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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

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Black & White Nighty-Night

Written by Sarah Jones
Illustrated by Sarah Jones
Blue Manatee Press        4/01/2015
978-1-936669-31-8
12 pages           Age 0—3
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“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.” [publisher]

Review
Which word do you use to tell a friend goodnight? Little Owlet has quite the repertoire: nighty-night, sweet dreams, sleep tight, doze, sleep soundly, and, of course, goodnight; six heartfelt bedtime-salutations, for six diurnal farm friends.  After hearing Little Owlet’s goodnights to her critter friends, and before closing their tired eyes and dreaming, young children will be ready to wish their own goodnights, “Nighty-night Mom. Night, Dad.”  

The simple rhymes in Black & White Nighty-Night are perfect for young children, as is the book’s size and shape. The thick and sturdy glossy pages are perfect for chubby little fingers to turn without tearing. Even a wet mess, after a plea of “One more drink, please,” will wipe off quickly. I would mention how fast blobs of fallen jelly and smears of peanut butter clean away, but Black & White Nighty-Night is most definitely a bedtime story.

As stars light the night, Little Owlet stretches her feathery wings and, with mom waving goodbye, flies off into the twinkling night sky. Not far away is the barnyard. Wherever Little Owlet is heading, she takes the time to say nighty-night to her friends.

“Sleep tight hen and chickies, lying in your nest.
“Doze, fluffy kitty cat, purring as you rest.”

The seemingly simply black and white illustrations are adorable. With a little effort and imagination, form meets function (Ms. Jones’ specialty), and a lifelong love of learning and books can take root. Help your child find objects by locating Little Owlet in each spread. Use different voices, such as a hardy “Moooo,” a squeaky “Oink-oink,” and a soft “Meow,” to familiarize your child with common farm animals (a cow, lamb, pig, chicken, cat, and . . . nope, not telling). Get those little fingers learning shapes by tracing the black-and-white outlined objects and animals. And, if all that is not enough, the momma animals have from one to five babies; a good start on counting to ten. Black & White Nighty-Night will be a hit with both toddlers and parents. (Reviewers, too.)

BLACK AND WHITE NIGHTY NIGHT. Text and Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Sarah Jones. Copyright © 2015 by Blue Manatee Press. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Blue Manatee Press, Cincinnati, OH.

Purchase Black & White Nighty-Night at Amazon—Book Depository—IPG—Blue Manatee Press.

Learn more about Black & White Nighty-Night HERE.
Meet the author/illustrator, Sarah Jones, at her website:  http://www.sarahluciajones.com/
Find more creative board books at the Blue Manatee Press website:  http://www.bluemanateepress.com/

Sarah Jones, artist, author, teacher, storyteller, and fellow Ohioan and holds an MFA from the University of Cincinnati and a BFA in Painting and Art Education from Miami University (Ohio). Go Bucks! Ms. Jones also wrote and illustrated the award-winning board books Orange, Triangle, Fox and Bunnies Near and Far (both reviewed HERE) Her second 2015 release, Lloyd Llama, will be reviewed soon.

AWARDS
2015 Mom’s Choice Awards – Black & White Nighty-Night
2015 Mom’s Choice Awards – Lloyd Llama
2014 Creative Child Magazine Book of the Year – Baby Unplugged: Play
2014 Mom’s Choice Awards – Baby Unplugged: Play
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Review Section: word count = 339

Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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Orange Triangle Fox is a sturdy and colorful board book that incorporates three learning opportunities into one! Each spread features a different animal, shape, and color with a darling illustration and clear and easy to read words.

Move over doggy and kitty books (unless you're a book about a cat that wants to be a bunny), adorable bunny books are in abundance and multiplying all of the time. Whether you're looking for an Easter basket filler, a simply sweet tale or something classic like The Velveteen Rabbit, we've got you covered—and twice on the "Velveteen" front.

Today we start with a question. Two questions, to be exact.

1. Can you count to ten?

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10”

Good!

 2. Do you know your colors?

“Red, blue, yellow, green, orange— ”

—Okay, that’s great!

“. . . pink, purple, brown, black . . .”

Let’s get started. Debut Author Sarah Jones.

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Bunnies Near and Far

by Sarah Jones

Blue Manatee Press      4/01/2014

978-1-936669-22-6

Age 1 to 4      10 pages

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“Colors. Shapes. Critters! Three concepts in one make learning fun! Inspire bedtime or story time, with this fun and educational concept book! Watch colorful native forest animals including red square owl and yellow star frog take shape, teaching basic concepts simultaneously. Rich, sweet watercolor illustrations are a delight for sharing over and over again.”

Opening 

“1 bunny near. 2 bunnies far.”

Review

Farmer Bo has lost track of his bunnies. Where could they have gone? We know 1 bunny is nearby and 2 bunnies are far off. Where did 3 bunnies go, and 4 bunnies? I saw 5 bunnies going up and 6 bunnies going down—they were on a teeter-totter. Wherever 7 and 8 bunnies went in opposite directions. Then I heard 9 bunnies singing to 10 bunnies playing an instrument. Farmer Bo does not know where any of his bunnies are. Oh, look! Farmer Bo counts as the bunnies return home. 1-one, 2-two, 3-three . . . all the way to his 10-ten musical bunnies. Wow! How many bunnies is that?

There are bunnies everywhere in Bunnies Near and Far. The situations the bunnies get into are common and recognizable by little kids. This is a fun way to learn how to count. The bunnies are cute though a tad plump and do some goofy stuff. Little kids will giggle at these bunnies on an apparent day off. I love the color of the book, which is predominately green with a few other colors tossed in on a few pages. The car is carrot orange and is somewhat shaped like a carrot. There even looks to be a smidge of green at the back of the car. I love details like this; things you would never expect. The theme of Bunnies Near and Far is more modern than most simple counting books and maybe that is what makes it so utterly charming.

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Still remember your colors. (Please do not tell me, I remember.) Let’s look at colors.

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Orange, Triangle, Fox

by Sarah Jones

Blue Manatee Press     4/01/2014

978-1-936669-21-9

Age 1 to 4     10 pages

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“Farmer Bo wants to know where his bunnies are. Some are near, some are far, some walking some in a car, and all are as cute as can be! Little ones will learn counting and opposites in this fun tale of bunnies on the go. Perfect for sharing: read and count along to find out what they’ll do next!”

Opening  

”brown circle hedgehog”

Review

Orange, Triangle, Fox is about colors, shapes, and animals. What could be more perfect than all of these concepts in one book for the youngest children? Interestingly, the shape and color become the shape of the animal and its color. The title page is orange and the shape is a triangle. The fox is an orange triangle. I think this will delight kids. The forest animals include an owl, a fox, frog, and a turtle among others. Young children will simultaneously learn about three concepts—shapes, colors, and animals—learning to process multiple stimuli. They may start looking at the world around them for animals or other objects in a certain shape. The forest animals are adorable, maybe more so because of the shape they have become.

As a set, Orange, Triangle, Fox and Bunnies Near and Far help young children learn, or reinforce, their numbers, colors, and forest animals. The books are kid shaped, just the size for little hands to hold. The pages are thick to stand up to kids excitedly turning the page. Spilt milk and blobs of jelly should wipe right off the heavy, glossy pages. At ten pages, bedtime reading of Orange, Triangle, Fox and Bunnies Near and Far can start a tradition of reading and a lifelong love of books. Both of these books are nontraditional in form, but very much traditional in content. Little ones can learn about the numbers one through ten, and about colors, shapes, and animals. Four important elements your child needs to learn, packed into two adorable books with designs by Sarah Jones. Beautiful and functional, child-sized and childproof.

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Learn more about Sarah Jones books for young children HERE.

Buy Bunnies Near and Far at Amazon—B&N—your local bookstore.

Buy Orange, Triangle, Fox at Amazon—B&N—your local bookstore.

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Meet Sarah Jones at her profile at scbwi:  http://www.scbwi.org/members-public/sarah-jones

Find more board books at the website of Blue Manatee Press:  http://bluemanateepress.com/

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ORANGE TRIANGLE FOX and BUNNIES NEAR AND FAR. Text and illustrations copyright © 2014 by Sarah Jones. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Blue Manatee Press, Cincinnati, OH.

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NEW FROM BLUE MANATEE PRESS.

Water, Baby Unplugged

Toast to Family

Your Red Shoes