The Baby Book Nook

No More Blanket for Lambkin! (2010) Author: Bernette Ford Illustrator: Sam Williams Publisher: Sterling Publishing   Many popular board books were written and first published as hardcover picture books. A classic example is Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, released as a picture book in 1947, then as a board title in 1991.  What are the advantages of a board book?  Thick, sturdy pages support interactive flaps and inserts. Durable surfaces wipe clean. Board pages are easier for babies and toddlers to turn. Curved edges, safer. Most are easy for 1- and 2-year-olds to carry. Nothing says BABY like a board book. Likewise, no one says MINE! like a two-year-old. Independent toting and page turning foster independent book handling and "pretend reading" skills. Board books are less expensive than their picture book counterparts.   What are the disadvantages? Despite everyone's best efforts, some picture books simply do not take ...

Author/Illustrator: Janie Bynum  Publisher: Sterling Publishing Length: 20 pages Size: 7 by 7 inches Format: Board book A board book edition of Kiki's Blankie (2009) is set for release this February, right around the corner! In praise of Kiki, not all hardcover picture books are a good fit for the smaller book format. Cinderella's step-sisters and the glass slipper come to mind. Kiki, however, succeeds. Maybe, it's the cape. Kiki is a spirited monkey with a blanket attachment, a blue and white polka-dotted lovey. She never goes anywhere without it . Kiki pretends her blanket is a bandana, then a cape, so she can be a pirate, a super hero. She pretends it is a tent, then a sail, so she can camp, sail, and soar! Sometimes Kiki's blanket is just a blanket, so Kiki can, well, be Kiki. A simple plot mirrors real life. Kiki loves her blanket. Kiki loses her blanket. MY BLANKIE IS GONE! Kiki finds her blanket. And yes, there is a crocodile. Part...

Author: Sue Williams Illustrator: Julie Vivas Publisher: Red Wagon Books Length: 30 pages Format: Board book Size: 5 x 5.25 x .6 inches I Went Walking (1996) has layers, like an onion. Peel it. I promise, no tears! The text is rhythmic, repetitive, and reminiscent of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle: I went walking. What did you see? I saw a black cat looking at me ...  After the cat, the main character spies a brown horse, a red cow, a green duck, a pink pig, and a yellow dog. Pretty pedestrian, except that it's not. I Went Walking is one of my favorite board books for toddlers. An aside--more often than not, a children's book author and illustrator never meet. The writer writes then sends the story to an agent who sends it to an editor who (if she loves the book) convinces her colleagues to publish it. Only then does the editor assign an artist who writes the book, this time with pictures instead of word...

Aaron Mead, from Children's Books and Reviews , has published a wonderful free eBook titled How To Choose Children's Books Practical Tips and Philosophical Reflections on Picking Books for Kids . It covers all age ranges and is chock full of resources. I especially like Chapter 2. In it, Mead alludes to what reading researchers Scarborough and Dobrich term The Broccoli Effect . Vegetables are good and good for you, but few among us want all vegetables all the time. Well-meaning parents (like me) push nutrition: EAT YOUR PEAS! (I like peas.) The problem is, if you force feed anything, including read-aloud, it can become distasteful. (Canned peas. I even like these!) There may be moments, days, perhaps even weeks, when your baby shows little interest in books. Not to worry! Try taking the text off the page: "Peas Porridge Hot" at meals or "Rub-a-dub-dub" at tub time. Take a walk. (I'll talk more about that next week.) Or simply take a break. ...

Illustrator: Elliot Kreloff Publisher: Begin Smart Length: 10 pages Format: Cardstock and foam board Size: 4.75 x 5.2 x 1.25 inches Begin Smart's All Gone! speaks perfectly to the talents of an almost-one year old. By 11 months, babies are able to rotate their forearms so that palms face upwards, as in, All gone! At the same age, they begin imitating and learning simple gestures. All gone! The sparse book text introduces four object words: Cereal, juice, cookie, and ice cream. In addition, Kreloff draws a cup, a spoon, a bowl, a baby, and a straw for word learning. He illustrates eating, sipping, munching, licking, full and empty, happy and sad. Book talk easily translates to table talk: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, All gone!   Ages and Stages : 6-12 months (baby supinates forearm, imitates new gestures, may sip from a cup held by mom or dad); 12-24 months (Baby says, All gone! , uses spoon, drinks from cup) 

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