110-113 Board Books by Fiona Watt

110. That's Not My Tiger. [Board book] Fiona Watt. Illustrated by Rachel Wells. 2010/2023. 10 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars]

First sentence: That's not my tiger. Its ears are too fluffy. That's not my tiger. Its paws are too smooth. That's not my tiger. Its tongue is too rough.

Premise/plot: One of the books in the THAT'S NOT MY....series by USBORNE. This one stars a tiger. Each spread features a touch-and-feel element for little ones to experience. The text--as you can see from my "first sentence" is predictable. (Which is not a bad quality for a board book for the youngest of readers). It is patterned. 

My thoughts: I have a weakness for touch and feel books. That does not mean I approach them without a critical eye. One of my pet peeves is when publishers try to pass off "shiny" as a texture to touch or feel. I enjoyed this one. The elements to touch (and feel) were good--for the most part. I think the tongue's rough texture could have been rougher if I'm being completely honest. The most satisfying texture to touch (and feel) was the BUMPY texture which represented the tiger's teeth.

111. That's Not My Lion. [Board book] Fiona Watt. 2001/2024. 10 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars]

First sentence: That's not my lion. Its ears are too soft. That's not my lion. Its paws are too rough. That's not my lion. Its tail is too fluffy.

Premise/plot: One of the books in the THAT'S NOT MY...series by USBORNE. This one stars a lion. Each spread features a touch-and-feel element for little ones to experience. The text--as you can see from my "first sentence" is predictable. (Which is not a bad quality for a board book for the youngest of readers). It is patterned. 

My thoughts: I have a weakness for touch and feel books. That does not mean I approach them without a critical eye. One of my pet peeves is when publishers try to pass off "shiny" as a texture to touch or feel. I enjoyed this one. The elements to touch (and feel) were good--for the most part. My least favorite texture to "touch" was the "shiny" teeth. Shiny is NOT a texture. My favorite texture to touch was the rough texture of the paws. 

112. That's Not My Teddy [Board book] Fiona Watt. Illustrated by Rachel Wells. 1999/2021/2024. 12 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars]

First sentence: That's not my teddy. Its nose is too soft. That's not my teddy. Its feet are too rough. That's not my teddy. Its patch is too squashy.

Premise/plot: One of the books in the THAT'S NOT MY....series by USBORNE. This one stars a teddy bear. Each spread features a touch-and-feel element for little ones to experience. The text--as you can see from my "first sentence" is predictable. (Which is not a bad quality for a board book for the youngest of readers). It is patterned. 

My thoughts: I have a weakness for touch and feel books. That does not mean I approach them without a critical eye. One of my pet peeves is when publishers try to pass off "shiny" as a texture to touch or feel. I enjoyed this one. The elements to touch (and feel) were good--for the most part.

This board book I'm rating five stars because ALL of the touch and feel elements were solidly good. There were many that I found appealing and fun. I enjoyed the rough feet of the Panda. If the book has a weakness, which I didn't really feel was a deal breaker for me, was the similarity between all of the textures. There were only two textures that offered differences--the "squashy" texture of the patch and the rough texture of the paws (of the Panda). The rest were just variations of "woolly, soft, fuzzy, and furry." Again, I loved all those textures so I didn't find it problematic for me.

 113. That's Not My Tractor... [Board book] Fiona Watt. 2001. 10 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars]

First sentence: That's not my tractor. Its trailer is too rough. That's not my tractor. Its wheels are too smooth. That's not my tractor. Its window is too shiny. 

Premise/plot: One of the books in the THAT'S NOT MY....series by USBORNE. This one stars a tractor. Each spread features a touch-and-feel element for little ones to experience. The text--as you can see from my "first sentence" is predictable. (Which is not a bad quality for a board book for the youngest of readers). It is patterned. 

My thoughts: I have a weakness for touch and feel books. That does not mean I approach them without a critical eye. One of my pet peeves is when publishers try to pass off "shiny" as a texture to touch or feel. I enjoyed this one. 

On the one hand this book has the widest variety of textures to those in the series that I've read. On the other hand, several of the textures were not textures at all. SHINY is not a texture you can feel. Neither is sparkly. Smooth is technically a texture--but more a lack of texture perhaps. This one offers "rough, lumpy, and bumpy." Now that I'm analyzing more closely--perhaps this one doesn't have the best variety. Three essentially smooth textures and three essentially bumpy textures. 

 

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Young Readers

44. Casebook of a Private Cat's Eye

Casebook of a Private Cat's Eye. Mary Stolz. Illustrated by Pamela R. Levy. 1999. 128 pages. [Source: Library] [animal fantasy; mystery; children's book]

First sentence: My office, which I opened early in this year of 1912, is in an old West End brownstone, a block from the boardinghouse where I room.

Premise/plot: Eileen O’Kelly, our heroine, is a private detective writing up her cases. This delightful children’s book—an animal fantasy historical mystery chapter book—is a treat. Some cases are solved within a chapter. Others are ongoing investigations that span multiple chapters. Her work introduces her to many interesting folk.

My thoughts: I absolutely love, love, love, crazy love this one! It was a joy to spend time with the characters. Eileen is such a great heroine. The ending was the best; it made me giddy. The illustrations are just as charming as the text.

© 2020 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Marguerite Makes a Book

Marguerite Makes a Book. Bruce Robertson. Illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt. 1999. 44 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence:  In a small house in Paris, nearly six hundred years ago, lived a man who made beautiful books. His name was Jacques the Painter, but he was affectionately known as Papa Jacques because he was the oldest and most famous book painter in all of Paris.

Premise/plot: Marguerite Makes a Book is a picture book for older readers. It is set in the Middle Ages in France. The heroine is a young girl, Marguerite, the daughter of a book painter--or illustrator. When her father becomes unable to finish his work, she steps up to completes his order. She knows just what to do and how to do it. In fact her own embellishments make it even more beautiful.

My thoughts: This one is text-HEAVY. It is definitely for older readers. The text is packed with details and information--fascinating stuff for the most part. Not every reader will be interested in book making or this time period in general. But for those that are--it's an excellent read.

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 7 out of 10

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers

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

The Most Amazing Hide-and-Seek Numbers Book

The Most Amazing Hide-and-Seek Numbers Book. Robert Crowther. 2010. August 2010. (1999) Candlewick. 12 pages.

Most counting books only count from one to ten, or one to five. (Though sometimes they count forwards and backwards.) This one boasts to count from one to a hundred. (Though after 20, the book counts by tens: 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100). Then there is the title boasting that is the "most amazing" hide-and-seek number books.

I can't say that I find this counting book amazing. But I did like it well enough.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers