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Board books: Picture This: Shapes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2015. 40 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence:

Dot
The number of dots on a ladybug's wings tells us what type of beetle it is. How many do you count?
Line
Look at the pigeons on the telephone line. Together they take a break from flying in the sky.
Curve
Snakes curve from side to side as they slither along.

Premise/plot: A nonfiction concept board book for young(er) children. The focus this time is on shapes found in nature. Readers are introduced to the following shapes: dot, line, curve, round, triangle, square, rectangle, diamond, oval, semicircle, coil, spiral, crisscross, star, pentagon, hexagon, ball, and trapezoid. These 'shapes' are found in photographs.

Spiral
The chameleon can twirl its tail to grab on to branches. See the spiral as it sits in a tree?

My thoughts: I like this one. I do. I enjoyed it just as much as Homes. Both books are definitely worth seeking out. It's never too early to start sharing good nonfiction titles with your children!

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Board Books: Picture This: Homes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2015. 42 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence:

Ant
The weaver ant twists leaves and twigs together with silk thread to make a home.
Spider
This wasp spider spins a web in tall grass, where it rests and catches its food.

Premise/plot: A nonfiction concept book for young(er) children. Readers are introduced to a wide variety of animals and learn where they live. The book is full of photographs of animals and their homes. The book is quite simple in concept, yet, oddly fascinating at the same time. Some animals may prove familiar (polar bear, ant, bee) others may seem more exotic (Fennec fox, eel, village weaver).

My thoughts: I liked this one. I did. I loved looking at the photographs. As I said, I wasn't expecting to find the book fascinating. (Board books, well, they rarely fascinate me. They can make me smile now and then. And now and then even sing.) If you're looking for a nature-themed concept book, this one is worth your time.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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This familiar porcine classic has a cute new twist with updated illustrations and easy-to-use page turning tabs.

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This delightful touch-and-feel book is sure to be a hit with babies and toddlers. It features easy prose, colorful pictures and popular zoo animals.

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Board book: Carry and Learn Numbers. Illustrated by Sarah Ward. 2015. Scholastic. 10 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence:
1 One 
1 Giant Elephant
Can you stomp like Me?

Premise/plot: Carry and Learn Numbers is a concept board book. Little ones are introduced (or reintroduced) to numbers one through five. And it has an animal theme as well. The animals "interact" with readers encouraging them to stomp, stand tall, growl, waddle, and wave.

My thoughts: I liked this one. The pages will be easy for little hands to turn. And the illustrations are certainly sweet enough. I think I loved the giraffes most of all. 

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Ellen Mayer, author of the recently published Red Socks and A Fish to Feed and the forthcoming Cake Day and Rose's Laundry Day, has a brand new website! At ellenmayerbooks.com, visitors can learn about Ellen's career as a children's book writer, upcoming author events, parenting resources, and, of course, information regarding her wonderful new titles. With a number of different pages which host a whole collection of information accented by Ellen's charming creative flair, the website has something to offer anyone looking for an introduction to this talented author and her lovely books.

Here are just a few highlights of the website:

A wonderful introduction to the Small Talk Books collection, which highlights the series many benefits for parents, caregivers, and teachers. Links to more information regarding each book have also been provided.

Also included: just a few of the comments the series has already attracted from notable readers.


A very useful resource page which includes links to Dr. Betty Bardige's book Talk to Me, Baby! How You Can Support Young Children’s Language Development and to parenting organizations Too Young to Fail and Zero to Three. Dr. Betty Bardige's constantly-updating twitter feed is also included on this page.

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Construction trucks. School buses. Airplanes. You name it, kids can’t get enough of it. Here are a few of our favorite books of Things That Go ... Read the rest of this post

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Board Book: The Doghouse. Jan Thomas. 2008/2015.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 36 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence:
Kick
Oh no! The ball went into THE DOGHOUSE.
Who will get it out?

Premise/Plot: A cow, a mouse, a duck, and a pig are playing ball together....when....it happens. The ball is kicked into the doghouse. Who is brave? Who is scared? Will they get their ball back? Read and see!

My thoughts: I do love Jan Thomas. And The Doghouse is a great example of just why. The Doghouse is funny, playful, and dramatic. Some drama can help keep read alouds fun and spirited. This one is just predictable enough--repetitive enough--to keep it fun.

The same characters can be found in A Birthday for Cow. (Cows feature into two other Thomas picture books: Let's Sing A Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy and my personal favorite, Is Everyone Ready for Fun?)

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Peppa's Chalk ABCs. Scholastic. 16 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Premise/plot: Peppa's Chalk ABCs is an activity book for young children who are ready or nearly ready to learn to write their letters. This is a practice book. There is space to practice each letter of the alphabet. Two letters per page. (Four letters per spread.) The illustrations feature characters from the Peppa Pig show. For example, "D is for Dinosaur" shows George playing with his dinosaur. Also, this is for learning lowercase letters.

My thoughts: Cute novelty book. It isn't really a book with a story.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Toni Buzzeo is the author of the 2013 Caldecott Honor Book and New York Times bestseller One Cool Friend, as well as many other books for children.

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Ten Playful Tigers: A Back-and-Forth Counting Book

Series: Back-and-Forth Books
Written by Beth Schwartz & Lynn Seresin
Illustrated by Luciana Navarro Powell
Capstone Young Readers     8/01/2015
978-1-62370-236-6
  22 pages       9″x8″      Age 1—4.

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“One two three, how many tigers do you see? Count along as one little tiger turns into ten playful tigers (and their mama!). Then start again by counting the butterflies beginning with ten. Little hands and little eyes will delight to explore these sturdy interactive board books from front-to-back and back-to-front. Award-winning team Betty Schwartz and Lynn Seresin have created charming, tactile two-in-one experiences for the littlest learners” [back cover]

Review
Cute little tigers, with big wide eyes and long striped tails, will indeed charm little kids as they count from one to ten and then ten to one (actually, the butterflies begin with eleven, for the smart, observant, little kid). The tiger at number 1 simply walks into the tall grass with one butterfly trailing behind. Turn the page and there are two tigers, greeting one another. With each new turn of the thick and sturdy glossy pages, a new tiger joins in with its siblings. The tigers have a fun morning (or afternoon) doing all sorts of things that will energize young children: climb trees, play in the water, do tricks, play soccer, follow-the-tiger, tumble about, and roar with all the might of a little tiger. These playful tigers will definitely amuse young children.

After a rough and tumble morning (or afternoon), the ten tigers take a nap with mama, making Ten Playful Tigers the perfect bedtime story. Upon waking, kids can count the butterflies from ten (eleven) down to one and then blast off into the rest of their day. Kids will also like turning the pages with the die-cut holes and rubbing Mama-tiger’s orange and black striped fur. Counting from ten to one involves counting the number of holes containing butterflies—on the left side of the spread—and then adding in the one or two butterflies flying elsewhere on the half-spread. Large purple numbers guide kids as they count.

The oversized book may be too large for some little hands, but with help this should not be a hindrance. The illustrations are beautiful, fun, and lively. Even the butterflies change shape and color, seemingly having their own group fun. I especially love the spread with the, wait a minute . . . one, two three, FOUR roaring tigers. They each have four pointy teeth and one large mouth, which when opened wide, makes their nose and eyes seem to scrunch. Ten Playful Tigers is the perfect board book for young children learning how to count.

But wait, there’s more. Once you can count up to ten and then back down to one, it is time to leave the tigers and butterflies for a more ferocious beast—dinosaurs!   Keep reading->
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TEN PLAYFUL TIGERS (A BACK-AND-FORTH BOOK). Text copyright © 2015 by Beth Schwartz & Lynn Seresin. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Luciana Navarro Powell. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Capstone, North Mankato, MN.

Purchase Ten Playful Tigers at Amazon—Book Depository—Capstone.

Learn more about Ten Playful Tigers HERE.
Meet the author, Beth Schwartz, her website:
Meet the author, Lynn Seresin, at her website:  bit.ly/LynnSeresin
Meet the illustrator, Luciana Navarro Powell, at her website:  http://www.lucianaillustration.com/
Find more picture books at the Capstone Young Readers website:  http://www.capstonepub.com/

Capstone Young Readers is an imprint of Capstone.

Other Back-and-Forth Books
Busy Little Dinosaurs (alphabet)   (reviewed here)
Puppies, Puppies, Everywhere! (opposites)
You’re it, Little Red Fish (colors)

PLUS – Hop, Hop, Bunny (reviewed here)
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Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

Review section word count = 339

 

Filed under: 5stars, Board Books, Children's Books, Library Donated Books, Series Tagged: Back-and-Forth Books, Beth Schwartz, Capstone, Capstone Young Readers, counting, counting 1-to-10 and then 10-to-1, experiential learning, humor, imagination, Luciana Navarro Powell, Lynn Seresin, rote learning, Ten Playful Tigers, tigers

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Busy Little Dinosaurs: A Back-and-Forth Alphabet Book

Series: Back-and-Forth Books
Written by Beth Schwartz & Lynn Seresin
Illustrated by Luciana Navarro Powell
Capstone Young Readers        8/01/2015
978-1-62370-234-2
22 pages        9″x8″       Age 1—4
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“Busy little dinosaurs, as a rule, agree it’s fun to go to school! Follow dinosaurs through an alphabet of activities from A all the way to Zzzzzz. But wait—you’re not done! Go back to A and name the things that start with the letters along the way.” [back cover]

Review
Busy Little Dinosaurs will teach young children their ABCs in an unconventional manner. Each spread contains a four-line verse of rhyme and somewhere in that rhyme is a word with the letter or letters for that spread, going from A to Z. For example, the second spread is for the letters “Gg,” “Hh,” and “Ii.”

“Dinos gather together,
hang a flag from a tree,
and imagine they’re pirates,
that sail the high seas.”

At the top left of each spread, in various colors, are the next letters in the alphabet. It would be easy enough to learn the alphabet by learning the letters while ignoring each verse and illustration, but that would not be much fun. The dinosaurs are doing all sorts of imaginative activities, many of which young children could also enjoy. In the above verse, the orange dinosaur looks at a map while wearing a pirate’s hat. The green dinosaur wears glasses and is looks over a different type of map, while the third dinosaur peers through a telescope—“Land Ho!”

Young children will have loads of laughs learning the alphabet with Busy Little Dinosaurs. The colorful, sturdy pages are glossy and wipe off kid-gunk with ease. The “A” dinosaurs enter school with their backpacks and big smiles. Throughout the day, the dinosaurs have a tremendous amount of fun as they enjoy many activities: play instruments, exercise in gym class, play soccer, paint, eat lunch, read books, and take a nap. All make for a rather decent kindergarten day.

Once those dinosaurs awake, they can flip back through the pages and, well, this part is actually a little tricky.

“Now go back to the cutouts
for surprises and fun.
Guess the letter things start with
and then you are done!”

The first spread is now letter “Z,” and in the cutout is a picture of a zebra fish—the object begins with the letter Z. On spread “Y,” the cutout is over the orange body of the yawning dinosaur. This could be the word “yawning” beginning with the letter Y, though not an object. “Ww and Xx” opens to a bookworm or a worm reading—begins with the letter W. But then “Tt, Uu, Vv” opens on the color purple on the dinosaur’s nose. I cannot think of anything beginning with the letter t, u, or v for this “object.” The spreads repeat this pattern of object then body color until the child is back to the front off the book. I love the idea, but do not understand what object each color represents, especially if the letter of the object is one of the letters of the spread, though that was not specified. I can only imagine how difficult it would have been to get an object in one cutout for two spreads. This does give a child the chance to use his or her imagination when deciding what object the colors might represent to them. Unfortunately, as a back-and-forth book, Busy Little Dinosaurs works well going forward and half the time in reverse.

Despite this problem, Busy Little Dinosaurs is a fun, imaginative, interesting, and colorful learning experience for young kids. Learning the ABCs in this manner is more beneficial than simply reciting the alphabet repeatedly until learned. Rote learning is never as much fun as experiential learning. I would highly recommend Busy Little Dinosaurs for teaching young children their alphabet. I believe, learning in this manner—non-rote learning—helps kids learn faster and remember what they learned longer. Busy Little Dinosaurs will have young children excited to learn the alphabet—and that is the best way to learn.

BUSY LITTLE DINOSAURS (A BACK-AND-FORTH BOOK). Text copyright © 2015 by Beth Schwartz & Lynn Seresin. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Luciana Navarro Powell. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Capstone, North Mankato, MN.

Pre-order Busy Little Dinosaurs at Amazon—Book Depository—Capstone.

Learn more about Busy Little Dinosaurs HERE.
Meet the author, Beth Schwartz, her website:
Meet the author, Lynn Seresin, at her website: http://bit.ly/LynnSeresin
Meet the illustrator, Luciana Navarro Powell, at his/her website: http://www.lucianaillustration.com/
Find more picture books at the Capstone Young Readers website: http://www.capstonepub.com/

Capstone Young Readers is an imprint of Capstone.

Other Back-and-Forth Books
Puppies, Puppies, Everywhere! (opposites)
Ten Playful Tigers (counting)   (reviewed here)
You’re it, Little Red Fish (colors)

Plus – Hop, Hop Bunny (reviewed here)
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Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

Review section word count = 603

 

Filed under: 4stars, Board Books, Children's Books, Series Tagged: ABC's, alphabet, Back-and-Forth Books, Beth Schwartz, Busy Little Dinosaurs, Capstone, Capstone Young Readers, dinosaurs, experiential learning, humor, imagination, Luciana Navarro Powell, Lynn Seresin, rote learning

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Board Book: Peek-a-Boo Zoo. Joyce Wan. 2015. Scholastic. 14 pages. [Source: Review copy]

With brown fuzzy fur,
I grumble and growl.
I live in the woods
where I like to prowl.
Guess who?
Peek-a-boo!
Bear

Premise/plot: Zoo animals play peek-a-boo with young readers in Joyce Wan's Peek-a-Boo Zoo published by Scholastic.

My thoughts: I really loved, loved, loved Joyce Wan's You Are My Cupcake. I've been interested in Wan's books ever since. What did I like best about Peek-a-Boo Zoo? Well, I really liked the illustrations. The text is simple. It rhymes. Young readers can guess the animal and then lower the flap to see if they're right.


© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Board Book: Hi! A Rhyming Animal Sounds Book. Ethan Long. 2015. Abrams. 20 pages. [Source: Review copy]
 
Hoo!
Moo!
Growl!
Howl!
Chirp!
Slirp!

Premise/Plot: Hi! is an rhyming board book full of animals greeting each other. For example, an owl, "Hoo" and a cow, "Moo." The text is simple and quite limited: just animal sounds and "hi" and "goodbye."

My thoughts: It was okay. It looks simple, but, that doesn't mean it was easy to write necessarily. I like that some of the animals featured in the book are unique. When you think of books focused on animal sounds, you think either farm or jungle: oink or roar! Anteaters and yaks aren't as popular. The illustrations are bright, colorful, and fun.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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A basketful of board books was always in the backseat of my car and the family room of my house when my kids were little. Between the birth of my first child and my third, the quality and quantity of boards books available changed greatly. I wrote about this as few years ago in, The Changing Face of Board Books and, even though my youngest is ten now, I still get excited when a great new

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Whose Tools? by Toni Buzzeo and Jim Datz is flat-out brilliant. A large-sized board book, each page uses rhyming riddles to ask the question, "Whose tools are those?" The right hand page opens to answer the question, showing a spread of workers using the tools in question. There are 24 tools in all - many more than you may even know the names of yourself. And, the people using the tools are

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Of course there is a specific market for Star Wars: Epic Yarns, the trilogy of books by twins Jack and Holman Wang, creators of Cozy Classics. However, this happens to be a very large market - one that has raised their children and grandchildren with these movies as part of their lives. Why am I reviewing these books? I was one of those people who stood in line, more than once, as a child to

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IT’S (still) BOARD BOOK DAY!

Here are three new board books perfect for the littlest hands in your family. Each are made with thick, difficult to tear pages that will clean off everything from baby drool to grape jelly.

From Chronicle Books: Hop, Hop Bunny (A Follow-Along Book), by Betty Schwartz and Lynn Seresin, with illustrations by Neiko Ng.

“Bunny is secured to a sturdy ribbon as young readers help them hop through the die-cut holes to explore the garden. Where will she go? What will she see? Warm illustrations and a tactile, interactive adventure teach little ones hand-eye coordination and introduce them to reading fun.” [publisher]

Continue reading for review and a spread . . . HERE.

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Also from Chronicle Books: On My Beach (Felt Finger Puppet Board Books) by Sarah Gillingham, with illustrations by Lorena Siminovich.

“Turn the colorful die-cut pages of this irresistible board book to discover just what makes little crab’s beach so cozy.” [publisher]

Continue reading for review and a spread . . . HERE.

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And from yesterday:
From Blue Manatee Press: Black and White Nighty-Night by Sarah Jones.

“This unique concept book combines the ever-popular bedtime nursery rhyme with contemporary high-contrast illustrations, specifically designed with babies in mind. The youngest readers and their families will delight in the gentle story of an owl-saying goodnight to barnyard friends as they snuggle into bed. Bold black-and-white illustrations will capture babies’ interest, as the soothing rhymes lull them to sleep.”

Continue reading for review and a spread . . . HERE.
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Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

Filed under: Board Books, Children's Books, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Series Tagged: Betty Schwartz, Black and White Nighty-Night, Blue Manatee Press, Chronicle Books, Hop, Hop Bunny (A Follow-Along Book), Lorena Siminovich, Lynn Seresin, Neiko Ng, On My Beach (Felt Finger Puppet Board Books), Sarah Gillingham, Sarah Jones

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On My Beach

Series: Felt Finger Puppet Board Books
Written by Sarah Gillingham
Illustrated by Lorena Siminovich
Chronicle Books           5/01/2015
978-1-4521-0640
10 pages       7” x 7”      Age 0—2
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“Turn the colorful pages of this irresistible board book to discover just what makes little crab’s beach so cozy. Is it the warm tide pool? Is it the soft sand? No, it’s little crab’s family! Bright pictures, a sweet, reassuring message, and an adorable finger puppet fi this book with reading and playtime fun!” [back cover]

Review
On his beach, Little Crab relates a day of fun activities for readers. Ah, before you turn the cover, turn the book over. In the center of the back cover is an opening—a die-cut circle—waiting for you to bring Little Crab to life! He is actually a finger puppet crab.

“On my beach, I race over sand with my friends,
“I hide between the treasures in the warm tide pool . . . “

Beginning with the first spread, each die-cut opening decreases in size (5” diameter on the cover down to 2 ½” diameter on the next-to-last spread—perfect for the 2” oval Little Crab. The circles might sound bland; they are not. Smooth circles alternate with wavy circles, much like the pattern waves leave as they return to sea. I really love this eye-pleasing, 3-dimensional pattern. I think young children will also like the different textures.

Little Crab decides to race over his beach with his sea creature friends. Helping him navigate the beach puts children into the story. Without them, Little Crab could not navigate his way through the sand and water. Upon reaching his destination, Little Crab enjoys a nap with . . . sorry, only Little Crab can reveal his companions.

I think young children will enjoy becoming Little Crab and wiggling him through seaweed and splashing the orange crab in a wave pool. One caveat: little hands might find holding the book, while playing with the finger puppet, awkward. On My Beach is a good size for a board book story, with traditionally thick, glossy—difficult to tear, easy to clean—cardboard pages. The 7” x 7” book is a perfect fit for my hands, enabling me to navigate Little Crab through his story while easily turning the pages. Young children might need to adjust—every confidence they will—using problem solving, imagination, and dexterity.

The varying seascapes and critters, rendered in collage, are bright and inviting, working perfectly with the cover. Young children will love the combination of story and an interesting puppet. The stuff that interest young children and their enjoyment of books include a good story, an interesting character, including play, and becoming part of the adventure are all found in On My Beach. The latest title in the (first published in 2009), will entertain young children. From a barn to a pond and patch, the Felt Finger Puppet Board Books series introduces young children to a variety of places and things (see list of titles below).

ON MY BEACH (FELT FINGER PUPPET BOARD BOOKS). Text copyright © 2015 by Sarah Gillingham. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Lorena Siminovich. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.

Purchase On My Beach at Amazon—Book Depository—Chronicle Books.

Learn more about On My Beach HERE.
Meet the author, Sarah Gillingham, at her website:  http://www.saragillingham.com/
Meet the illustrator, Lorena Siminovich, at her website:  http://www.lorenasiminovich.com/
Find more board books at the Chronicle Books website:  http://www.chroniclebooks.com/

Felt Finger Puppet Board Books

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Review Section: word count = 394

Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved
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Filed under: 6 Stars TOP BOOK, Board Books, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Series, Top 10 of 2015 Tagged: Chronicle Books, dexterity, die-cut children’s books, Felt Finger Puppet Board Books Series, imagination, Lorena Siminovich, On My Beach, problem solving, Sarah Gillingham

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Board Book: The Babies and Doggies Book. John Schindel and Molly Woodward. 2015. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 26 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Lots of things babies do, doggies do too. Babies and doggies hide and peek. Babies and doggies like to eat.

Premise/plot: Photos and text reveal just how much babies and doggies have in common. The photos are adorable. If you find babies cute and adorable, you'll like the pictures. If you find dogs cute--especially puppies--then you'll like the pictures. If you like puppies and babies, you'll find the book precious.

My thoughts: I liked it. I did. I loved looking at the photographs. The text was very nice as well. The rhyming worked well and didn't get in the way. 

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Board Book: This Little Piggy. A Finger & Toes Nursery Rhyme Book. Natalie Marshall. 2015. [May] Scholastic. 12 pages. [Source: Review copy]

 First sentence: This little piggy went to the market.

Premise/Plot: A board book adaptation of the traditional nursery rhyme. Though these little piggies won't be eating any roast beef. I don't have a problem with adapting any of the lines. That's part of the fun of playing little piggies.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one! I love the sturdiness of the pages. I think the pages will be easy for little hands to turn. All books--even board books--can be "loved" too much and wear out quickly. But this one seems a little better than some I've read and reviewed. I thought the illustrations were nice.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Board book: Red Light, Green Light. Yumi Heo. 2015. [June] Scholastic. 20 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Let's take a ride. Here's your seat! We'll drive down this: One way street!

Premise/plot: Red Light, Green Light is a concept board book on driving and road signs. It's a lift-the-flap book. Each sign is a flap that can be lifted to reveal what it means.

My thoughts: It's okay. Not wow-worthy perhaps. It's obviously focusing more on the teaching elements, but, it does have a slight story to it. The family is on the way to the playground. Some of the rhymes work okay for me. Some don't. For example, "Slow down, car, the brakes go pop. Traffic light says red means stop."

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Catwoman Counting

Series: DC Board Books
Written by Benjamin Bird
Illustrated by Ethen Beavers
Picture Window Books 8/01/2014
978-1-4795-5209-2
20 pages Age 1 to 3
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“Catwoman is on the loose in Gotham City! Young readers team up with Batman, tracking down the cat burglar and learning their numbers along the way!” [publisher summary]
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Yesterday, Book-O-Beards was a good choice for boys. Today,  Catwoman Counting, will level field with a book that will immediately appeal to young girls. On the 75th birthday of Batman, young readers have a new and exciting way to learn their numbers one to ten. Catwoman steals 1 bag of precious jewels, but in the night sky is the bat signal. Soon, Batman will be on the case of the missing jewels! Ah, but Catwoman can hear Batman with her 2 pointy ears. Batman throws his 3 batarangs into the night sky as Catwoman transverses 4 rooftops.

The chase is on. Who will win this clawed caper? Will 6 foot, er, paw-prints lead Batman to Catwoman’s lair? Will Catwoman escape with the 9 stolen jewels or will Batman and his 8 bats capture and cage this criminal-kitty? Stay tuned to Catwoman Counting for the fur-raising conclusion.

Young children who like Batman, or super-heroes in general—or adults wanting to introduce their children to this 1960’s icon—will be intrigued with this one-to-ten counting book. Large hero-villain personas chase through the colorful, glossy pages of this counting cat caper. The large 10” by 10” book brings the larger-than-life story to young eyes who will love counting villains, pointy ears, batarangs, rooftops, windows, footprints, trees, bats, jewels, and claws.

Counting is easy with Catwoman Counting. Each spread is a new, in order, number. The pages are made of thick cardboard made to withstand little hands, multiple readings, and grape jelly (strawberry, if you prefer). I really like the look and feel of Catwoman Counting and believe kids will as well. The cover of Catwoman Counting will appeal more to young girls, yet with the inclusion of Batman, boys will also like this imaginative counting book.

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CATWOMAN COUNTING. Text copyright © 2014 by Benjamin Bird. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Ethen Beavers. Reproduced by permission of Picture Window Books, a Capstone imprint, North Manakato, MN.
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Purchase Catwoman Counting at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Capstone.
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Learn more about Catwoman Counting HERE.
Meet the author, Benjamin Bird, at his website:
Meet the illustrator, Ethen Beavers, at his website:  http://cretineb.deviantart.com/
Find more DC Board Books at the Capstone website:  http://www.capstonepub.com/

Picture Book Windows is a Capstone imprint.

Also available in the DC Board Books series.

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Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews

Filed under: 5stars, Board Books, Children's Books, Library Donated Books, Series Tagged: Batman is Brave, Benjamin Bird, Capstone, Catwoman Counting, DC Board Books, Ethen Beavers, Picture Book Windows, Superman Fights for Truth!, Superman to the Rescue!

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Book-O-Beards

Series: Wearable Books
Written by Donald Lemke
Illustrated by Bob Lentz
Capstone Young Readers        2/01/2015
9778-1-62370-183-3
12 pages         Size: 8” x 8”      Age 1 to 6
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“Fun interactive board book that children and adults can wear like masks, allowing for make-believe games and hilarious snapshot moments! With catchy rhymes, colorful illustrations, and interactive dialogue, everyone will enjoy this laugh-pout-load read-along.” [catalog]
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New for 2015, Book-O-Beards allows young children to become a lumberjack—TIMBER!—a pirate—ARRRG!—a cowboy—YEEHAW!—a sailor—ANCHORS AWEIGH!—a police officer—You’re under ARREST!—or Santa—HO, HO, HO! The Book-O-Beards helps young children role-play different  personas as they try these full-spread, fully bushy beards. Read the rhyming text, and then try one on..

“This orange beard
is softer than fur. I
In a deep voice
shout out, ‘TIMBER!’”

While the Book-O-Beards will appeal more to young boys, girls can certainly use this imaginative interactive board book. Made of heavy cardboard, the Book-O-Beards will stand-up to many hours of play. Young children love to play make-believe. The Wearable Books series lets kids try on teeth, hats, masks, and beards, all the while producing giggles. The love of reading can begin with one spark from these unusual dual-fun books.

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BOOK-O-BEARDS (A WEARABLE BOOK). Text copyright © 2015 by Donald Lemke. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Bob Lentz. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Capstone Young Readers, an imprint of Capstone, North Manakato, MN.
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Purchase Book-O-Beards at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Capstone.
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Learn more about Book-O-Beards HERE.
Meet the author, Donald Lemke, at his bio box:  http://www.capstonepub.com/library/authors/lemke-donald/
Meet the illustrator, Bob Lentz, at his website:
Find more interactive fun at the Capstone website:  http://www.capstonepub.com/

Capstone Young Readers is a Capstone Imprint.

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Also available in the Wearable Books series.

 

 

 

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Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews

Filed under: 5stars, Board Books, Books for Boys, Children's Books, Library Donated Books, NonFiction, Series Tagged: beards, Bob Lentz, Book-O-Beards, Capstone Young Readers, Donald Lemke, hats, imaginative play, interactive books, masks teeth, Wearable Books

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Winner of the 2014 Theodore Seuss Geisel honor award, BALL by Mary Sullivan is newly, perfectly available in board book format. Presented in a graphic novel style with multiple illustrations per page, BALL is a simple, yet highly entertaining and engaging story told with a single word - ball. With BALL, we get to spend the day with an enthusiastic, single minded dog who has a very rich,

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