Author and Illustrator: Will Hillenbrand
Age Range: 1-3
Genre: Picture Book
My son doesn't have the same attention span for books that his sisters did at the same age. I don't know if it is because I didn't read to him enough when he was little, as I was too busy trying to keep the other two in line, but I have a certain measure of guilt about the fact that he just doesn't focus on books the same way his sisters did and still do. I'm worried that my semi-lazy attitude about reading to him has profoundly affected his future as a reader. Which is why I focus so much on it now. At age 2 1/2. he just doesn't focus and get into books the way I think he should.
But he looks at pictures, and loves looking at pictures. He's just not so into the words. The story line itself, the story does not excite him. But, I have found that books with rhymes and books that I can sing make a big difference in how he pays attention. If I sing or "rap" a book, he'll listen with almost double the attention and double the focus as when I simply read a book. So I try and find books that have this rhyming element or a song element.
This one is perfect as it is based on the song, "Down by the Station" and although my son was not familiar with this song prior to the book, the song was catchy enough for him to relax and listen to me sing it. On top of that, the pictures of bears, tigers, flamingos and different animals on their way to the children's zoo also really appealed to him. The train running through on every single page was also a plus and helped my son to really pay attention to the book. In the book a bunch of animals are on their way to a children's zoo by train, and this amazingly cute train picks up different animals. At the end of the book, a school bus filled with children run into the zoo, and the final picture is of baby animals and young children playing together. On the last page, my son said, "They are all together."
Paperback
Hardcover
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