Board Book: On the Go with Mother Goose

On the Go with Mother Goose. Iona Opie, editor. Illustrated by Rosemary Wells. 2017. Candlewick Press. 26 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence:

Down at the station,
early in the morning,
See the little puffer-billies
all in a row;
See the engine driver
pull his little lever--
Puff puff, peep peep
off we go!

Premise/plot: This is a themed Mother Goose collection for parents to share with their little ones. The theme is ON THE GO. There are rhymes about going, coming, and arriving. Some of the rhymes may prove familiar to adults, though don't expect every poem to be an old friend. There are SO many Mother Goose rhymes and this collection just shares a few of them that fit this theme.

To market, to market,
to buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again,
jiggety-jig.
To market, to market,
to buy a fat hog,
Home again, home again,
jiggety-jog.

My thoughts: It's probably best not to come to this one with expectations of what should be included. I'm not sure if the 'missing' rhymes are missing because they've been included in other board book collections by Opie and Wells OR if perhaps the nursery rhymes are not Mother Goose but come from another source. Are all nursery rhymes by 'Mother Goose'? For example, I am thinking of "This Little Piggy," "Wee Willie Winkie," "Rub-a-dub-dub."

The book features illustrations by Rosemary Wells.
 

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Board book: Train

Train. Chris Demarest. 1996/2017. HMH. 16 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Train chugs, clickety-clack. Engine up front, caboose in back. Pass farms, cows moo. Over hills. Choo! Choo!

Premise/plot: A little girl takes a train ride. What does she see? What does she hear?

My thoughts: The text of this one is simple. How simple? Two to three words per page. (Mostly two words per page.) I will say this--briefly--that this board book doesn't use complete sentences to tell a story. I am not sure how many actual complete sentences the book has. But I do know that "Over hills" is not a complete sentence by any stretch of the imagination. Still, for little ones this one may work just fine. It's definitely focused on rhythm and rhyme. If your little one loves, loves, loves all things train, I'd recommend this one to supplement your daily exposure to FREIGHT TRAIN.

© 2017 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Board book: Bus

Bus. Chris Demarest. 1996/2017. HMH. 16 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Bus rolls. Busy street. First stop, people meet. Trucks honk, taxis swerve. City park, road curves.

Premise/plot: A boy goes on a bus ride in the city. What does he see? What does he hear?

My thoughts: This book is simple. How simple is simple? Two words per page. You might think it's impossible for any story to emerge from just two words per page, yet, the simple text becomes a poem of sorts. I also like the bold colors of the illustrations. This one is definitely much better than the "Wheels on the Bus."


© 2017 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Footprints On the Moon

Footprints On the Moon by Mark Haddon. Illustrated by Christian Birmingham. 2009. [March 2009] Candlewick Press. 32 pages.

Years ago there was a little boy who had the solar system on his wall.

A little boy imagines (or dreams) that he is part of the historic moon landing in 1969. That's a quick little summary of this picture book by Mark Haddon. That 'little boy' is the author. And the book is based on his recollections of what it was like--really like--to be growing up during this time. What it was like to watch the moon landing. What it was like to see men walk on the moon. What it was like to dream big dreams. Here's a bit of text to give you an idea of the writing style:

He borrowed library books and read about how astronauts had orbited the earth and walked in space and how they'd flown around the moon itself. And every night he hoped and hoped that one day they would find a way to land and walk across the tiny world where he had dreamed of walking.

And eventually, one cloudless night, they did.

This one was originally published in 1996 in the UK. It was reprinted in the US by Candlewick in 2009.

The illustrations were probably my favorite part of this one. (I thought that the text was a little heavy in some places.)

© Becky Laney of Young Readers