Baby Loves Fall! by Karen Katz - ADVISABLE

Katz, Karen Baby Love Fall Simon and Schuster, 2013.  $6.99  BOARD BOOK  Content: G.  

In the lift the flap book, baby is exploring objects that have to do with the season, fall.  She looks behind the shutters to see an apple pie and looks behind the rake to find acorns.  There are five different lift the flap pages filled with colorful and bright fall colors.  The text is short and simple and the board book is heavy duty for little hands to explore. 

PREK-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

ABC Zooborns by Andrew Bleiman - OPTIONAL

Bleiman, Andrew  ABC Zooborns!  Illustrated by Chris Eastland  Little Simon, 2013.  $7.99 BOARD BOOK  Content: G.  

Baby animals starting with letters A through Z are depicted in photographs.  Under each label of what the animal is there is a statement about the picture, some are facts about the animals, where others are comments like “aren’t my eyes dreamy”.  The pictures are adorable photographs of baby animals that little kids will enjoy, but the captions are not informative and don’t use vocabulary that is preschool friendly. 

PREK-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Run Home, Little Mouse by Britta Teckentrup - OPTIONAL

Teckentrup, Britta Run Home, Little Mouse Kids Can Press, 2013.  $14.95  BOARD BOOK  Content: G.  

Little mouse is trying to get home, but he can’t remember the way.  As he runs he sees eyes in the night which belong to predators who are watching him.  The book will identify the predator and then say “run home little mouse”.  The last page are eyes that belong to his family who have been waiting for him.  

This book is really dark-the background is dark (it is night) and the eyes are yellow and a bit scary for little kids, especially with the idea that the animals are predators who would do the mouse harm.  The book is cool because one page will show a hole with yellow eyes and then when you turn the page you can see how the eye matches to the animal.  Overall effect is a bit scary for preschool kids, but it’s a cool idea.  

PREK-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Mitzi's Mitzvah by Gloria Koster-OPTIONAL

Koster, Glroia, ill. By Holli Conger. Mitzi’s Mitzvah. Pgs. 8. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2013. BOARD BOOK.

Today is New Years and everyone is having fun except for one little pup. Until, the nurse comes out and lets the pup join the fun. A cute, easy picture book for any preschooler. Although it has a Jewish emphasis, readers will be able to relate to the family and New Year’s fun in the book. Young children who like dogs and books about holidays will enjoy having this book read to them. PreK only. OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Kira M, Youth Services Librarian, WHI Public Library.

Bizzy Bear Off We Go! by Benji Davies - OPTIONAL

Davies, Benji  Bizzy Bear Off We Go!  Candlewick Press, 2012.  BOARD BOOK  $6.99  Content: G.  

Bizzy Bear likes to travel using all kinds of transportation.  He goes in a car, on a train, an airplane and a boat towards his vacation of playing on the beach.  There are four page spreads in the entire book, but each page spread has an interactive part where young readers can pull the train through a bridge or rock the boat.  

The illustrations are colorful and cute and my three year old was entertained by the book.  My only concern is that the tabs and parts might be fragile in a library where there are lots of uses, so it’s better as a gift.  

PREK-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Bizzy Bear: Off We Go! by Benji Davies - OPTIONAL

Davies, Benji  Bizzy Bear Off We Go!  Candlewick Press, 2012.  BOARD BOOK  $6.99  Content: G.  

Bizzy Bear likes to travel using all kinds of transportation.  He goes in a car, on a train, an airplane and a boat towards his vacation of playing on the beach.  There are four page spreads in the entire book, but each page spread has an interactive part where young readers can pull the train through a bridge or rock the boat.  The illustrations are colorful and cute and my three year old was entertained by the book.  My only concern is that the tabs and parts might be fragile in a library where there are lots of uses, so it’s better as a gift.  

PREK-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Pantone Color Cards - GIFT

Pantone Color Cards: 18 oversized flash cards.  FLASH CARDS.  Abrams Appleseed, 2013.  $15.  Content: G.  Each jumbo-sized flash card comes with the official Pantone color number, a fanciful name and a matching game on the flip side.  Strong enough to chew on, any designer parent will be happy to own these beautiful cards.  They’d make a very nice gift for a baby-to-be.  GIFT – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

The Noisy Book by Soledad Bravi - ADVISABLE

Bravi, Soledad  The Noisy Book  Gecko Press, 2012.  $16.95  BOARD BOOK  Content: G.  

This is a book full of pictures and their sounds.  Each page reads in a similar format, such as: “The trumpet goes tootle toot”.   There are multiple pictures (119 pages worth) of different objects that make sound.  The page labels the object and then says the sound.  This is such a fun book for little people who are learning their sounds.  The illustrations are simple and bright and the repetition of the format keeps little people’s interest.  I have a couple of complaints: first, there are a couple of pages that have nothing to do with sound, “The power outlet goes NO!” and “The snail does nothing but move its elegant feelers”.  In a book that has rhythm and consistency for so many pages, it’s disconcerting to be stopped by these two random pages.  And second, it’s really long-which as the reader I found myself hiding pages when I turned the page to get to the end (but I did not pull anything over on my son).  Other than that, my child loved it and it’s a fun activity read for young people.  

PREK-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently - ADVISABLE

Bently, Peter  King Jack and the Dragon Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury  Dial Books, 2011.  $7.99  BOARD BOOK  Content: G. 

Three little boys, Jack, Zack and Caspar make a fort out of a cardboard box, old sheets and some sticks and pretend that Jack is the king and they are defending their kingdom against dragons and beasts.  After fighting the dragons and beasts all day they decide they want to sleep in the fort, but one by the one the kids parents come and get them, with Jack being the last to go.  Jack was scared of the night sounds and thought that his two parents were a four legged beast, but he is happy when it turns out to be his parents. 

This is a cute book about little boys’ imaginations.  The illustrations are basic, some are just black and white sketches and others are colored.  It’s a good book, with my only concern being that the dragons look a bit fearsome and might scare little reader. 

PREK-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Red Wagon by Renata Liwska - ADVISABLE

Liwska, Renata Red Wagon Philomel, 2011. $6.99 BOARD BOOK  Content: G. 

Lucy, a fox, has a new red wagon that she can’t wait to try out, so her mother sends her to the market.  While walking to the market she meets up with some of her other forest friends and they trudge through imagined horrible weather to get to the market.  At the market Lucy gets her mother’s vegetables and then heads back home.  While on her way home she imagines her wagon to be a train, a spaceship and a construction truck.  When she delivers the vegetables to her mom she is excited to finally be able to play with her wagon the way she wants, but falls asleep in it because she is so exhausted. 

This is a great story about using your imagination to do chores.  The illustrations are adorable and simple.  There is humor throughout that will keep young readers interested. 

PREK-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Moustache Up! A Playful Game of Opposites by Kimberly Ainsworth - NO

 

Ainsworth, Kimberly Moustache Up! A Playful Game of Opposites  Illustrated by Daniel Roode  Simon and Schuster, 2013.  $7.99  BOARD BOOK Content: G. 

This book shows all different kinds of moustaches.  Each page spread has a rhyme and then the opposite page shows a face that has an opening for a moustache to be inserted.  The book comes with an envelope of different kinds of moustaches that can be attached to the different pictures.  The rhyme is cute and I wish that it was just an opposite book using moustaches, because for some reason kids get a kick out of moustaches, but because the different pages have to have a moustache inserted it makes the book hard for little kids who would use a board book and it also makes it so you can’t use it in a library.  I wouldn’t even give this book as a gift because the moustaches are too hard to put in the tab and I think they are easy to lose.  Cute idea, but the format renders the book useless for a library. 

NO-PREK.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Everything Goes: Blue Bus, Red Balloon, A Book of Colors by Brian Biggs- ADVISABLE

Biggs, Brian  Everything Goes: Blue Bus, Red Balloon, A Book of Colors  Balzer and Bray, 2013.  $7.99  BOARD BOOK  Content:G. 

The pictures depict a young girl with a red balloon getting into a taxi.  She loses the balloon and it floats into the air and around the city pass several different kinds of transportation, such as a taxi, a bus, a sports car, a sailboat, and train.  Eventually the girl catches her balloon again as she is riding in a hot air balloon.  This is a simple story with two words per page layout.  Each page says the color and the object, such as “black sports car” or “blue bus”.  The images are cartoonish and cute and I think any young readers learning their colors will have fun with this book. 

PREK-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson. 

Hopper and Wilson by Maria Van Lieshout - OPTIONAL

Lieshout, Maria Van  Hopper and Wilson  Philomel Books, 2011.  $6.99  BOARD BOOK  Content: G. 

Hopper is a big stuffed elephant and his friend, Wilson is a little stuffed mouse.  They decide that they want to see what is at the end of the world, and embark in their boat out into the ocean.  While on their journey a big storm comes up and they are separated.  They eventually find each other and find their way back home, which they claim in the end of the world. 

The simple drawings are cute, and the reader will care that the two characters are reunited.  The story has a dreamy affect to it and the ending is satisfying.  Little readers will be entertained by this story of friendship. 

PREK-OPTIONAL. Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Everything Goes: Good Night, Trucks a Bedtime Story by Brian Biggs - OPTIONAL

Biggs, Brian Everything Goes: Good Night, Trucks A Bedtime Story Balzer + Bray, 2013.  $7.99  Content: G  BOARD BOOK 

The book starts with a man on a curb saying “Good night, trucks” and then the book is simply a page spread with two words that tell the kind of truck that is shown in the picture.  These are the types of trucks pictures and labeled: fire truck, tractor trailer, dump truck, garbage truck, tanker truck, tow truck, ice cream truck, monster truck, flatbed truck and a motor home.

The illustrations are cartoonish and cute and little readers who like trucks will enjoy the cute pictures.  This board book has less to do with going to bed that it does listing different kinds of trucks. I thought that the other books in the Everything Goes series were better. 

PREK-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson. 

What Am I? Frog and Friends by Joyce Wan - ESSENTIAL

Wan, Joyce  What Am I?Frog and Friends  Penguin, 2013.  $6.99  Content: G.  BOARD BOOK 

In this sweet simple board book, each page layout has different animals that live in ponds: ducks, beaver, frogs, turtles, snails, fish and dragonflies.  It shows each animal doing different things such as paddling, building a den, hopping, sunbathing, playing in the mud and twirling around.  Then the last page layout asks the question what am I and the back page flips up and it says, “I am a pond and these are my friends”. 

This is an adorable board book with great pictures.  The simple text is easy to read and will keep the interest of small readers.  The last page opening to reveal the pond is also a great way to satisfy little readers’ curiosity.  This is a cute addition for preschool libraries. 

PREK-ESSENTIAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Spot's ABC: A First Alphabet Book by Eric Hill- ESSENTIAL

Hill, Eric Spot’s ABC: A First Alphabet Book, 12 pgs.  Warne; Board book edition, 2013. $6.99.  BOARD BOOK.  Eric Hill’s incredible characters and bright colors will draw children into this great ABC book.  Whether it’s an elephant giving himself a bath or Spot enjoying an ice cream cone, children will explore and gain letter recognition while reading this board book.  This is a great bedtime story book as well as Z is represented by a zebra tucked safely into bed and saying “Night-night!” to the reader.  I liked the repetition of all the letters of the alphabet on the last page.  This gives parents a chance to not only review each letter would be useful in playing “can you point to the letter P, etc” games.This book could be used in the classroom at a center or as an example of how students can make their own ABC books.  Pre-K.  EL (K-3).  ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: SL.

Lotsa Matzah by Tilda Basley-OPTIONAL

Basley, Tilda Lotsa Matzah.  Illustrated by Akemi Gutierrez. BOARD BOOK. This rhyming board book details the origin of matzah as well as all the modern uses and variations of eating it. The religious story of Moses and his exodus from Pharaoh’s cruelty is shared.  In their hurry to get away from bondage they left without allowing their bread to rise. Today they eat matzah for a week during Passover in remembrance of their heritage. This book introduces young children to Jewish life and how matzah is a critical part of their religion and culture.  Pre-K.  OPTIONAL. Reviewer: SL.  

Checkers and Dots at the Beach by J. Torres - ESSENTIAL

Torres, J.  Checkers and Dots at the Beach  Illustrated by Jennifer Lum Tundra Books, 2013.  $8.99  BOARD BOOK  Content: G 

A little boy and girl, with their dog and cat, go to the beach where they encounter different sea life.  They find five different animals and count from one to five: one crab, two clams, three turtles, four gulls and five fish.  The last page spread shows the boy and girl with their cat and dog with all of the sea animals interacting. 

This book is completely done in black and white and the illustrations are simple and adorable.  The counting fits into a storyline and the storyline rhymes making it fun to read aloud.  This is a great book for newborns and little ones.

PREK-ESSENTIAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Everything Goes: 123 Beep Beep Beep!: A Counting Book by Brian Biggs

Biggs, Brian  Everything Goes: 123 Beep Beep Beep!: A Counting Book  Balzer and Bray, 2013.  $7.99  BOARD BOOK  Content: G. 

In this brightly illustrated board book, there are many different forms of transportation depicting the numbers 1-10.  Each page spread has a numerical number and then shows a picture of that many vehicles.  The vehicles include a bus, RVs, fire trucks, vans, taxis, food trucks, motorcycle, compact cars, race cars and bicycles.  This is an adorable book that will keep the attention of little ones who enjoy cars.  The illustrations are bright and colorful with not just pictures of the car, but of the drivers as well.  This is a basic counting book for preschool age and younger. 

PREK-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Everything Goes: Stop! Go!: A Book of Opposites by Brian Biggs - ADVISABLE

Biggs, Brian  Everything Goes: Stop! Go!:  A Book of Opposites  Balzer and Bray, 2013.  $7.99  BOARD BOOK  Content: G. 

In this adorable board book, different modes of transportation are used to illustrate opposites.  Some of the opposites covered are slow/fast; clean/dirty; up/down; big/small; on/off, etc.  Bright colored cars, bikes and trucks are drawn with cartoonish people driving them.  Each page spread only has two words and pictures depicting the opposites.  The book is simple and covers basic opposite concepts.  This is a great addition for a preschool aged child who likes cars. 

PREK-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.