40-42. Board Book Parade (Farm Edition)

40. Board book: Country Baby. Laurie Elmquist. Illustrated by Ellen Rooney. 2024. 20 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: We pull on rubber boots
Splash into puddles with both feet
Look for speckled eggs
The sheep's wool is cozy-cozy

My thoughts (preview): I find it incredibly sad that my first and foremost response is to notice all the lack of periods in the text. One period for the whole book. 

Premise/plot: Little ones follow the adventures of a country baby (and country mom) in this board book. The text is descriptive yet still simple. 

My thoughts: I like this one. It is a farm book that does feature a story. It goes beyond animal identification and/or animal sounds. It is set on a farm, but I think it focuses more on the parent-child relationship. I do think the book celebrates nature and 'country life.'

41. Slide and See First Words: Farm (Board book) Helen Hughes. Illustrated by Samantha Meredith. 2024. 12 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Farm buildings
farmhouse
barn
henhouse
There is one house for the famer and houses for the animals, too.

Premise/plot: This is an 'interactive' board book for parents to share with little ones. Each page/spread (including the cover) features a sliding element that reveals words. (Hence: slide and see). There are other peek-a-boo surprises besides words alone. 

Many pages feature questions and answers. Questions like "What color is the barn? Who lives inside the barn? What are they eating?" On the next page--the page with the sliding elements--we've got sentences waiting for the answers to slide in. The barn is red. Inside the barn are the animals. They are eating hay.

Each spread is farm-themed, but there is no continuous story. 

My thoughts: How could I read this one without flashing back to Baby Einstein's Baby MacDonald. I can hear the music even. I do like the sliding elements. I think they are fun. Obviously, I have not tested their durability. I haven't slid them back and forth hundreds of times. I haven't played with the book roughly. I have not tasted it. But I do like it and would easily recommend it. 

Farm books are not "new" or unique. There will always be plenty of new farm books published each year, every year. Probably not all staying in print.

42.  Board book: Don't Push the Button! On the Farm. Bill Cotter. 2024. 24 pages. [Source: Library] 

First sentence: Hey there! Great to see you again! I'm so excited to be visiting the farm with you. Let's go! Don't open the gate that means you!!! Oh, don't worry about that sign. It's probably nothing. Could you flip open the latch? I can't reach it.

Premise/plot: This is an interactive board book in the sense that it is asking readers to participate using their imagination. (Think Blue's Clues or Dora the Explorer or the like). It is written using the second person--you. The book is pure silliness from cover to cover.

My thoughts: These books fall flat unless you're really to engage fully. I do think the book can be appealing because it is enthusiastically over-the-top silly. I think the person reading aloud can help this be an engaging read as well. (Sometimes how you read a book aloud is so important.) 

I like this one, but didn't personally love it.

© 2024 Becky Laney of Young Readers