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Listen to My Trumpet by Mo Willems (Published by Hyperion)

Review by Chris Singer

About the author:
A three-time Caldecott Honor winner for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, Mo Willems has also won two Geisel Medals for There is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside? and his books are perennial New York Times bestsellers. Before he turned to children’s books, Mo was a writer and animator on Sesame Street, where he won six Emmy Awards. Mo lives with his family in Massachusetts.

About the book (from Amazon.com):
Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In Listen to My Trumpet! Piggie can’t wait to play her new instrument for Gerald! But is she ready to listen to his reaction?

My take on the book:
If you’ve followed Book Dads, you know we are big fans of Mo Willems and Elephant and Piggie. I enjoy reading all of Elephant and Piggie books with my daughter, and it’s hard to pick a favorite.  Depending on the day you ask me, I would probably say the name of the last one we read together. Right now, our very favorite is “Listen to My Trumpet.” It has my daughter giggling almost from the very beginning. And when I say giggle, I mean full-out belly giggles. It’s just fantastic fun. I read this at the story time I do at the local library and the parents were laughing as much as the kids were. I can’t recommend this series enough. We’re slowly collecting the series and look forward to Mo’s next release!

Happy Pig Day! by Mo Willems

Review by Chris Singer

About the author (from Amazon.com):

A three-time Caldecott Honor winner for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, Mo Willems has also won two Geisel Medals for There is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside? and his books are perennial New York Times bestsellers. Before he turned to children’s books, Mo was a writer and animator on Sesame Street, where he won six Emmy Awards. Mo lives with his family in Massachusetts.

About the book (from Amazon.com):

My take on the book:

For my daughter and I, every time we read a Gerald and Piggie book, it’s like celebrating Happy Pig Day! As usual the inside book cover also had my daughter howling, “Look, the Pigeon!”

This latest Gerald and Piggie book is another instant classic that has had my daughter walking around and exclaiming “Happy Pig Day!”

It’s not only a fun story, but it also is a nice little lesson about friendship and being included in others’ holiday celebrations. While it doesn’t provide the laughs like some of Mo’s others, the added touch of the friendship lesson is nice and gives an extra dimension to this story.

Here’s some other reviews of Mo Willems’ books. Enjoy!…

* iPad Kids App Review: Don’t Let the Pigeon Run This App!

* Book Review: Should I Share My Ice Cream

* Book Review: I Broke My Trunk

* Book Review: The Pigeon Wants A Puppy

* Book Review: We Are In A Book!

* Book Review: Leonardo the Terrible Monster

Alphabet Kids
The Alphabet Kids books follow the adventures of Allegra, Elena, Isaac, Oni, Umar and Yang, a group of children having fun while learning about their diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

There’s lots to like about the Alphabet Kids series, and I absolutely love the theme of helping children gain a better understanding of the world around them while also developing an appreciation for their neighbors. Right now, there are six books in the series, starring one of the “Alphabet Kids.” As an added incentive for reading the Alphabet Kids book series, for every book you buy, they will donate one to a child in need!

Chicken Butt’s Back by Erica Perl
In this cheeky (sorry!) sequel to the wildly fun Chicken Butt!, the young jokester and his chicken muse are back, but this time they’re trying to trick Mom. She thinks she has caught on to the gag, but as she distractedly does the grocery shopping, she falls victim to a flurry of jokes using homonyms and homophones—words such as “dear” and “deer,” and “which” and “witch.” Wordplay has never been so much fun.

If your kids like to laugh and be silly, you may need to introduce them to this fun reads from Erica Perl.

Daddy’s Heroes: Unforgettable Sports Moments to Share With Children by Tom Garcia and Karun Naga
The goal of the Daddy’s Heroes book series is to foster stronger bonds between sports fans and their children. Retelling these unforgettable, historical sports moments will not only build these bonds, but will also help parents introduce their favorite sports to their children.

I love the vision and story behind Daddy’s Heroes. Whether you’re a fan of sports or of reading, it will be hard to resist any of the books in the Daddy’s Heroes series. And what’s not to like? The books not only do a terrific job of bringing sports memories alive for dads to share with their kids, but also help strengthen the bond between fathers and their children.

Hartlyn Kids
Hartlyn Kids has two books currently in publication: The Bamboo Dance and Adventures That Lead Home. Both books are designed to give a true and authentic snapshot of the day in the life of a child from various regions around the globe. The books are not only representations

Horace’s Big Hat by Judy Palaferro

Review by Chris Singer

About the author (from the publisher):

Judy Palaferro’s stylized illustrations have their roots in both her teenage admiration for rock and roll album covers and the 1980′s New York art scene. Ms. Palaferro has worked as a print and web designer, and as a book buyer in a Colorado toy store, where she began developing artistically with inspiration from Arthur Ransome, Roald Dahl, and teddy bears.

Upon returning to New York City, Ms. Palaferro’s fascination with illustration flourished for eight years while she worked as a children’s graphic artist and textile designer in the fashion industry. Horace’s Big Hat displays her beautiful sense of bright and pleasing aesthetics and her love for imagination, and children’s art.

About the book (from the publisher):

What did you want to be when you grew up? Colorful and fun, this charming book introduces children to a range of professions, each of which Horace tries his hand at in a special big hat—be it a red fireman’s helmet, giant baker’s hat, purple circus top hat, or an artist’s beret. Whimsical illustrations bring young readers into Horace’s world of imagination. Great for children who are learning to read.

My take on the book:

My little girl is obsessed with hats, so much so that she’ll even walk around with a cardboard box on her head, calling it a hat. Of course knowing this, I shared Horace’s Big Hat with her and not surprisingly, it has become one of her favorites.

There’s a couple of things you should know about this book. One, it was written by the author in consultation with an early literacy educator so the large, bold typeface as well as the patterned, repetitive text are done purposely. Both of these are proven strategies for helping beginning and emerging readers began the path to learning to read.

Second, the illustrations are fantastic and there’s almost another story to be told on each page. The pictures are bold and colorful and I enjoy asking my daughter what she sees going on in the pictures. It almost serves as a conversation starter with my daughter. We talk about what firefighters do, why chefs wear a hat and there’s one page where we have tried counting all the sheep.

All in all, a beautifully designed book which can provide opportunities for learning with each read. I highly recommend this for parents and teachers.

HOP

Giveaway & Review by Chris Singer

THE BOOKS (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)

HOP: The Chapter Book
About the book: Who will fill the Easter Bunny’s shoes? E.B. Jr.’s got big plans to be a big music star, and Fred, who never had plans to be anything, finds himself with more responsibility than he is used to in this chapter book
My take: This is a nice read for good elementary school reads. Pre-school and early elementary readers will enjoy this as a bedtime read aloud as well.

HOP: Chicks vs. Bunnies
About the book: The Easter Bunny gets all the glory, but what about all the chicks who do all the work making Easter baskets? This is a bright, colorful and humorous look at Easter’s cute and rivaling icons includes punch-out Easter egg stands featuring characters from the movie!
My take: This one is fun! Great pictures will keep the little ones engaged and it even keeps with egg holders at the back of the book so you can tie this read in with some coloring of Easter eggs.

HOP: Meet the Easter Bunny
About the book: Easter Island is home to the Easter Bunny’s magical workshop—where do you think Santa got all his good ideas? Chocolate bunny carving, jellybean polishing, and adorable chicks and bunnies are just a few of the fantastic sights to see on this lively tour of Easter in the making.
My take:This little book is pretty cute as well. Again, the brightly colored and cartoon-like illustrations will keep the little ones engaged. Throw this in the Easter Basket with some marshmallow peeps (you’ll have to read this one to find out why!!).

HOP: Hoppy Bunnies
About the book: This adorable and interactive Easter board book features hoppy bunny finger-puppets for read aloud Easter fun.
My take: My little girl loves finger puppets so this one was her immediate favorite! If your family celebrates Christmas, you will recognize the theme of this book pretty quickly.

HOP: Counting Chicks
About the book: Easter chicks Carlos and Phil teach numbers as they put together an Easter basket just for you!
My take: Your basic 1-10 counting board book that would make a nice Easter gift for the baby or toddler in your life.

All together, a nice set of books for young children. But now that you’ve seen the books, check out the film below. My daughter is still a little young for the movies but many kids will be asking to see this movie over the Easter holiday. You can learn more about the film and watch the trailer below.

About the movie:
Blending state of the art animation with live action, Hop is a comedy about E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), the teenage son of the Easter Bunny. On the eve of taking over the family business, E.B. leaves for Hollywood in pursuit of his dream of becoming a drummer. He encount