toddlers

I Love Bugs!

| Tasha

I Love Bugs by Emma Dodd

This brightly colored book is a cheerful exploration of the world of insects that is less about scientific accuracy and more about an adoration of our six-legged friends.  The book moves quickly from bug to bug, from “jumpy leapy bugs” to “slimy crawly creepy bugs.”  All are appreciated for their differences until the end when a spider appears!  It is a great twist that children are sure to enjoy.

Dodd’s art is what really takes this book beyond a run-of-the-mill insect book.  Filled with bright colors, an eager child to guide us, and plenty of bug-eyed insects, young readers will feel right at home.  Her illustrations are thick lined and beautifully patterned, bringing the essence of grass, dirt and bugs directly to the reader.

Dodd’s language here is bouncy and pure fun.  She offers rhymes that have a real spring about them.  Since she doesn’t name the insects, children will be eager to name them themselves from caterpillars to ladybugs to grasshoppers.

Add this to a toddler story time and then set out on a bug hunt together.  It could just be cut outs around the children’s room.   This would pair wonderfully with nonfiction picture books about specific insects that will offer enticing details.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

I Can Help

| Tasha

I Can Help by David Hyde Costello

Little Duck is lost in the tall grass and is helped by Monkey.  This starts a chain of helpful actions where one animal helps the next.  Monkey is caught by a giraffe when he falls from a tree, Giraffe is helped when Gorilla bends a branch low enough, Gorilla’s splinter is pulled out by a bird.  And it continues, one after the other until the chain loops back when Little Duck helps Elephant find a cool pool of water.  Unfortunately, moments later Little Duck is once again lost in the grass, but now there are lots of animals willing to help!

Very simply written in short sentences, this book clearly demonstrates how one good deed gets repaid again and again.  Costello’s art is as clear and simple as his text with illustrations filled with deep colors that are very inviting.  As the chain continues, each animal is united with a parent after they are helped.  This small touch adds to the warmth of the book.  It is also pleasant to see that each animal gives thanks for the help they receive. 

Perfection for toddler or even baby storytimes, this book exudes a bright friendliness that all children will find inviting.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

I Am a Backhoe

| Tasha

I Am a Backhoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines

A perfect book for toddlers who love trucks, this book invitingly combines imaginative play and real trucks.  The little boy plays pretending to be a backhoe, a bulldozer, a roller, a flatbed truck, and more.  As he plays, he describes what he is doing and then the reader gets to guess what kind of truck he is pretending to be.  Printed on thick paper with bright, clear illustrations, this book is a welcome addition to even the most crowded of truck shelves.

Written in simple rhymes that have a gentle rhythm, children will enjoy guessing what truck the boy is pretending to be.  The digital art is simple and welcoming as well, especially for the youngest children who will quickly be able to “read” this book to themselves.  Done in rich and deep colors, the illustrations will work well with a group, thanks to the clarity of the illustrations. 

Ideal for toddler story time or for sharing one-on-one, this book is sure to find an audience in your library.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from library copy.

Kitten’s Spring

| Tasha

Kitten’s Spring by Eugenie Fernandes

Take a walk along with Kitten as Kitten explores a farm in spring.  As Kitten goes through the farm, readers will see pairings of adult and baby animals.  These include frogs and tadpoles, birds and eggs, chickens and chicks, ducks and ducklings, a cow and calf, pig and piglet, sheep and lamb, and owl and owlet.  The book is written in rhyme that adds to the appeal.  The illustrations are eye-catching and lovely with a real dimensional feel to them that will offer young children lots to pore over.

Fernandes is a well-known Canadian author.  Her ability to create a book with a specific feel and theme shines here.  Using only a few words per page, she writes with a simplicity that is welcoming for very small children.  Her art is equally warm and friendly, filled with tiny details that make it fun to visit again and again.  It is done in clay, acrylic paint and collage.

This book would be perfect to add to a toddler story time about spring, farms or cats.  Its small size is also very inviting for lap reading and children will love to talk about the animal noises and the other things they see in each picture.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed by Becky at Young Readers.

Boom Bah!

| Tasha

Boom Bah! by Phil Cummings, illustrated by Nina Rycroft

Break out the noise makers, drums, and kazoos and start your own band after you share this one. 

It all starts with a mouse tinging a spoon against a teacup.  Then the cat gets involved by banging a spoon on a can.  Pig grabs two pot lids to bash together as cymbals.  And soon a line of animals are marching and dancing to the beat.  What could that be coming over the hill?  A real  marching band with real drums, a tuba, trombones and more.  Everyone starts to play music together with a happy “Hey ho!”  A jolly book filled with rhythm, music and merriment, this is a winner of a book for toddlers. 

Cummings text is kept to a minimum, just carrying the noises and the beat along with it.  The words are simple and great fun to read aloud because they are so jaunty.  Rycroft’s art is silly and warm toned.  I love that she included diving insects on most of the pages.  If you look closely you can even see beetles in the grass who also get caught up in the music.  Her attention to the small but delightful details is clever and adds to the fun. 

Highly recommended when you want a story time about music and you don’t mind the kids getting loud with their own marching band.  Appropriate for very small children through preschool, this book will work for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Firefighter Ted

| Tasha

Firefighter Ted by Andrea Beaty and Pascal Lemaitre

When Ted woke up one morning, he smelled smoke.  He knew that he needed a firefighter!  Unable to find a firefighter anywhere in his room, he become one.  He did have to make his own fire extinguisher our of whipped cream and an air tube from the fish tank.  Firefighter Ted started the day by putting out a breakfast fire, much to his mother’s dismay.  He then rescued a kitten from the hot sidewalk.  This made him late to school.  Met at the door by the principal, Ted became alarmed that the principal was overheating, so he wrapped him in hazard tape and used his fire extinguisher on him.  When the class went to the science fair, Ted had to leap into action again to make it all safe.  In the end, there was a real fire and you know who came to the rescue!

This second Ted book follows Doctor Ted.  Done with the same humor and spunk as the first, readers will be very happy to have a second adventure that hints at a third.  Ted is a great character who takes imaginative play to an entirely different level.  He combines ingenuity with courage, never paying attention to what others have to say about his costumes or what he does to help.  The illustrations are done with thick black lines and bright colors.  They are inviting, fun and fresh.

Recommended for all public libraries, this series will fly off of the shelves.  It will also make a welcome addition to fire safety story times and units.  Appropriate for toddlers through preschoolers, this series will be enjoyed by ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Here Comes Jack Frost

| Tasha

Here Comes Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara

The author of Ghosts in the House returns with another great seasonal title.  A lonely boy who hates winter discovers frosty patterns on his windows and then Jack Frost himself.  Jack Frost playfully runs away from the boy, telling him that he can’t jump over the pond.  But the boy had ice skates and he and his dog twirl across the ice.  When Jack Frost runs over a hill, the boy and his dog use a sled.  After a rousing snowball fight, Jack Frost agrees to stay with the boy as long as he never mentions anything warm.  So they build snowmen, ski, and play.  Until one day, there are signs of spring.

The story here is charming, filled with all of the classic winter ways to play.  Kohara’s prose is clear and simple.  It is the illustrations that really make the book soar with their bright whites and blues that range from icy to midnight.  Without any spangles or sparkles, this book gleams with cold.  Prickly Jack Frost with his sharp lines contrasts beautifully with the boy in his rounded hat and coat. 

A marvelous choice for snowy story times, this book is ideal for toddlers.  Read it at home with plenty of blankets and a mug of cocoa to keep cuddly.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by A Year of Reading.

Pouch!

| Tasha

Pouch! by David Ezra Stein

Joey had lived in his mother’s pouch his whole life, until one day he decided he wanted to hop.  Two hops later, he meets a bee in the tall grass and with a yell of “Pouch!” returns to his mother’s pouch.  Three hops onto the hill, he meets a rabbit and once again returns to his mother’s pouch.  Four hops into the sandy hollow, he meets a bird and flees back again.  Five hops to the pasture fence, and he meets another baby kangaroo!  Now what to do!

This is a delightful story of a youngster who wants to explore but just isn’t quite ready to leave his mother’s side yet.  Stein’s art here is childlike and simple, done in fluid watercolors and deep colors.  His text is also simple, with great repeating phrases and a rhythm that is natural and fun. 

Ideal for the youngest listeners, this book would be super for a toddler story time where the youngsters could hop the right number of hops and run back.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

The Big Storm

| Tasha

The Big Storm: A Very Soggy Counting Book by Nancy Tafuri

As the storm starts to blow, animals take shelter in the hill hollow.  Young readers will get to count one-by-one as the animals squeeze in together and out of the rain.  The thunder rumbles over their heads, but they soon realize that they are hearing another rumble that is coming from the back of the cave.  Readers then get to quickly count backwards from 10 to 1 as the animals run out into the newly sunny fall day.

Tafuri excels at creating concept books for the youngest of readers that are filled with great art and a basic story with a fun twist.  Her art is done in concentrated watercolor inks, pigma micron pens, and watercolor pencils.  There is a great depth to the colors paired with a delicacy of line.  The animals are all bright-eyed and friendly with the drama of the story coming from the storm and the discovery in the back of the cave!  Tafuri’s pacing is perfect for the twist with steady counting leading up to 10 animals, a reveling of the storm, and then the reveal. 

A perfect choice for stormy toddler story times, autumn reading, and a nice addition to so many specific animals story times thanks to the rabbit, squirrel, skunk and more.  Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.