Book: Peek-a-Zoo!
Author: Nina Laden
Pages: 22 (Board Book)
Age Range: 2-5
Nina Laden's Peek-a-Who? was one of my daughter's favorite books when she was about two. We've given it many times as a gift since then. So I was naturally interested when the new sequel, Peek-a-Zoo! landed on my doorstep. Like the first book, Peek-a-Zoo! is a board book featuring cut-outs that gives clues, and invites young children to guess what's coming next. In this example, all of the mysteries involve animals one might find at the zoo. The selections are driven by maintaining a motif of words that rhyme with "zoo." So we have "Peek a MEW!", showing a tiger cub playing with a ball, and "Peek a BAMBOO!", with a panda bear chewing on some bamboo.
Because of the narrower focus, I found the answers much more difficult to guess from the tiny hint shown in the cutout than in the first book. "Peek a COCKATOO!" was particularly challenging, with its display of a fan of green feathers. But level of difficulty isn't really a problem with a book like this, because the child is going to read it dozens or hundreds of times, and he or she will have a chance to learn what all of the pictures mean. Like the first book, an embedded mirror at the end gives the child a chance to participate in the story.
In truth, I don't know whether or not Peek-a-Zoo! will have the same appeal for toddlers that Peek-a-Who? does. I don't have a toddler nearby to test it out on. To me, the examples seem a bit more contrived (as necessitated by the book's tighter focus). But the illustrations are eye-catching without being too busy. And books about animals are always popular with the pre-preschool set. So I will add Peek-a-Zoo! to my go-to gift list for new babies, as a companion book to Peek-a-Who? And if any of you have tried out both books with your toddlers, I would love to hear about their reactions.
Publisher: Chronicle Books (@ChronicleKids)
Publication Date: March 4, 2014
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
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© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
One of my favorite songs from Sesame Street is "Sing," written by Joe Raposo.
"Sing.
Sing a song.
Sing out loud.
Sing out strong."
You have that song in your head now, don't you?
I sing songs with my son all the time, and I also sing books. Just about any picture book can easily be turned into a song. I find it to be a great read aloud technique, and we both enjoy the experience. The tune is completely irrelevant, I make up something new every time I sing.
Books that have worked well as songs (for us, at least) include:
- Freight Train by Donald Crews
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
- Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
- Big Dog Little Dog by P.D. Eastman
...and too many others to count.
Singing was particularly effective when my son was a baby, and I used to sing all of his longer board books to him. It also worked well when he was an antsy toddler. He still likes it now, even though he's older, and every night he'll tell me which books he wants me to sing.
I think I have a terrible voice, and I'm quite shy about using it normally, but my son doesn't mind no matter how off key I am. I tried singing my made-up musical version of
Freight Train in a
storytime last week, and to my surprise, it actually worked quite well. I'll have to try it again.
If there's a small child in your life, try singing them a book. Just remember, as the wise people at Sesame Street would tell you:
"Don't worry that it's not good enough
For anyone else to hear.
Sing
Sing a song."
Looking for reviews of children's books? Look no further than the Children's Book Review wiki. It was created by the indefatigable Kelly Herold of Big A little a, who may be one of the most busy and productive people I've ever met. The wiki contains a wonderful and rich variety of blog reviews from all over the kidlitosphere.
I just put up all the reviews I've ever posted on Wizards Wireless on the wiki. There aren't that many... because I tend to make lists and general comments about books instead of writing formal reviews. But, I was surprised to see that I've written 15 reviews so far... I thought it was far fewer than that.
One of the most rewarding parts of reviewing for me has been connecting with authors. If the book has been published relatively recently and I can find an e-mail address, I will frequently send authors links to my blog reviews. And, every one of them has written back, which I find amazing. I have to admit, I felt like a rock star when I got return e-mails from Susan Patron and Mordecai Gerstein only a few weeks after I started blogging.
I'm in awe of bloggers who write reviews regularly (and sometimes even every day!), such as Betsy at A Fuse #8 Production, Jen at Jen Robinson's Book Page, Tasha at Kids Lit, Jules and Eisha at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Abby at Abby (the) Librarian, Laura at Library & Literary Miscellany... and, ummm... everybody but me.
I've rounded up all the reviews I've written thus far (see the list below). Looking at the list, I notice that I seem to favor titles that contain exclamation points!
Books for Babies and Toddlers
Picture BooksJuvenile FictionWant to contribute your reviews to the
Children's Book Review wiki? Take a look at
this post on
Big A Little a to see how to do it.
Something pushes me to recycle old sketches from time to time and these are two that were painted a bit differently a while ago. I think there is always room for improvement... and these may be redone again at a later date.©Ginger Nielson
So here he is "Vern" 2007. The spring thing that we do each year at our house involves standing a fresh egg from the fridge on it's end during the time of the Vernal Equinox. Although many scientists say it isn't so, the child in me loves to believe this can only occur during the vernal equinox. Check out the internet references for pro and con, but at any rate, enjoy little Vern 2007 as he stands up for Spring!
GingerPixels
Spring arrives on Tuesday... I wonder if we will be able to find any froggies under all our snow.
Well now I'm going to have THAT song stuck in my head all day, Susan. Thanks a LOT! OK, but seriously, I think this is a great idea. I've often wondered why song isn't used more in teaching. Think about it. We can remember all sorts of songs and jingles from our childhoods - if more facts had been tossed into those, we would remember those, too. Of course there was Schoolhouse Rock. And I still spell Mississippi using a song from some little educational TV bit. But anyway, I like the idea of singing picture books. Thanks!
What a great tip, Susan! I'm totally going to try this at storytime and recommend it at our Every Child Ready to Read workshops. Fun!
I love that song, too. And I love singing to the kids, who don't care what I sound like! We sing a few of our picture books (Duck in a Truck, anyone?), fewer now that we read longer books--but I'm going to try it with one today! Thanks!
There are plenty of books that are MEANT to be sung. Maurice Sendak's "Nutshell Library" books all have Carole King tunes to go with them, and there are a whole string of books by Mary Ann Hoberman and Nadine Westcott (such as "Lady With the Alligator Purse") that are based on songs.
I like the comment about your voice best. I tell every parent the kids don't CARE how well you sing--but you will sing better for your kids than any other audience!