Who Am I?

Who am I? Salina Yoon. 2011. [January 2011] Scholastic. 12 pages.

I walk sideways
on the sand,
underwater
and on land.
Who am I?


My jaws are sharp,
big, and wide.
When I am near,
others hide.
Who am I?


I wear a shell
and swim free.
My flippers glide
through the sea.
Who am I?

I love Who Am I? even more than I loved What Am I? Once again, we have riddles written in rhyme. The first book, What Am I?, focused on transportation (cars, trains, planes, etc.) The second book focuses on animals. Ocean animals to be exact. We've got seahorses, whales, sharks, crabs, etc. I loved the format of this one--the design of it. The colors are so bright, so bold. They contrast so well with the black silhouette of the animal. And the pullout card reveals the answer to the riddle and reveals the colorful animal beneath.

I would definitely recommend both books!

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

What Am I?

What Am I? Salina Yoon. 2010. Scholastic. 12 pages.

Four black tires
on the go,
through the traffic
fast and slow.
What am I?


Rotor spinning
Way up high.
Engine running
In the sky.
What am I?

I really, really enjoyed this clever riddle board book. It is part of Little Scholastic's board book series. This one and its companion, Who Am I?, are for toddlers aged 1 to 3. What did I love most about this one? I loved the concept. I loved the riddles. The ones in this book are all about modes of transportation: trains, boats, motorcycles, cars, airplanes, helicopters. I loved the format of this one--the pullout pages that "reveal" the answer. The art revealed is very bright, very bold, very fun. And the answer also appears in print on the black card.

It's just a fun, fun book.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Ivy Loves To Give

Ivy Loves to Give. Freya Blackwood. 2010. Scholastic. 24 pages.

Ivy loves to give.
Sometimes her presents are the wrong size,
don't fit properly,
taste funny,
or feel strange.

I really enjoyed Freya Blackwood's sweet story of an exuberant giver. I liked Ivy. In very few words--perhaps mainly through the illustrations?--we learn about Ivy and her family. It is a sweet story, a funny story. And it's not a story without twists! My favorite twist being that sometimes she likes to keep.

I enjoyed both the text and illustrations. It's definitely a story where you need to pay attention to the details for the full story!

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Welcome Summer

Welcome Summer by Jill Ackerman. Illustrated by Nancy Davis. 2010. Scholastic. 10 pages.

It's summer!
Take off your shoes
and let the green grass
tickle your toes.

Little Scholastic has a board book series on seasons. In the past we've welcomed fall, winter, and spring. I seem to remember there being more touch-and-feel elements in previous titles in the series--I particularly remember enjoying Welcome Winter--but except for some blades of grass providing some texture, there aren't that many things to touch and feel. Unless you're little one can't resist the graininess of glitter (water droplets from the pool-splashing). But this one does celebrate some of the great things about summer--like blowing bubbles, Popsicles, sunshine, and wading pools.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Little Scholastic: Zoo

Little Scholastic: Zoo. Illustrated by Salina Yoon. 2010. [January 2010] Scholastic. 10 pages.

The lion is....orange.

Zoo is one of the latest titles in Scholastic's Little Scholastic series of board books for the very youngest of readers. (This one is for 1 to 3 year olds.) The book serves as an introduction (of sorts) to colors and animals. It's a simple concept book.

This one is flexible, in a way, because it has pull-out pieces parents which parents can then use as color flashcards or as puzzle pieces. (Combine all four flashcards and you'll create the colorful peacock.)

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Welcome Winter!

Welcome Winter is a delightful book; it is one of the Little Scholastic books published by Scholastic. It's designed to appeal to the baby to two crowd. It's a board book. It's a touch-and-feel book. And it's a concept book--the concept being winter one of the four seasons of the year.

Texas babies may not find much familiar with Welcome Winter. (Though of course there was that snow storm last year that surprised everyone.) But whether you are expecting snow or not, this book is a fun little addition to your library.

Here is how it begins, "It's winter! Snowflakes fall in front of your eyes."

There is much to do in this one. I loved running my fingers across the crinkled plastic (not sure of exact medium???) to make the snow crunching noise. And the plush hat that was oh-so-soft was fun as well.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Peek-a-Zoo

Little Scholastic is a new line by Scholastic books. You can read all about it on their official site:
http://www.scholastic.com/littlescholastic/

Many of these new titles were released on July 1, 2007. I haven't received all of the titles yet, though I have requested them from Scholastic so they should be on their way soon, but based on the one title I have received, I am very excited.

Little Scholastic books are designed for babies age 0 to 3. And as the back of the book proclaims it is a title that will "grow" with your child.

Babies: Touch the textures. Point to the images.
1-2: Look at the pictures and text. Listen and repeat the words.
2-3: Learn the concepts. Connect the meaning of the words and images.

I encourage parents to go to their site because it really is quite a resource. I especially recommend reading the article, "Why Babies Need Books" by Kate Jack. Another great article is "Quick Click: Integrating Reading Into Everyday Life for Birth to Age 2." So explore and learn...and then read, read, read!

My thoughts on Peek-a-Zoo:

I liked the brightness of the colors. I thought they were very bold, very striking. There are some great contrasts going on. There were also plenty of textures for babies to touch and feel. (rough, bumpy, soft, furry, smooth, squishy, etc.) The cut-outs were very fun. And the mirror, well, I'll let SugarCookie do the talking there! So this book had a lot to offer visually and texturally.



SugarCookie's thoughts on Peek-a-Zoo:

SugarCookie is ten months old. While he had no problems maneuvering the pages of Eric Carle's My Very First Book of Animal Sounds, he found Peek-A-Zoo to be a bit more tricky. He needed help to turn the pages. He liked to try to turn the pages. But he would try to turn the pages by grabbing the cut-outs on the inside of the book. Which sometimes worked, most times didn't. But fortunately, he had help turning the pages and was able to 'read' the whole book. Again, I wasn't concerned with the reading aspect. It was more of watching to see how we responded to the pictures and textures. He did like to point at the pictures. And he did discover the differences between the textures. But what SugarCookie loved most of all was playing with the mirror on one of the pages. Thanks to the cut-outs, this mirror was available to see on two of the pages. He liked watching himself. He liked making faces. But he really, really liked going nose to nose and mouth to mouth. I don't know if he was trying to kiss himself or what. (I just think that's something kids like to do universally...to play with noses and mouths on mirrors.) But I do know this: he loved it. SugarCookie didn't find this book tasty. Surprisingly enough, he didn't even try once to put the corners of the book in his mouth. I guess he was having too much fun looking and feeling to give it the taste test. Regardless, I think it's a safe bet to assume that he enjoyed his Sunday morning visit with Peek-a-Zoo.



Looking for more board books review, today our other baby reviewer, LittleMiss, reviewed two books.

Two Reviews By LittleMiss

Little Miss Learns Her Shapes

Shape is one of the new titles published by Little Scholastic. What is Little Scholastic? Little Scholastic is a new line by Scholastic books. You can read all about it on their official site:
http://www.scholastic.com/littlescholastic/

Many of these new titles were released on July 1, 2007. I haven't received all of the titles yet, though I have requested them from Scholastic so they should be on their way soon, but based on the titles I have received, I am very excited.

Little Scholastic books are designed for babies age 0 to 3. And as the back of the book proclaims it is a title that will "grow" with your child.

Babies: Touch the textures. Point to the images.
1-2: Look at the pictures and text. Listen and repeat the words.
2-3: Learn the concepts. Connect the meaning of the words and images.

I encourage parents to go to their site because it really is quite a resource. I especially recommend reading the article, "Why Babies Need Books" by Kate Jack. Another great article is "Quick Click: Integrating Reading Into Everyday Life for Birth to Age 2." So explore and learn...and then read, read, read!

What I liked about Shape...


I loved the visual and textual components of Shape. The colors were bright and bold. There was great contrast in the illustrations. And the textures were diverse: bumpy, smooth, rough, scratchy, sparkly, etc. The text was simple with only one to four words per page.

For example, the shape on page one was a circle. There was a picture of a car with a smiley face showing through the window. The car has black and white spiral tires. And the car was against a green background. The only words on the page were the words "circle" and "car." The next page, page two, showed a black circle--bumpy texture--against a white background. It simply said "Touch this!" and "Bumpy circle."



LittleMiss's mama writes:

LittleMiss appreciated the simplicity of the book. She stared at the brightly colored pages and her mother ran her hands across the textured shapes. There was not much text so her mother "ad-libbed" and described the items on each page. This book was also a nice size for her.

I think her smile says it all: