read-alouds

Review: Jo MacDonald Had a Garden by Mary Quattlebaum

| Tasha

jo macdonald had a garden

Jo MacDonald Had a Garden by Mary Quattlebaum, illustrated by Laura J. Bryant

Celebrate gardening with this cheery picture book that features Old MacDonald’s granddaughter, Jo MacDonald.  The verses here are set to the same music as the original, except this time it’s all about planting a garden rather than the animals on a farm.  In the garden there is some sun, some soil, a worm, seeds, water, animals, plants, and then food!  Watching the illustrations, children will see the garden take shape and then watch the plants grow until they are ready to be harvested. 

Quattlebaum has cleverly written verses that can be acted out by preschoolers as the book is shared.  At times, the children in the illustrations show the movements that could be done, and at other times they would be easily figured out by a savvy teacher or librarian.  I can see lots of children this spring enjoying planting imaginary gardens all together. 

Bryant’s illustrations have a wonderful sense of detail to them.  Each page has animals to glimpse in the garden, including a cardinal and a butterfly that are on almost every page.  This is a book that children will enjoy looking at and exploring.

Get your voice warmed up and be ready to wiggle like a worm with this new version of Old MacDonald!  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Dawn Publications.

Review: It’s a Tiger by David LaRochelle

| Tasha

its a tiger

It’s a Tiger by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

The story starts in the jungle filled with vines and trees.  You can look at the monkeys swinging around, but wait!  That’s not a monkey.  It looks like… a tiger! Run!  Whew.  Now we are safe inside a cave.  You’ll have to watch for bats and duck your head.  Wait, some of those shadows look like… a tiger!  Run!  The escapade continues through the jungle with snakes, but then you head on a boat to a deserted island.  Sure you are safe there.  Right?  Roar!

This fast-paced race through the jungle is exactly what squirmy toddlers need at the end of a story time.  The book has a great sense of timing and plenty of action.  The repetition of the tiger appearing over and over again, will have children merrily joining in and shouting along.  This is not a quiet book for contemplative reading, but instead a jolly book that will have children making plenty of noise. 

Tankard’s art is a huge part of the appeal here.  The thick-lined, orange ferocity of the tiger plays against the finer lines and subtler colors of the background.  The little boy who joins you in your trek through the jungle is also drawn in the thicker lines and pops on the page.  There is a feeling of motion and action throughout the book that brings the story even more fully to life.

A great pick for toddler story time, this is one book to have in your pile for when kids get restless.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.