Before I talk about this book and why E seems to love it, let's talk television. My husband and I decided to not go to either extreme regarding tv with our son -- it's down in our family room, so it only comes on if we decide to go down there. For the most part, he will occasionally watch one episode of his favorite show (and really it's the only show he has ever shown interest in) if he's fussy or having trouble calming down before bed. What's the show? Yo Gabba Gabba. The show I swore up and down my kid would never watch.
Now, there's nothing wrong with Yo Gabba Gabba and after watching 10+ episodes over and over again, I actually like the messages it brings up to young children, but friends, that show is just WEIRD. From the crazy orange-haired "host" to the strange monsters dancing around, I just don't get all the love kids have for it, but E has definitely jumped on board. It's bright, colorful, and filled with fun, which is why I think he loves this book so much:
Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin just has that feel of Yo Gabba Gabba, has all the brightness and fun of the tv show, without the weird DJ. The monsters are VERY excited about all the different colors and they bounce around scribbling, dancing, and wiggling with them. It's a sort of crazy ride through the book, but great for my toddler, who is more than a little crazy himself.
The monsters also taught us about mixing colors and what the result can be. I try to read the story with as much exhuberance as the illustrations portray and that seems to get E excited about the colors too. I think this week we're going to attempt our first color project, inspired by the monsters!
Thank you to HarperCollins for sending us the review copy to enjoy!
Contributed by Lou Simeone
This time I contributed one of my own. I couldn't resist. And then I figured - Why should I try?
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A shiny new gadget entered our house at the holidays - an iPad. It was an unexpected gift, so I wasn't sure where to even start looking for ebooks or other apps that might suit our 2 yr. old (who LOVES any gadget, of course!).
I found 'A Present for Milo' through Joy Chu's amazing Got Story Countdown blog. She highlighted this wonderful interactive app - and I highly recommend reading every post about it.
Mike Austin wrote and illustrated this gorgeous interactive book. His style is so rich, the story is simple enough that all the interactive parts (and there are A LOT) make sense and don't crowd the storytelling aspect. The reading, by the author, is natural and lively. We've played this over and over - entertaining both of us.
I'll be holding all future apps up to this standard - and I'm not sure how many will hit the mark.
This is so great GGina! I love the illustrations, what a fun app!
My favorite part was the mousey jumping over the piano and the cute little jump lines behind him. :o)
How fun it must be to be a kid at this age of technology!