctive noises for each item, and pretty soon she expected the same ones every time. This included different kinds of honks and beeps for each car and truck, put-put-put for the helicopter, vrooms and roars and so forth. I make a pretty good high-pitched backup-warning beep (for the garbage truck). I never did think of a good sound for the blimp but that one is near the end of the book and she never seemed to notice that I skipped its noise.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 26 pages, 2012

Baby Brother

by Usborne

This book is cute and amusing to my toddler. Title might be a little misleading as it has no storyline and doesn't really focus on the baby in the family. Each spread just shows a scene with a mom and three kids (one an infant) engaged in daily activities. One side of the spread shows a number of objects having to do with the activity, and on the opposite page you can find them in the picture. Scenes show having a meal, going for a walk, visiting a friend, taking a bath, and bedtime. The final spread shows all the objects together and names them all. The pictures are done with clay modeling and looked cartoony but also have some very realistic components. For example, the baby diapers and clothing look like actual objects were put on the modeled figures. Makes it interesting to look at. My toddler likes finding all the various items in the pictures and I make up a little narrative describing what they're doing, but there's not much else to this book. And it's not very well made, physically. The top layer of paper that has the picture printed on it is peeling off the cardboard base on several pages.

I think I read another book by this same author/illustrator before, which featured a farm, the clay modeling style looked very familiar. But the farm one we just enjoyed at the library and did not bring home.

Rating: 2/5 ........ 12 pages, 2008