Seals on the Bus: Because I like to sing about the ridiculous

Title: The Seals on the Bus
Author: Lenny Hort
Illustrator: G. Brian Karas
Genre: Picture books, rhyme
Age Range: 2-4

My son's attention span with books is not the same as my daughters. He likes looking at books of cars, but isn't all that interested in hearing the words...unless I sing them and unless they rhyme. Suddenly he curls into my lap, sits patiently and wants me to read to him.  Therefore, this book was perfect for him, because it was a song he knew (Wheels on the bus) with fun pictures of animals invading a bus with an unsuspecting family of four on it.

The book invites you to sing the words like "The seals on the bus go ..." and then you make a series of animal sounds include sheep, geese, and tigers. (which is my son's favorite.)  It is a quick rollicking read with lots of opportunities to admire the animals as they take over the bus and the family inside is forced to make it with the animals.  The last verse is about helping the family who cry "Help help help" and get off the bus.


Paperback...amazon has paperback books on their 4 for 3 deal, so you could pick up a few and give them as gifts. :)

Cars:Rushing! Honking! Zooming!: Rhyme and have fun with your child

Title: Cars: Rushing! Honking! Zooming!
Author: Patricia Hubbell
Illustrator: Megan Halsey and Sean Addy
Age Range: 3-8
Genre: Picture book, rhyming

There has been a lot of research done in regards to the benefits of reading aloud rhymes to your child.  Rhymes help children gain some basic building blocks to become readers.  But more than that, children love rhymes.  I think rhymes help ME to read the story with more fun and more inflection and I can see that the rhythm and rhyme engage my son an additional level besides just the story line itself.

I picked this book up on a whim and upon opening it, knew immediately that my son would love it.  The pictures are really unique, sort of retro but also modern at the same time.  The illustrators mix up who is driving all of the cars - sometimes animals, sometimes humans but it makes for a really wonderful thing to look at.  My son can't get enough of it and I've been reading/rapping the book to him every night for the past six days.  He loves the pictures, and the last line of the book is "they go to rest" and I always whisper it, since it is a picture of a cars "sleeping" in their garages.  My son, now also whispers it and it is so fun to see.

This book simply details in rhyme, types of cars, what they do, where they go, why they are useful and is just a really fun book both to the eyes and to the ears.

Hardcover


Paperback

Freight Train: Trains come in many colors

Title: Freight Train
Author: Donald Crews
Illustrator: Donald Crews
Age Range: Ages 2-5
Genre: Picture book

After having two daughters, choosing books for my son has been interesting to say in the least.  No longer am I looking for the books about princess or other more "pink" like things.  Instead I have to hunt down books with vehicles in them, as they are his current favorite.  He loves to look at books and to be read to, so the challenge is to find him books that really spark his interest.  I'm keen to teach him his colors as he still gets confused about which color is which so this book really appealed to me when I looked at it.  I loved the illustrations - and the first page opens up with a totally white page, except with a single track running along the bottom. The image immediately appealed, and as each page goes on, more colors are introduced, and different cars of the train are given their names.

 My son really enjoys this book and has asked me to read it multiple times now.  He's starting to repeat the names of the cars (like red caboose which is his favorite) and likes the part where the train goes through a tunnel and illustrator has streaked the car colors to give the illusion of speed.

It truly is a beautifully illustrated book and one worth adding to the library, especially if you have a boy who loves trains. It did win a Caldecott Honor, which is given to beautifully illustrated books every year.

The Boy on the Bus: When your child wants you to sing...all the time

Title: The Boy on the Bus
Author: Penny Dale
Illustrator: Penny Dale
Age Range: 2-6
Genre: Picture books

I grabbed this book for my son, who is the one who is in love with cars, trucks and most recently buses.  When we drop his sister off at school and we see a yellow school bus on the way, he shouts, "BUS mom!" in his cute excited voice.  I showed him the book and said, "Look it's a bus!" and he looked confused.  He said, "RED" which then I understood that he realized that the bus was not yellow but red.  I almost put it back but thought I'd give it a try, especially since it said "Sing-along Storybook."

We got home later and I opened it up.  Everyone is familiar with the song, "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round" which is a fun song for the younger group. (it can be annoying and tedious for adults if your child asks you to sing it over and over.)  This book has you singing the words to that melody as a young boy drives a bus through the area, picking up various animals along the way.  The animals get to make sounds (the pigs say oink oink, the sheep say baa baa, the chickens say bawk bawk) and they all join in the song.  As I sang/read the book with gusto, both my 2-year old son and 4-year old daughter were laughing and getting into the book. Son had fun pointing to all the animals asking. "Is that a cow/duck/sheep/pig/chicken/horse?"

It is a wonderfully charming book with fantastic pictures of masses of animals being crammed into a bus as the boy says that there is plenty of room on the bus.  Soon it is cram full of animals and the young boy drives it.  If you have a problem with masses of animals on the bus or the picture of a very young boy driving the vehicle, this is not the book for you. However, if your child enjoys being sung to all the time, and you sometimes run out of words or melodies to sing, this IS the book for you, as you can sing the entire book from cover to cover.

"The boy on the bus drives round and round, round and round, round and round..." (Dale)

Trucks Roll: How to practice being a rap star...sort of...

Title: Trucks Roll
Author: George Ella Lyon
Illustrator: Craig Frazier
Age Range: 2-6
Genre: Picture book

My 2-year son is a cars and trucks fiend.  He loves them. He sits inside our house, on trash day, admiring the trucks coming by taking away the refuse.  He'll yell at the top of his lungs, "Mommy it's TRUCK" in his most excited and happy voice.  He pushes his trucks around the house saying ,"Truck, truck truck" and just gets so into it.

I picked this book up because of the picture on the cover.  I liked the big simple lines on the truck and immediately thought my son would like it.  When I showed it to him, he yelled, "TRUCK" and immediately became close friends with the book.  Later when I read it, I fell in love with the INSIDE as there are some really great pictures within AND a great rhyme and rhythm to the text.

Trucks' wheels
go 'round and 'round
Trucks' pistons
go up and down

Trucks roll! (Lyon)

When I started reading it, my son's ears immediately perked up.  I could tell he could feel the rhythm and he especially liked my raucous TRUCKS ROLL!  I have to admit I felt a bit like a rap star with my son on his bed bopping to the cool rhythms of the words.  After reading it to him several times over the past few days, he started picking up the book himself saying, "TRUCKS ROLL!"

There are wonderful illustrations within, depicting all the things that trucks do like carrying huge chocolate cookies, clocks, apple juice, ice cream.  It's a fantastic book, especially for you boys who love their trucks.

Duck on a Bike: For the ridiculous in all of us

Title:  Duck on a Bike
Author: David Shannon
Age Range: 3-6
Genre: Picture book

I like picture books that crack me up.  I do spend a lot of time reading them, so when I do, there are many a time when I like to be entertained.  This book entertains me with its pictures, its story line and its ending.  It's darn funny and pretty cute.

My daughter #2 has loved this book for over a year.  She can read it herself and there are many days where I catch her in the corner giggling while she reads this book.  The story itself is simple; one day, Duck gets it into her head that she can ride a bike, so she starts riding.  When the other animals see her, they make comments ranging from "You're not as fast as me" or "I wish I could ride like duck."  In reality, all the animals are slightly jealous of her bike riding skill and don't really know what to do with it.

In the end, the other animals take the opportunity themselves to ride bikes, when they are presented with a mess of bikes waiting for them in front of the house.  They ride themselves and have a blast. The last illustration with all the animals on their backs, enjoying themselves riding around is one of the funniest pictures ever.  The illustrations in the book will definitely tickle your fancy and you may find yourself wanting to read this book, even when your child has not demanded it.

Zinnia's Flower Garden: For the green thumb wannabe in me

Title:  Zinnia's Flower Garden
Author: Monica Wellington
Illustrator: Monica Wellington
Age Range: 3-5
Genre: Picture books

I generally kill plants.  I can't keep them alive.  Both my parents have green thumbs, evidenced by the beautiful gardens that they maintain, but I do not do well at growing things.  As such, my daughters don't really understand the concept of growing and maintaining a garden, which is one reason why I love this book so much.

In this book, Zinnia decides to create a beautiful flower garden.  She goes through all the steps of turning over the dirt, removing the stones, making rows, planting seeds, watering, and then waiting for the flowers to bloom.  At the end, when all of her flowers are blooming, she sets up a little stand and allows people to come in and pick a bucket of flowers, sharing her beautiful floral bounty.  When my 4 year old daughter saw that, she said, "I wish I could have a garden like that to share flowers with everyone."  It made my heart sink a bit, because I knew that it wasn't likely going to be in her future, given where we live.

In addition, there are illustrations explaining the life cycle of the butterfly, different types of clouds, and diagrams identifying the many different parts of the flowers.  The illustrations are very cute and informative and provide an additional layer of information, for someone who is a bit older.  The illustrations combine use of photographs of real plants as well as beautiful colorful bright art.  The eye is immediately drawn to the book for its of color and contrast.

It's a cute little gem of a book, especially wonderful for anyone who WANTS to learn how to create a garden, or perhaps for someone who wishes to have their own garden but cannot.

Where's Spot?: Get the scotch tape ready

Title: Where's Spot?
Author: Eric Hill
Illustrator: Eric Hill
Age Range:1-4
Genre: Picture book, lift the flap

My daughter was 3 months when I started this book with her. I remember that I took her to the hospital in Hong Kong for one of her checkups and sat with her on my lap reading this book to her to keep her entertained.  Her eyes were huge and she just stared at the pictures as if in awe.  The lift-the-flap action of this book of course makes it even more fun. Now it is my 2 year old son that loves this book. He knows what is under each of the flaps now, as he has been looking at the book for well over a year.  He loves finding spot at the very end and giggles with laughter when he discovers him.

The plot has Spot not eating his dinner and his mother wants him to come and eat.  The readers go through the house, looking in various places where he could be, like in the clock, or under the bed, or in the closet, lifting a flap and revealing another animal there, like lion, monkey, or snake.  You continue looking and then you find him at the end.  You can expand the value of the book by asking questions about what animal is under there, having your child practice memory and prediction.  Verbal dialogue around a book is always tremendously valuable.

The flaps do get worn out pretty quickly, which is why I would probably recommend getting the soft cover vs. the hardcover so you can get multiple copies.  My own three children have gone through two soft covers.  It is a must for any new baby, and perfect for anyone who needs to give a gift for an expectant mother.

Soft cover


Hard cover

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go: My brother's favorite book

Title:  Cars and Trucks and Things That Go
Author: Richard Scarry
Illustrator: Richard Scarry
Age Range: 1-5
Genre: Picture book

This is the book that my brother and I would look at the most growing up.  We loved this book.  The pictures were silly, the cars were unique and exciting, and finding Goldbug hidden on every single page was a fun little project.  I do remember that my brother was always able to locate Goldbug before I was able to, even though we had read the book multiple times.  The two of us would hold the book on our laps (it's a big book) and scan the pages pointing out silly cars, and looking for the elusive, tiny, rare Goldbug.  It made for a fun activity and it never grew old.

This is a classic and one that I never tire giving.  Before there was the Pixar movie Cars, there was this book with all its imaginary cars like Donut Car, Pickle Car, Cheese Car, Carrot Car (driven by a Rabbit no less) among many other ones.  The basic story is that the Pig Family is going on a car trip and along the way they see a train yard with its many trains, a farm with its bustle of activity, an airport, and all the different places where multiple vehicles can be seen.  It's a fun book filled with so many things to see that little boys and girls love pointing them out.  The story itself is cute and entertaining, but often takes a backseat to studying the different pictures in the book.  Nevertheless, this is a book that will get lots of use in your house and provide lots of moments of enjoyment.

Dear Zoo: A great book unless you're really trying to avoid a pet

Title: Dear Zoo
Author: Rod Campbell
Illustrator: Rod Campbell
Age Range: 1-3
Genre: lift the flap, picture book

This is a very cute book about a boy who has written to the zoo to ask for a pet, and repeatedly the zoo sends him things that are a bit inappropriate as pets, such as a Lion, an Elephant, and a Monkey.  The flaps allow the kids to see a peek of the animal and then they can reveal the flaps to see what is underneath.  It is a very fun book that all three of my kids have enjoyed.  They like the illustrations as they are nice and clean, but more importantly they love the Ta-DA reveal of the animals which usually sends them into peals of laughter.

It's a great book for 1 year olds as they really do enjoy the whole lift the flap thing (Think peek-a-boo) and they will get into it.  Sometimes they get into it a BIT too much and flaps get ripped but it's nothing that a bit of scotch tape can't handle.  It's a great book to give as a gift for a 1 year old birthday!