The Baby Book Nook

October 5th marks the release of Return to the Hundred Acre Wood , the first authorized sequel to A. A. Milne's beloved Winnie-the-Pooh book series. It is written by David Benedictus and illustrated by Mark Burgess. To celebrate Pooh Bear's return, here is a Short List of My Favorite Bear Board Books For Tots : Bear and Kite and Bear and Ball by Cliff Wright; We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury; Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman; Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett; The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR by Don and Audrey Wood. Does your baby have a favorite?

Silly Sally , by Audrey Wood, is a cumulative story. Cumulative stories are a unique genre of children's books. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss comes to mind. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly , a board book by Pam Adams, and This Is the House That Jack Built , by Simms Taback, are two more examples. Story lines accumulate in an additive fashion resulting in a repetitive and predictable text. Repetition and predictability... A perfect twosome for two- and three-year-olds! With repeat readings, young children chime in, finish lines, and ultimately 'read' stories on their own by pairing pictures with memorized text. The Napping House , by Audrey Wood and Don Wood, is another cumulative tale, gentle, FUNNY, and not to be missed. There is a house, a napping house, where everyone is sleeping. But not for long.