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REST and PLAY, by Elizabeth Verdick and Marjorie Lisovskis are two delightful books for newborns through two years old.

Fribbet the Frog and the Tadpoles: A Captain No Beard Story should be readily welcomed into the personal libraries of all expectant families with soon-to-be or new siblings.

Mama, Talk About Our New Baby is a great parental tool that supports breastfeeding, co-sleeping, baby wearing, and raising emotionally intelligent older siblings.

You Are My Baby: Ocean, by Lorena Simonovich, is a sturdy and colorful board book and another wonderful addition to the You Are My Baby series!

Can’t Wait to Show You: A Celebration for Mothers-to-Be

by Jacqueline Boyle and Susan Lupone Stonis

Preliteracy Partners / Belly-Books          3/01/2014

978-0-9860511-0-4

14 page, 8 x 8 Board Book

Age:  last trimester to 3+

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“Exciting results rom recent studies show the powerful effects of reading to babies in utero: a rhythmic, repetitive story read regularly during the last trimester will soothe your baby after he or she is born. It’s also been sown that sharing storied with pretern aies familiarizes them with the voices of their parents and other family members, and that babies can even absorb elements of language while in the womb. Such discoveries inspire the Belly Book Collection.”

Opening

“Hello in there, baby! I’m thinking of you

As you’re curled up inside me so small

Every joy we share

All my loving care

And I can’t wait to show you it all!”

Review

Can’t Wait to Show You consists of one poem of 10 5-line stanzas. The poem begins with one stanza on the first spread, two stanzas on the second spread, and alternates from there until the final one stanza spread. The rhyming scheme notation is a-b-c-c-b. If not for the first line standing alone, the 5-line stanzas are close to the limerick form.

The authors base their book on the idea that in the last trimester, the child can hear the voices outside of the womb and can remember those voices. This familiarity helps the child relax, find a happy mood, and may help the child at birth. Singing the poem will intensify this, as newborns can recognize repeated songs, which also has a calming effect. The process of reading to their yet-to-be-born child also helps the parents’ transition into parenthood and enjoy the nine-month gestation period.

The poem is event centered. Parents anxious to meet their child is the on-going theme consistently stated in the fifth line.

“Oh, I can’t wait to show you the . . . “

In the second stanza, they cannot wait to show their child the light of the sun through rainbows, suncatchers, and sunbeams. In the final stanza, the parents cannot wait to show the child their love. The poem is easy to find a nice consistent rhythm by which to sing the verses or simply read them aloud with ease. The meter is consistently perfect.

One of the most interesting features of Can’t Wait to Show You is the book’s shape. The edges and corners curve making the rounded book smooth and perfect for a baby-belly. The book is designed to comfortably sit atop the pregnant woman’s belly and, later, the child, as she or he sit in mom or dad’s lap listening to the now familiar poem.

The illustrations are beautiful. Each new spread advances the age of the child from third-trimester to toddler and then flows full-circle back to a newborn on the final spread. The babies and toddlers are happy bundles of baby fat and smiles; images that will be irresistible to most. The pages are thick, perfect for children’s grips. The weight of the book as a whole should help it stay in the given belly position.

I love the poem Can’t Wait to Show You. Here is my favorite spread; the fourth spread:

“If you try some bananas and peaches

Lick the spoon so they don’t go to waste

For your birthday I’ll make

Chocolate angelfood cake

Oh, I can’t wait to show you the taste!

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“Your blanky is warm, soft and snuggly

The splashy bath suds make you squeal

A kitten will purr

When you snuggle her fur

Oh, I can’t wait to show you the feel!”

The love of reading is acquired best when started early. Reading to your child in the womb is the best start, as long as reading to your child continues through the years. The beauty of the words and illustrations make Can’t Wait to Show You the perfect baby shower gift. It would also be a unique gift as unique as the poem inside the pages.

Can’t Wait to Show You is not a novelty book. Nor is it just for mothers. Fathers can and should read to their baby; getting to know the one person who will wrap him around their finger for a lifetime. Can’t Wait to Show You is destined to become a family favorite that lasts many years, and then becomes a cherished heirloom passed down to succeeding generations.

CAN’T WAIT TO SHOW YOU:  A CELEBRATION FOR MOTHERS-TO-BE. Text and illustrations copyright © 2013 by Jacqueline Boyle and Susan Lupone Stonis. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Preliteracy Partners / Belly-Books.

Purchase Can’t Wait to Show You: A Celebration for Mothers-to-Be at Amazon—Belly-Books—your favorite bookstore.

Learn more about Can’t Wait to Show You: A Celebration for Mothers-to-Be and Belly-Button Bookss HERE.

Meet author Jacquelilne Boyle at her website:    http://jacquelineboyle.wordpress.com/

Meet author, Susan Lupone Stonis, at her website:   https://thereadingwomb.wordpress.com/

Find Belly-Books at the website:   http://belly-books.com/

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Also by Jacqueline Boyle

Dead Drop

Creature Colors & Creature Numbers

by Andrew Zuckerman

Chronicle Books      3/01/2014

978-1-4521-1668-6 / 987-1-4521-1667-9

Age 2 to 4         18 pages

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“Learn the rainbow with red snakes, orange fish, and yellow birds. Learn to count as two scorpions fight, four penguins waddle, and nine ants work. Andrew Zuckerman’s vivid pictures of fascinating animals from around the world will enthrall young readers and teach basic colors and numbers in a celebration of nature in two books that bring the wildly successful photographer’s work to a whole new audience. The up-close and personal photos of everyone’s favorite animals make these board books perfect educational tools for any child, and stunning works of art for animal lovers of all ages.”

Review

Creature Colors – The creatures represent ten different colors. Red snake), blue (parakeet), yellow (canary) are the primary colors and can make any other color. Green (frog), orange (bird), and purple make the secondary colors. Purple is not in the book. Black (bear), and white (snow owl), when blended in to any color will produce differing shades of that color. In addition to the primary, partial secondary, and the shading colors, the author adds the colors pink(flamingo), brown (seahorse), and gray (elephant).

Creature Numbers - Here, different animals than in the Creature Color book represent the numbers one to ten. I really like and appreciate that in Creature Numbers each animal is identified on the page. There is 1 kangaroo, 2 tigers, and 3 chimpanzees. In addition, the kangaroo is jumping, the tigers are playing, and the chimpanzees are running. The child will not only learn to count from 1 to 10, but will learn a new animal, and an action word on each spread. There are macaws, penguins, sheep, fish, and two animals identified by a body part rather than a name. The shark is fins and a spider is legs. I do not know why that is, unless the idea of 5 sharks or 5 spiders was creepy (I agree with the spider, where even one is creepy to me. No sense scaring anyone.)

The photographs are magnificent portraits of these wild animals. Only thing close to these would be an actual trip to the wild. Kids will love these pictures and will quickly decide on a favorite. Each animal is photographed against a white background, eliminating anything that might draw the child’s eye and attention away from the animal. According to Chronicle Books:  “. . . Zuckerman utilizes a multitude of platforms to produce work that is systematically executed, conceptually based, and democratically presented. Minimalist in nature, Zuckerman aims to create atmospheres of clarity and neutrality to facilitate the viewer’s access to the material.”

The Creature board book series also includes Creature Sounds and Creature Baby Animals (all $7.99). The Creature ABC is a larger book with 120 pages of animals from alligator to zebra. This larger book is suitable for any age, and would be a magnificent way for anyone to learn the ABC’s.

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Adult books include Creature, a 300-page book with 175 animal portraits (ISBN 9780811861533, $60), Bird, another 300 pages with 200 photographs of 75 different species of birds (ISBN 9780811870986, $60), and Flower with 150 close-up photographs of exotic to everyday flowers species (9781452112169, $75).

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Kids will enjoy these animals, all expertly photographed by Andrew Zuckerman, a critically acclaimed filmmaker and photographer. Each book is an interesting way for children to learn numbers, colors, sounds, and baby animals, in addition to ABC’s with the larger edition of the Creature series. The pages are thick, making them easier for little fingers to turn without tearing. The glossy coating will easily let you wipe off a spot of jelly—ask me, I “tested” this feature. The smaller size is perfect for little laps.

If your child is fascinated with animals, there is no better way to introduce him or her to both the skills needed for kindergarten and a variety of animals. The children’s Creature series is a great introduction to the grand animal photography of Andrew Zuckerman at a fraction of the cost of his larger books.

CREATURE COLORS & CREATURE NUMBERS. Photography copyright © 2014 by Andrew Zuckerman. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.

Learn more about Creatures HERE.

Purchase any of the Creature series at Amazon—B&N—BookDepository—Chronicle Books—your local bookstore.

Also available on iTunes.

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Meet photographer Andrew Zuckerman at his website:   http://www.andrewzuckerman.com/

Find amazing kids books at the Chronicle Books website:  http://www.chroniclebooks.com/titles/kids-teens

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Where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the Everywhere and into here.
~George MacDonald, At the Back of the North Wind

I’ve been working a lot on middle grade art lately. I really like the preteen quirkiness, but baby books are fun to draw too.
So I’ve decided to also build up my younger portfolio as well.
Basically… I like to work in all areas.

Stay tuned!

by Salina Yoon

Toys, toys, toys! I love toys! They are often the inspiration to my novelty books—board books with interactive features. They are designed to be touched, pulled, squeezed and played with, so my books and toys are like cousins.

Colored stacking rings, the Connect Four game, wooden puzzles, rubber duckies, and even a football has inspired a book idea! And sometimes, it’s not even a toy at all. Random objects will inspire me. My husband’s toolbox, kitchen utensils, scrap fabric, a greeting card, and even a funny jack-o-lantern on Halloween! I can’t get away from ideas creeping into my head because I’m surrounded by objects. Needless to say, I develop a ton of ideas every year. About a dozen are usually good enough to publish. And the others crawl back into my deep, dark dummy closet of doom. (See photo!)

My books are concept- and format-driven, so I’m not looking for story ideas. I look for fun concepts that allow a child to interact in a meaningful way from the physical design of the book. Rock & Roll COLORS is an excellent example. The book has a hidden track within each narrow page that allow a shiny disk to roll back and forth when the book is tilted. It makes a nice, satisfying clunking sound when the disk hits the edge. Each side of the page has an image with die-cuts, so the foil comes shining through. Each spread focuses on one color, and both images on the page are that same color. It’s so simple, but effective!

So how does this help you if you’re not developing novelty books? I say keep an open mind! Even simple objects can inspire, if you let them. For the PiBoIdMo challenge, all you need are concepts.

Surrender to your imagination! I don’t actively try to create ideas as much as allowing ideas to come into my head. Allow your mind to be free! Relax. Smile. Enjoy the process. Like the Chinese finger trap, the harder you pull, the stronger it resists. Don’t stress too much about trying to think up great ideas. When they come a-knockin’, just invite them in!

Salina Yoon is the creator of over 150 innovative books for young children. She has been named a finalist for the CBC’s Children’s Choice Book Awards for K-2nd Best Book of the Year, for Opposnakes (S&S/Little Simon), received the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal awards for Little Scholastic TOYS (Scholastic/Cartwheel) and Rock & Roll COLORS (Scholastic/Cartwheel), and the Nick Jr. Fam