Here Fishy Fishy: Fun Gift Ideas 2008

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss (also board book)
Fabulous Fishes by Susan Stockdale*
Ten Little Fish by Audrey Wood
Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins
This Little Fish (board book) by R. Powell
Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
What's It Like To Be A Fish by Wendy Pfeffer
How Many Fish? by Caron Lee Cohen
A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer
Papa Fish's Lullaby by Patricia Hubbell
Feed Matisse's Fish by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo*
Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On by Lois Ehlert
Big Fish, Little Fish by Ed Heck
Not Norman by Kelly Bennett
The Birthday Fish by Dan Yaccarino
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Dear Fish by Chris Gall
The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
The Fish Who Cried Wolf by Julia Donaldson
Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark by Will Grace
Fidgety Fish by Ruth Galloway
Fidgety Fish and Friends by Paul Bright
Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau
The Little Fish That Got Away by Bernadine Cook (illustrated by Crockett Johnson)
Pattern Fish by Trudy Harris
Fish Wish by Bob Barner

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Have you met Mrs. P?

Who or what is Mrs. P? It is a website--to be more precise it is a free children’s entertainment and educational website, celebrating books and reading.

Mrs. P, played by Kathy Kinney also known as Mimi on the hit sitcom, “The Drew Carey Show,” will read 15 classic fairy tales from her “Magic Library.” Some of the current fairytales available include: “Jack and the Beanstalk” "Little Red Riding Hood,” “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and more. A new story will be uploaded to the site every 3 weeks for your children’s reading pleasure!


© Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Boy On The Bus

Dale, Penny. 2007. The Boy On the Bus: A Sing Along Storybook.

Sugarcookie told me I needed to review this one now so that it could be his for keeps. And since it isn't always the easiest thing in the world for a book to really grab his attention and keep him entertained and happy...there must be something about this one. (This is reading done within Sunday School hour--not reading at home.)

The book is based--loosely based--on the popular song for kids. But it introduces variations. Fun variations. Who is riding on this bus? Ducks. Pigs. Cows. Horses. Chickens. Goats. Sheep. Etc. You get the idea. It's silly. It's fun. It's playful. You've got singing. You've got animal noises. It has the potential to be truly interactive.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Fly Me To The Moon: Fun Gift Ideas 2008

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh
The Ultimate Interactive Atlas of Space (2008) by Scholastic
Moon Landing: Apollo 11 40th Anniversary Pop-Up Book by Richard Platt
The First Moon Landing (Graphic Novel) by Thomas K. Adamson
11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System by David Aguilar
When Is A Planet Not A Planet by Elaine Scott
Our Solar System by Seymour Simon
The Moon by Seymour Simon
Galaxies by Seymour Simon
Reaching for the Moon by Buzz Aldrin
The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons
The Planets by Gail Gibbons
Stars and Planets by DK Publishing
Space Exploration by DK Publishing
The Moon Seems To Change by Franklyn M. Branley
The Magic School Bus: Lost In the Solar System by Joanna Cole
Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me by Eric Carle
Space Boy by Leo Landry
I Took The Moon For A Walk by Carolyn Curtis
If You Decide To Go To The Moon by Faith McNulty
I Want To Be An Astronaut by Byron Barton
On The Moon by Anna Milbourne
Moon Plane by Peter McCarty
Comets, Stars, The Moon, And Mars: Space Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian
A Child's Introduction to the Night Sky: The Story of the Stars, Planets, and Constellations--and How You Can Find Them In the Night Sky by Michael Driscoll
The Kids Book of the Night Sky by Ann Love
Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations by Jaqueline Mitton


© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Snugglebug's review of Does A Cow Say Boo

Hindley, Judy. 2002 Does a Cow Say Boo. Illustrated by Brita Granstrom

Miss Becky reviewed this book in July, and now Snugglebug is taking his turn to review it. This is a cute book, and Snugglebug agrees that animal noises are fun. At 8 months, Snugglebug isn't old enough to make those noises yet, but one day he will be joining in as we read this book. He really enjoys this book. It is by no means a favorite, but he finds the noises and the illustrations entertaining. We do read it quite often, but not as often as aforementioned fish books. But, Ladybug thinks that is just a personal preference of Snugglebug. We recommend this book to those at least 6 months of age or older.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Snugglebug's review of Welcome Winter

Ackerman, Jill. 2008 Welcome Winter. Illustrated by Nancy Davis.

Welcome Winter is an anomaly in Snugglebug's library at the moment. Miss Becky, who previously reviewed this book, shared it with Snugglebug because of its touch and feel characteristics that should appeal to infants his age. Ladybug would agree with this point since Snugglebug loves feeling the pages of the books and stroking the animals or fish as we read. But, Welcome Winter, oddly enough, does not attract his interest at all.

On the first page, the book begins, "It's winter! Snowflakes fall in front of your eyes." Soft snowflakes cover the page for the little one to touch. But Snugglebug finds no interest in this page or any other, and neither touches it or pays attention.

Ladybug likes this book, and reads it anyway for her own enjoyment. A kid at heart, she likes touching the snowflakes, crunching the snow, and feeling the rough wind. She hopes that 8 month-old Snugglebug will grow into it and enjoy the book with her later down the road. It could be the book would be more appealing to toddlers than infants.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Hooray for Fish

Cousins, Lucy. 2005. Hooray for Fish!

Written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins, this book is cute, fun, and educational. Little Fish is a bright orange baby fish who introduces the reader to all his fish friends. The fish themselves introduce the baby reader to concepts such as colors, spots, and stripes and to opposites such as happy and gripy. By the end of the book, Little Fish has introduced, Spotty Fish, Stripy Fish, Happy Fish, Gripy Fish, Ele-Fish (yes, she looks like an elephant), and so many more. But alas, Little Fish asks,

So many friends, so many fish, splosh, splash, splish!

But, where's the one I love the best, even more than all the rest?

"Hello, Mom."

"Hello, Little Fish."

Kiss, kiss, kiss,

Hooray for fish!

What mom doesn't love that ending! For that reason, Ladybug loves this book. But Snugglebug loves it because he has a thing for fishy books. Big Fish, Little Fish by Ed Heck is still one of his favorites. The illustrations of this book are bright and fun and far from realistic, keeping Snugglebug's attention quite well. Ladybug loves the unique way Cousins introduces such ordinary concepts, making this book one of our everyday readers.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers