I read this book for the first time today and had to post. Part comic book, part prose, completely funny. A young girl goes to the zoo and is enlisted by a variety of animals to get them items they desire. The penguins want paint, the sloths want bicycle helmets and more. Why? she asks them all. Each creature is able to answer with a seemingly logical response.
I found the choices Rex made visually and with diction a treat, aiding in the oral reading of this book. (Think: words covered in ice for the penguins and a bright Hola! from the javelina). My almost five-year old asked for it to be read again immediately.
Awhile ago I was on the prowl for books that would introduce new foods to my children since actually serving new foods is a sure-fire way to breed whiners around here. I am happy to say we have moved past that stage of toddlerhood. Ahem. I digress. Mouse Went Out to Get a Snack is a fun tale following a mouse who raids a banquet table. It not only talks about different types of food (some not in a food group at all, like jelly beans) but he adds one more of each new food to his plate making it a counting book as well. By the time he’s loaded with his delectable choices, children begin to see there’s no way he’ll be able to eat all of it or carry it back to his hole. The problem is exacerbated, too, by the background presence of a cat. In the end, mouse ends up with what he really wanted in the beginning: a snack.
When I flipped through this one at the library, I thought, “Sure. Airplane, rabbit, mouse. Not many words. Looks good.” When I read the very few words, leaving spaces for toddler interpretation of pictures, I LOVED this book because my kids did.
With the same illustrations and sense of defining character, I enjoyed it, too. Those who love their libraries will appreciate the story behind this one. My guys couldn’t get into this one though. I think because there was focused on a girl who loved books. No action or dialogue. I would recommend this one for older girls (perhaps 5+).
If I’m honest, it took a couple readings of this one to sell me. Not because it was poorly written or illustrated, but because I was worried it contained too many words for my young children and that they would lose interest in reading the first time. They didn’t. So when they chose it for a second reading another day, I figured they’d ditch it when we reached the third or fourth page. Again, they didn’t. What an excellent example of how I underestimate my children: they loved this story and were willing to hear every important word.
Wolf believes his dinner has just shown up on his doorstep. What he wasn’t prepared for was how the little lamb would soon work its way into his heart. How could he eat a lamb he was concerned about getting too cold out in the winter night? This is a wonderful book showing how even the toughest heart can become softened. Illustrated by Joelle Dreidemy.
Where’s Pup? That’s the question that drives this simple book. A circus performer walks through, asking other performers if they’ve seen his dog. Each one sends him on to another, introducing the reader to the many kinds of acts that make up a circus: jugglers, acrobats, lion tamers and more.
This classic has been on our shelf since our oldest was a baby. Like most books for the very young, the lyrical words, “I went walking. What did you see? I saw a [color] [animal] looking at me” allow children to learn colors and pre-reading skills as they fill what comes next. “I saw a brown cow looking at me.”
