Engelbreit, Mary. HaperFestival: 2005-2008
If you love Mary Engelbreit's art and you love classic children's rhymes such as Hey Diddle, Diddle, then you will absolutely love these three books. Engelbreit crafts her classic artistry to illustrate even more classic rhymes. Children love the rhymes about Humpty Dumpty and Jack and Jill, and Engelbreit brings them to life in each of her illustrations.
The rhymes are the same Mothergoose rhymes that most people grew up reading and repeating. Occasionally, a word is slightly different but that is typical of most books repeating the classic rhymes. The rhymes include: Hey Diddle, Diddle; Rub-a-Dub-Dub; Humpty Dumpty; The Old Woman in the Shoe; Mistress Mary; Wee Willie Winkie; Jack and Jill; Pat-a-Cake; Old King Cole; Ring Around the Roses (with different words than the original); Little Bobby Shafto; and Little Boy Blue. These are just a few of the poems in the three books.
A few of them Ladybug had never heard such as:
Three little ghostesses,
Sitting on postesses,
Eating buttered toastesses,
Greasing their fistesses,
Up to their wristesses,
Oh, what beastesses
To make such feastesses!
Every child should know these classic rhymes and what better way to enjoy them than with Mary Engelbreit. Snugglebug and Ladybug enjoyed these three books and hope you do, too!
© Becky Laney of Young Readers
Macdonald, Suse. Fish, Swish, Splash, Dash. Little Simon, 2007
Snugglebug loves Macdonald’s Alphabet Animals so much that for his first birthday his mama, Ladybug, purchased another of Macdonald’s books.
Fish, Swish, Splash, Dash is an unusual counting book in more ways than one, making it an especially fun book to read. The illustrations are actually cut-outs with the colors of the next page showing through. Snugglebug loves sticking his fingers through the cut-outs.
The second aspect of the book is that it is really two books in one. Once you get to the end of the book, you turn it around and count backwards to the cover. It can be a never ending story because once you reach number one it again invites you to turn the book around and count to ten again.
This book is fun and one that Snugglebug can grow into as he learns to appreciate counting in both directions.
© Becky Laney of Young Readers
Sweet Dreams: A Bedtime Storybook Collection. Various Authors. Scholastic, 2007.
The authors and illustrators vary from story to story with the overall theme being bedtime and sleep. The stories include: If You Were My Bunny, Thank You Prayer, Good Night, Sleep Tight, Little Bunnies, and Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. Each story is very repetitive and rhythmic, perfect for lulling little ones to sleep. Snugglebug and Ladybug's favorite of the collection is Good Night, Sleep Tight, Little Bunnies. It's so rhythmic it's almost like a lullaby. Some of the text reads:
Hidden in the meadow,
Among the pretty flowers,
Little Bunnies dream away
The long night hours.
Good night, sleep tight,
Little bunnies.
It continues in the same rhythm for several animals. And the illustrations are just as beautiful as the text.
Snugglebug enjoyed this book and has fallen asleep to the stories on a couple of different occasions. Ladybug would highly recommend this book as a bedtime book for all ages.
© Becky Laney of Young Readers
Penguin. Dunbar, Polly. Candlewick Press, 2007
Ladybug has mixed feelings about Penguin. Snugglebug however has a definite opinion of the same book. He didn't care for it. The text and illustrations seemed to be over 5-month old Snugglebug's head. Neither captured his attention. The story is about a boy who is given a Penguin. He tries a variety of ways to get the Penguin to engage him in conversation. Since nothing is successful, he resorts to teasing and cajoling Penguin. This, too, does not work. In the end, he tries to feed Penguin to a lion, but ends up being eaten himself. Penguin saves the boy's life, thus ending the language barrier.
The difficulties lie in the latter half of the book. Ladybug does not approve of teasing or cajoling for any reason, especially a language barrier. That said, Ladybug feels this book is on the level of a 4 or 5-year old. It would be a great book to open the conversation about cultural differences and ways to bridge the gap. And in Ladybug's opinion, it is never too early to learn to bridge the gap.
Becky's thoughts: I had mixed feelings on Penguin as well. The teasing and being-eaten-or-almost-eaten-by-a-lion just didn't sit right with me. The "message" of the book is that there are many ways to communicate, many ways to say I love you. And my mother even entertained the idea for a moment or two that the Penguin was able to love unconditionally or sacrificially. It was able to "turn the other cheek" if you will. I couldn't quite embrace the notion of the Penguin-as-Christian-symbol.
The narrator just wasn't likable. In that it reminded me of Princess Justina Albertina by Ellen Dee Davidson (another book about bullying). In that case, our narrator didn't almost get eaten, she really and truly did get eaten. As did Pierre in Pierre by Maurice Sendak if I remember correctly. (Though it's been at least twenty years since I've read it, so it could have been a close call. I don't think that one had anything to do with bullying though.) And then there is Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau which also left me a bit cold. Talk about harsh consequences for bullying! My point, within the scheme of things, books about bullying and teasing, it has its place.
Little Miss and I adore our Mary Engelbreight version of Mother Goose rhymes. I love that I'm teaching her the same poems that I grew up learning and the drawings are so warm and endearing.
What a cute blog, I will add it to my follow list. Thanks for sharing.