Board book: Pups Save a Pinata

Paw Patrol Water Wonder: Pups Save a Pinata. 2019. Scholastic. 12 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: It's almost time for Alex's birthday party.

Premise/plot: Mayor Humdinger steals Alex's pinata. Can the pups save the day? Will Alex have a happy birthday?

My thoughts: As an adult it is easy to dismiss this book as more toy than book. But children do sometimes needs a distraction. And parents sometimes--if not always--prefer distractions that are not messy. This one allows children to "paint" in color with just water. And it's reusable. So there is that. 

If your little one loves Paw Patrol, this might be a good treat.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Begin Smart: Baby Says

Baby Says. Begin Smart Books. 2009. October 2009. 16 pages.

This one isn't so much a book as it is a collection of vocabulary picture cards strung together on a plastic teether ring. There are words/pictures on the front and back of each card. This product is recommended for babies age six to twelve months. What kinds of words are included? dog, cat, fish, bird, ball, duck, baby, book, apple, truck, boat, train, sun, moon, flower, etc.


© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Guess Who? A Foldout Valentine's Adventure

Guess Who? A Foldout Valentine's Adventure. Lola Schaefer. 2009. [December 2009] Simon & Schuster. 14 pages.

Can you solve the riddles and guess which animals want to be your valentine? This board book is playful at heart.

Here's an example of the rhymes/riddles:

Say you love me
more than a tad...
and join me on my lily pad.

Guess who?
I'm a...

Frog!

The end reveals--as might be expected--a Happy Valentine's Day message to young readers.


© Becky Laney of Young Readers

The New Jumbo Book of Easy Crafts

Sadler, Judy Ann. 2009. (Released March 1, 2009) The New Jumbo Book of Easy Crafts. Kids Can Press. 176 pages.

Though I've never had a crafty bone in my body, I thought some of you might be interested in this one. (It's not that I didn't want to be uncrafty. But I've always made such a mess of things I spent much of my life banned from glue and tape.)

There are over 150 crafts within The New Jumbo Book of Easy Crafts. Each craft uses both text and illustrations to show readers how to make the craft in question. The crafts are organized into four themes: imagine and create (play dough, clay, fold-a-book, egg-cup chick, acorn-head doll, etc.); wear and use (pasta jewelry, fleecy fringed poncho, tin-can stilts, braided bookmark, etc.); make and play (tissue-box dollhouse, bead buddies, paper-plate shaker, sock sack, bead-toss game, etc.); and decorate and celebrate (decorating eggs, fuzzy flowers, valentine doily, greeting cards, snowflakes, party favors, etc.).


© Becky Laney of Young Readers