Reading Our Library: Clare Beaton

Clare Beaton is a children's book author and illustrator. Her primary medium is fabric collage and- let me tell you- her work is breathtaking! If you like quilting and sewing, you will love Clare Beaton!

She has three anthologies that I highly recommend!

Mother Goose Remembers

This is a beautifully illustrated selection of Mother Goose rhymes. Beaton illustrates 46 different nursery rhymes- both familiar and unfamiliar ones. A little feather from Mother Goose can be found on each page. It's quite charming and we really enjoyed reading this aloud together!

Playtime Rhymes for Little People

This is a collection of action rhymes, each illustrated in Beaton's beautiful fabric collages. As in the first book, some rhymes are familiar and some are more obscure. Each rhyme has a brief description of the actions involved.  I would do a few at a time with Grace and they were sure to bring out giggles! This is a great resource for parents of toddlers!

Mrs. Moon: Lullabies for Bedtime

And finally, Clare Beaton published a collection of softly illustrated bedtime rhymes and lullabies. It is a beautiful book that is perfect for cuddling with your little one. The included CD makes a wonderful addition to your lullaby collection.



There are also abridged board book editions of a few of books, but I heartily recommend the full editions!

Clare Beaton's Nursery Rhymes
Clare Beaton's Action Rhymes


I'm linking up to these lovely book bloggers...

Hope is the Word
Footprints in the Butter
Little Sprout Books
Mouse Learns, Moues Grows
Smiling Like Sunshine

Reading Our Library: Marion Dane Bauer

Marion Dane Bauer is an award-winning author who has written books for children of all ages, including a Newberry Honor book. We picked up several of her books for younger children at our local library. Here's what we read:

The first two books are a sweet celebration of parenthood. They come complete with a greeting card that a child can give to his or her mother or father (although our library copies obviously didn't come with the greeting cards).


My Mother is Mine by Marion Dane Bauer illustrated by Peter Elwell

This book is a beautiful tribute to the mother-child bond. Bauer's rhyming text is sweet, but not overbearing. Elwell's pastel illustrations show animal mothers caring for their babies- bears, tigers, kangaroos and ultimately culminate in a little girl and her mother. Both Jonathan and Grace enjoyed this book as well as the sequel (below). Jonathan particularly had fun naming the different animals.

The Very Best Daddy of All by Marion Dane Bauer illustrated by Leslie Wu

This is a companion to My Mother is Mine. It shows different animal daddies caring for and protecting their babies. The simple text and soft pastel illustrations show animals from gorillas to zebras and prairie dogs. But the very best daddy of all, is the daddy of a little child at the end. After reading this book, Jonathan told me that his daddy is "the best daddy in the whole world!" :)


The next several books all emphasize different body parts and were fun for both children. Jonathan has long known his body parts, but he still has fun pointing to or moving his body parts. Grace, however, is just starting to try to figure out the nomenclature of things. So she enjoyed these books as well and she's started pointing to her nose as a result!

If You Had a Nose like an Elephant's Trunk illustrated by Susan Winter

This is a clever, imaginative book that takes children through the animal world. What would happen if you had cheeks like a chipmunk or a tail like a porcupine? Each page asks a similar question and gives an answer. For example, "if you had a tail like a monkey's, you could swing from your grandmother's antique chandelier". It's a very fun book that teaches the benefits of being you! It brought out lots of grins and giggles at the lunch table!

Thank You For Me! illustrated by Kristina Stephenson

This is a cute book for teaching children how special they are made. They have hands to clap, feet to dash, a mouth, tongue, cheek with a nose above and chin beneath. The book even mentions that children have hands to pray to say thank you for me. It's a sweet addition to any unit on the human body.

Toes, Ears & Nose illustrated by Karen Katz

I was surprised to find a book we already owned was written by Marion Dane Bauer. This is an adorable lift the flap book that helps to teach the parts of the body. It's most appropriate for young toddlers-- about 9 months-24 months. Grace particularly has started enjoying these type of books and we've been working on the parts of the body.



So that's what we've been reading-- we link up to these bloggy parties. Check out these blogs for more read aloud ideas!

Reading Our Library: Byron Barton

Byron Barton has written and illustrated a number of nonfiction books for children. His style typically involves bold outlines and bold cartoon-like illustrations. We've read several books by Barton before this point and most of these have been a hit with Jonathan.

Barton is known for several vehicle-related books. These are simple, informative, and very toddler-friendly. We've reviewed Boats before (linked to review) and Jonathan really enjoyed it. So, we checked out the rest of the books in the series-- and Jonathan loved each one!

Planes

This particular volume introduces different types of airplanes- jet planes, seaplanes, crop dusters, helicopters, etc. Jonathan enjoyed this one equally well, and requested multiple readings.


Trains

Jonathan loves choo-choo trains. We live close to a train track, and he's always so excited to see trains as we are walking about town. This book was definitely his favorite of the bunch! He kept telling me he wanted to "read it himself". It talks about freight trains, passenger trains, electric trains. It's the perfect book for a train loving little boy!



Trucks

This book focuses on different trucks that we encounter in everyday life. There are dump trucks, tow trucks, garbage trucks-- and even an ice cream truck! Jonathan enjoyed pointing out the different trucks in the book as well as while we are on the road.



Some related books we read were:

Airport

This book introduces children to different facets of what goes on at an airport. From passengers arriving to departure, the book follows passengers through the (pre 9-11) check in and boarding process. Barton's pictures show the inside of the jet plane, the control tower and the cockpit. It's a wonderful book that Jonathan requested several times.




Machines at Work

This is another board book, focusing on construction vehicles at work. It goes through a day at the construction site showing bulldozers, steam rollers, cement mixers, cranes and other big heavy equipment. This was another favorite for Jonathan.



We also read a couple of Barton's folk tales:

The Three Bears

This is a perfect first introduction to the familiar folk tale with Barton's simple, childlike illustrations. It was Jonathan's first time hearing the story of the three bears. Jonathan loved this story and enjoyed "reading" (narrating) the story back to me. We also tried The Little Red Hen, but he didn't sit through this one.

Barton has written a number of other books for toddlers and preschoolers. Little boys, especially, will be drawn to his work. If you have a little guy in your life, be sure to check some of Barton's books out the next time you go to your library. Jonathan would heartily recommend them!


See some of our other Barton reviews here:
Boats
I Want to be an Astronaut
My Car
Dinosaurs Dinosaurs

I'm linking this post up to these book-friendly linky parties.

Reading Our Library- Bob Barner

Today I want to share some books by American author Bob Barner. But before I introduce him to you, I wanted to point you to the wonderful blog that started this journey of ours. I referred to it back when I started this blog, but wanted to highlight it again. Reading My Library is the project of Carrie over at Reading to Know. While she hasn't been posting as of late, it's still a wonderful resource for children's book reviews. 
Anyways, on to Bob Barner! 
Bob Barner is an award-winning author of over 25 children's books. Many of his books, such as the ones we checked out, are focused on nature. They make great additions to unit studies. We first read Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! as part of our unit study on bugs and insects. Afterwards, we checked out a few other of Barner's books. Barner's books are wonderful introductions to wildlife and nature for toddlers and preschoolers. They feature colorful collage pictures and short, yet informative, rhyming verse. Without further ado, here are the books we enjoyed:

Bears, Bears, Bears
This book introduces us to a variety of bears from around the world. We meet grizzly bears, panda bears, black bears, as well as some bears which would be less familiar to a US audience such as spectacled bears. Barner's vivid collage illustrations are very engaging and the rhyming text gives good factual information about each type of bear. At the end of the book is a world map showing where each type of bear can be found. Jonathan enjoyed looking through this book with me and had fun trying to name each type of bear. I highly recommend this for any bear loving child! 

Penguins, Penguins, Everywhere!
This nonfiction book is a very toddler-friendly introduction to penguins. Barner's collage illustrations introduce seventeen different varieties of penguins. The birds are shown engaging in a wide variety of different activities from swimming to tobogganing. The short rhyming verse describes the birds and relays information about different varieties of penguins and what they like to do. At the end of the book is a chart comparing the different penguins. Barner's style easily held Jonathan's attention. A must for any penguin-loving child or a penguin unit study!

Stars! Stars! Stars!
Can you sense a theme with these titles? This particular book focuses on the solar system. It teaches about stars, planets and constellations while featuring Barner's vibrant collages and simple rhyming text. While the information is now a little dated-- Barner includes Pluto among the planets-- it's still a very visually appealing introduction to stars and outer space for toddlers and preschoolers. 


Barner has also written several longer nonfiction books that would be appropriate for preschoolers and lower elementary students. His books are well worth including in a toddler's library! 
I'm linking up to Read Aloud Thursday over at Hope is the Word.

Reading Our Library- Mitsumasa Anno

Mitsumasa Anno is a Japanese author/illustrator who has written numerous books for children. A former math teacher, many of his books focus on mathematical impossibilities and puzzles. His books are all wordless, leaving the parent and child to explore the detailed illustrations. Here are some we've explored:

Anno's Alphabet

This book is full of paradoxes. Anno's artwork features three-dimensional letters of the alphabet. Each letter looks as though it was fashioned out of wood, but is really an optical illusion. Each letter is matched with a picture that is equally paradoxical. A intricate border frames each page and is filled with more alphabetical items: flowers, animals and other items for keen observers to delight in. A list at the back of the book will help in identifying all these items. It is a clever twist on the alphabet! Jonathan enjoyed naming the letters, but he didn't grasp the impossible puzzles on each page.

Anno's Counting Book

This is a clever book that explores mathematical relationships as they occur in life. The pictures show a landscape changing through different times of day as well as the different months and seasons of the year. On each page, a different number is featured. It begins with a snowy blank landscape with a river running through it (the number 0) the next page focused on the number one (1), with various items on the page- a house, a snowman, a child, a tree, etc. The book progresses from 1 to 12 and focuses on sets of items (12 buildings, 12 trees, 12 children, etc.) Jonathan is really in to counting, and he just had so much fun with this book! Granted, he got distracted after we got to the number eight or so, but that was pretty good for a two and a half year old! Anno has several other mathematical books: Anno's Counting House, Anno's Math Games, and Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar.

Anno's Journey

In this book, Anno reflects on his journeys through Europe. The pictures are in the style of Japanese scroll painting and the scenes unfold from page to page. In each detailed scene, you'll find different characters- children at play, adults at work, as well as famous European artists, composers as well as characters from fairy tales and television shows. The art and architecture of Europe are depicted beautifully as the traveler moves through farms, villages, towns and cities. As in all of Anno's books, you'll find visual jokes and puzzles as well as some visual impossibilities. It's a wonderful book that provides many opportunities to point and label things to your children. While Jonathan didn't fully appreciate this book, he had fun trying to find the traveler on each page. This book will be one that your children can enjoy for many years-- even my husband enjoyed exploring the illustrations. If you find you or your children enjoy this book, try some of Anno's other journeys-- such as to Italy, Britain, Spain, or the USA!


For great activities to go along with Anno's books, see Carol Hurst's website. These are definitely going on our Paperback swap wishlist!

Reading Our Library- Kate Banks Part Two

Here are a few more books we checked out by Kate Banks. Look HERE to see our other reviews.


Close Your Eyes by Kate Banks

This is a sweet bedtime book with award-winning illustrations by Georg Hallensleben. The story is about a little tiger who does not want to go to sleep. His mother tries to assure him that when he goes to sleep he can enter a whole new dreamworld. The story reminds me a bit of The Runaway Bunny-- the child raises an objection, and the mother answers it in a reassuring fashion. It was a book the children and I enjoyed before naptime. It's a very soothing story with dreamy impressionist-style illustrations.

And If the Moon Could Talk

This is another bedtime story by the collaboration of Banks and Hallensleben. It's a story about all the different nighttime scenes the moon sees from its vantage point in the night sky. Hallensleben's tranquil illustrations alternate between different nighttime scenes and scenes of a little girl getting ready for bed. It shows lizards scurrying home to supper, nomads in the desert, waves on the beach, etc.. It's another calming bedtime story that I think Jonathan and Grace will enjoy more as they get older.

Fox

We checked this book out as part of our letter f adventures, but I never made a unit out of this book. (Maybe we'll revisit when we come to x.) Anyways, this story focuses on the life of a baby fox from its birth in the Spring. As the Spring wanes into Summer, the fox is eager to experience life on his own. His parents, however, assure him he is not ready yet-- but he will be soon. As the days pass, the fall comes and the little fox is finally ready for his independence. It's another sweet, simple story with gorgeous illustrations by Hallensleben. Jonathan sat through this one, but it wasn't a frequent request. Still well worth checking out!




I'm linking this post up to Read-Aloud Thursday at Hope is the Word.Go check out the links for more wonderful children's read-alouds!

Reading Our Library- Kate Banks Part One

In honor of Bastille Day, I thought I'd share some books with a French theme. I was hoping to get this up earlier, but we had a bit of an internet outage. Anyways, Kate Banks is an award-winning American author who lives in the South of France. She has collaborated with French illustrator Georg Hallensleben on a number of children's books. Not all of the books we checked out appealed to Jonathan (at age 2 1/2), but they are nonetheless beautiful books that older children would enjoy.

Baboon

This book is what started our adventure reading Kate Banks' books as it appeared on a list of recommended books for toddlers. It is a sweet, somewhat philosophic book about a baby baboon's first experiences in the world. Throughout the baby baboon's day, he comes across different sensory experiences: green forest, slow turtles, hot fires and tries to understand the world around him. As he settles down to sleep, he realizes that the world is big. Hallensleben's impressionist-style illustrations are beautiful and dreamlike and show the warm, caring relationship the little baboon has with its mother. It's a beautiful book that toddlers and preschoolers can relate to as they also are experiencing and trying to make sense of the world around them. Jonathan liked this book and it (usually) grasped his attention.



The Cat Who Walked Across France

This is a book that I think will grow on Jonathan as he gets older. It's a story about a cat whose owner dies. The cat moves from his stone house by the edge of the (Mediterranean) sea to northern France where he is forgotten about. So the cat begins his journey home, traveling through cities, countryside and mountains as he heads back to his home by the sea. Famous French landmarks grace Hallensleben's beautiful pictures as the cat makes his journey. There's a map of France on the back of the book which traces the cat's travels. Jonathan enjoyed the book when I had him involved in trying to find the cat on each page, as well as naming items that the cat sees on the journey (boats, cars, bicycles, etc.). It's a beautiful book, and I think it's one that we'll come back to in a few years.

I'm linking this up to Read Aloud Thursday at Hope is the Word. Check out this link-up for more wonderful children's book ideas!

Reading Our Library- Janet & Allan Ahlberg

I'm going backwards a bit with this one-- but Janet & Allan Ahlberg are British authors/illustrators whose books one just shouldn't miss! Janet's illustrations have been awarded the Kate Greenaway medal.

The Ahlbergs partnered to create a number of popular children's books together until Janet's death in 1994. Allan Ahlberg has gone on to write several more books. Their books routinely appear on recommended book lists. Some of the most popular for preschoolers are Each Peach, Pear, Plum and The Jolly Postman. We've enjoyed each of those books. In this post, however, I want to focus on some of the books they wrote for babies and toddlers. These books were new to me, so I thought I would share:


Peek a Boo!  (titled Peepo! in the UK)

This is a delightful board book with die-cut holes. It shows scenes from a baby's point of view as a family goes about its day. The little refrain "Here's a little baby 1-2-3...what does he see?" is catchy and fun.. The old-fashioned illustrations are beautifully detailed with lots of things to point out to your little one in each scene. Both Grace and Jonathan have enjoyed this sweet book. Don't overlook this one!

Another series of board books written by the Ahlbergs is The Baby's Catalogue. This board book series is written to introduce familiar objects to babies, in a similar fashion to a first word book. The first two books feature two words of text to introduce different items to babies. The last two books are more of a guessing game with the baby finding a named object in the picture. It took Jonathan a few tries to enjoy this series, he's enjoyed more of the guessing game books (Blue Buggy, See the Rabbit). Grace has enjoyed sitting on my lap and looking at these books particularly the former two (Doll and Teddy, Baby Sleeps). The series contains four books, each are well worth checking out from your local library. Snuggle up with your little one and enjoy pointing out different objects on each page!

Read Aloud Thursday: Reads for Baby

Grace often joins in our read alouds, although at 10 months old she obviously doesn't have the attention span of Jonathan. The longer books and activities I save for while she's taking her morning nap.

I do try to pick out some books for Grace that we can snuggle and read together. She's very interested in other babies right now, so several books featuring babies and first words have caught her attention lately. Here are some favorites:

Baby Faces by DK Publishing

A short little book which features photographs of babies of various ethnic backgrounds. Each picture relays different emotions and expressions that babies may feel during a typical day. Grace really liked looking at the pictures and even Jonathan enjoyed telling me whether the children were happy, sad, silly, etc.

Baby's Day  by Michel Blake

This is part of a series of board books that are designed for children to hold and open easily. The book features a baby going through the routines of his day. The photographs are black and white and feature a particular object in color on each page. Grace also enjoyed looking at the photographs in this book and patting the colorful objects. I think we may try more books in this series-- it's an interesting take on "first word" books. 

Hickory Dickory Dock: A Nursery Play-Along Classic by Margaret Barritt

This book is based on the traditional nursery rhyme, but the story has expanded the story to be about a little mouse that doesn't want to go to bed. The top line of each double-spread page features the nursery rhyme, where the bottom of each page has the expanded story. The soft illustrations are charming, but the best feature is that the book includes pictorial directions for parents to play with your child to the nursery rhyme. Grace loves it while I do the actions with her and gets a big grin when we start to play Hickory Dickory Dock. There are a couple other books in this series that I hope to check out as well.

None of these books are destined to be classics, but they are great for helping your baby to love books from an early age!


I'm linking this post to
Read-Aloud Thursdays @ Hope is the Word
Feed Me Books Friday @ Little Sprout Books
What My Child is Reading @ Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns

A You're Adorable

A You're Adorable is a song that was written in 1948 by Sid Lippman, Buddy Kaye, and Fred Wise. It's been recorded several times- the most popular was done by Perry Como. When Jonathan was born, his Papa remembered his own mother singing him this song. So Papa looked up the lyrics and sang it to Jonathan. It's kind of "their song".

I found this book listed in a wonderful resource for finding children's literature: Under the Chinaberry Tree. Since this book is based on the song, I knew it was one we wanted to own. It features the music and lyrics for the song with accompanying illustrations by Martha Alexander. Alexander's watercolor illustrations feature children of different ethnic backgrounds and various animals scampering about and through the alphabet.

It's a very sweet picture book and lends itself well to snuggling up with your little one.


If you're not familiar with the song, here's the Sesame Street version:



I'm linking this post up to Book Sharing Monday @ Smiling Like Sunshine

Reading Our Library- Liza Baker

We picked up Liza Baker's books off another booklist recommendation and I'm so glad we did! She is a unfamiliar author to me and has mostly written books involving Harold of Harold and the Purple Crayon fame. The two books we checked out are written for younger children and are illustrated by Sam McBratney (Guess How Much I Love You). Both of these books serve to affirm the special bond and unconditional love between parent and child.

I Love You Because You're You

This is such a sweet story about a mother's unconditional love for her child. Sam McBratney's illustrations feature a mother fox and her rambunctious little boy. The rhyming text shares how the mother fox loves her child no matter what his mood- sad, proud, shy, sleepy, etc. Jonathan loved this reassuring story. I liked it too- it was a good reminder to me to keep reaffirming my love for Jonathan and Grace-- even when they are in a more challenging mood.

Mama's Right Here

This is the follow-up book to I Love You because You're You. This story features a mama and baby kangaroo. The mother affirms that she will always be here to support or comfort her child. It's another cute book with a needed message, but I enjoyed the first book the most. Jonathan liked the two books equally well and requested them often. The one thing I would share is that my husband didn't appreciate that it was only from a Mama's perspective.

Both books are well worth checking out!

I'm linking this post up to:

Read Aloud Thursday @ Hope is the Word

Feed Me Books Friday @ Little Sprout Books

What My Child is Reading @ Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns
Book Sharing Monday @ Smiling Like Sunshine

Reading Our Library- Karen Baicker

One of Karen Baicker's books appeared on a booklist for children 0-12 months old. We picked up the book, as well as another series of Baicker's. Here's what we thought:

Tumble Me Tumbily

We picked up this book from a recommendation on a booklist for children ages 0-12. It's a book in three parts showing different times of a toddler's day- playtime, mealtime, and nighttime. Illustrator Sm Williams' playful illustrations show bouncing toddlers, bears and bunnies rollicking through the pages until at the end of the book a mother is shown rocking her toddler to sleep. Baicker's text is equally playful, and is written from  toddler's perspective. I found the text slightly annoying but I can see how it holds its appeal to toddlers. Jonathan enjoyed the book, but it wasn't a frequent request. (Note: You can also purchase this book in the form of three board books, which I would recommend. The segment divisions in the story don't flow as smoothly but the board books could be pulled out and read at the appropriate point during the day. See Snuggle Me Snuggly!, Yum Tummy Tickly!, and Wake-ity Wake! )

PeaPod Babies 

This is Baicker's second collaboration with Sam Williams. In this book, three babies are born inside a little peapod. They're seen as perfect little peas in a pod, but the babies each have their own unique personality. They dislike being regarded as a "set" and escape and have their own unique adventures. The three adventures happen simultaneously and highlight each baby's personality. The text is sing-songy and similar to that of the previous book and William's illustrations are equally whimsical and fun. The verse didn't flow well for me as a read-aloud, and therefore the book wasn't as enjoyable to Jonathan. Twins or Triplets might better appreciate this book. 

I Can Do it Too! 

Toddlers are notorious for insisting that they can do things by themselves, and this story affirms their desire to be independent. An African-American girl narrates the story, sharing things that different family members can do and then asserts that "I can do it too!" Ken Wilson-Max's bold illustrations show the warmth of the girl's family as well as the girl's imperfect attempts to copy the actions of her older family members. It's a charming book that Jonathan really enjoyed. 

You Can Do it Too!

In this follow-up to I Can Do it Too! the same little girl is trying to teach her little brother the skills she has learned. There's obviously a warm relationship between the siblings and I think, as a big brother, Jonathan could relate to this story. It was another book he requested that I read "again!" 

I'm linking this post to:

Read Aloud Thursday @ Hope is the Word

Feed Me Books Friday @ Little Sprout Books

What My Child is Reading @ Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns

Reading Our Library- Molly Bang

This week has been a busy one for us- we've had family in town for most of the week. So we haven't done very many "tot school" activities, but we've read quite a few books! This week's author is Molly Bang. This is kind of a mixed book review, because I honestly didn't enjoy some of the books we read this week.

Molly Bang is an award-winning children's book author and illustrator from the United States. She's written over thirty books for children. We recently read and enjoyed her story Yellow Ball, which is part of the Before Five in a Row Curriculum. She frequently appears on lists of recommended children's book, so I decided that we should sample more of her work.


 First up was The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher, which received a Caldecott Honor Award in 1981. To be frank, I found this book incredibly creepy. The story is told solely by the illustrations. A Grey Lady purchases some strawberries at the store and then is stalked/followed/chased by the strawberry snatcher, who looks like a mean blue goblin. Over and over again the snatcher gets close to getting the strawberries and the lady finds a way to escape. Finally, the strawberry snatcher is distracted by some blackberries and the lady arrives home safely. I had heard of the book, but wasn't aware of the content. So I was a little worried as we read the book. Fortunately, Jonathan didn't seem scared by the story. But he also didn't want to repeat it.


Then we read When Sophie Gets Angry-- Really, Really Angry which was another Caldecott Honor Book. This story is about a little girl named Sophie who gets angry when she has to give her sister a turn with her toy gorilla. She gets so angry "she wants to smash the world to smithereens". Bang's vivid warm illustrations illustrate the volcano that Sophie feels inside. Then Sophie runs and runs until she can't run anymore. She cries and climbs a favorite tree and sits there until she calms down and returns home. As a parent, I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it's appropriate for children to need to move to a "quiet place" until they can calm down. (That's helped to defuse Jonathan's temper tantrums). However, I did not like that Sophie ran away into the woods in order to do so. I think the book can provide good talking points on how to handle anger, but I'm sure there are better books out there. Jonathan sat through this story, but hasn't requested it again.



All of Me! A Book of Thanks was the next book we checked out from our library. This is a more recent publication featuring a bi-racial child who shares how he is thankful for the different parts of his body. It's a cute colorful book which would lend itself well to talking about the different parts of the body. The only caution I have is with the final page in which talks about the universe "inside all of me". As a Christian, this is too pantheistic for me. I just altered the end a bit when reading to Jonathan, emphasizing that the whole universe was made by God. Jonathan enjoyed this book and it made him laugh at points. He had fun pointing to the parts of his body as they were mentioned in the book and we talked about what the parts of the body do (knees can bend, mouths can kiss, tongues can taste, etc.) So overall, I would recommend this book with the caution to other parents that Bang's worldview isn't necessarily theistic.


Finally, we read Molly Bang's classic bedtime book Ten, Nine, Eight. This is yet another book that received the Caldecott Honor Medal. In this sweet story, a father lovingly tucks his little girl into bed while counting down from ten to one. They count ten toes, nine fuzzy friends, all the way down to one big girl ready for bed. The text is very simple and the illustrations are very soothing. There's nothing objectionable at all in this story, and it held it's appeal for Jonathan. It's a perfect story to read before bedtime (or naptime) and you can easily expand on the story find your own things to count in your child's room.

I am linking this post to:

Read-Aloud Thursday @ Hope Is the Word
Feed Me Books Friday @ Little Sprout Books
What My Child is Reading @ Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns