A Week of Gift Ideas: For The Littlest Ones

This week, I want to share some of the books we're giving as gifts this year to various friends and family members (that hopefully don't read this blog!). First up are a pair of gorgeous board books for toddlers and preschoolers. These are going to a 2 1/2 year old boy but we will probably buy another set for a 1 year old.

If you don't know about Steve Jenkins, you're missing out on some of the best non-fiction picture books for kids. Now he has illustrated two new board books for the American Museum of Natural History.

1-2-3 Dinosaurs Bite! A Prehistoric Counting Book is, obviously, a counting book. It has bites out of the pages which kids always seem to love. But adults will love that pronunciations are included for the dinosaur names. Microraptor seems easy enough but when you hit Dilophosaurus [dye-LO-fuh-SAW-rus], you'll be a happier reader thanks to this feature. I wish the book was a full ten dinosaurs though. It only features five species and then it speeds through the rest of the numbers. Of course, I've forgotten about short attention spans and this book is probably just the right length for young listeners.

Spot the Animals: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Colors matches up animals and colors in an ever-popular lift-the flap format. These are sturdy board book flaps (actually just double-sized pages that fold out) which make the book perfect for little hands. I guarantee these aren't going to tear off! The colors are bright but not garish. And, as you can see peeking out from the front cover, it features Z's favorite snake, the emerald tree boa.

When these two books arrived in the house, Z immediately grabbed them. I had to actually ask him to stop looking at them after a while so that they would still be in gift condition. With gorgeous art and a little bit of learning, these would be perfect for most little readers and pre-readers.

Still finding a way to buy board books,
K

Starting Your Baby's Library

Last weekend I went to Maryland to visit my BFF and her two month old baby boy. It was really fun and one of the things we did while I was there was drive to DC to see the famous bookstore Politics and Prose (where I also got to finally meet Teresa of Shelf Love -- yay!). While we were there, my friend said that she needed to start getting books for her boy's library. I bought one book for him and then said I would make a list of books I would suggest for a baby/toddler library. Well, why not make that list on the blog, right?

Note: All of these are board books. Though some board books are edited down for the format, they are the only thing worth buying if you are going to let your kid put their own hands on the books. Regular books will be torn within minutes, if not seconds. Board books are sturdy and grubby-hand-resistant and even hold up well to some chewing on the corners.

The book I bought without a second thought was

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Everybody loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Z even has a plush caterpillar that he got in an Easter basket one year.

Peek-a-Who? by Nina Laden

Any book that has cut-outs and a mirror at the end will be a big favorite with young book-lookers.

Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

This book has very few words but lots of story. It's sweet and funny and I like it better than Goodnight Moon.

Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

This is a classic and is just right for the little ones when it's in board book form.

Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli

This board book is the perfect way to teach your kid that some things are food and some things are not. They will still end up with some hideously inappropriate items in their exploring mouths but that's childhood!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

This is the first book that Z read aloud on his own, just weeks after he turned three. I credit the great rhythm of the story and the easy concepts of colors and animals. Remind me some day to share the video we took of him reading this. It's adorable! Also, any of the books in this series are worth getting. The others are Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? and Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?.

The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone

This one probably isn't a book to read with your baby but toddlers love the build up and they'll especially be amused when you break out your best Grover voice.

Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Rod Campbell

This one will need either a bit of supervision or have to wait for the older toddler years or else it will quickly become a flapless book. But Z was careful and he loved this book about choosing the right pet.

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham

This was one of my favorite books as a kid and the board book version is fun. Any kid who has watched mom or dad try and wrangle the family dog into a bath will love it.

I could keep going with a big list of every other Eric Carle board book, tons of Dr. Seuss titles, the other Leslie Patricelli ones or any of the Roger Priddy books that are so bright and colorful and great for introducing "firsts" but I'll stop here.

Which board books do you think are must haves for a baby/toddler library?


Feeling a bit nostalgic,
K

A HOP and a Give-Away!

We have something really fun for you today. In celebration of the Friday movie release of HOP, we are giving away a prize pack of FIVE tie-in books from Little, Brown!

If you haven't seen the trailer for this film yet, it's the story of E.B., a teenaged bunny. His father is the Easter Bunny and is ready to retire. But E.B. wants to be a drummer in a rock band instead and so he runs away to Hollywood. He ends up staying with a man named Fred and is a less than stellar houseguest. Back at Easter headquarters, the chicks have decided to revolt and take charge of the holiday. Will E.B. accept his destiny before Easter is ruined? You can watch the trailer here.

These are the five books you could win for your family or to give away to other lucky kids:

Hoppy Bunnies is a great Easter basket board book choice for the youngest ones. It has three felt finger puppets attached that you can use while telling the short story of how the Easter Bunny delivers baskets to children. It's an Easter version of The Night Before Christmas poem! We would send this one to Z's almost one-year-old cousin.

Counting Chicks is another cute board book for toddlers who are learning to count. Featuring chicks Carlos and Phil, this one counts from one to ten through yummy-looking candy that needs to go into the Easter basket. This book would be perfect for Z's two-year-old cousin!

Meet the Easter Bunny is an early reader level book that takes young readers (and E.B.) on a tour through the Easter factory, deep under Easter Island. It's only loosely based on the film and is a cute and happy book. Chicks Versus Bunnies is more of a movie picture book, with a brief re-telling of the main movie story. It's more intense than the other book (with a bit of cartoon martial arts) but about at the same reading level. It has some punch-out Easter egg holders in the back. These books are just right for Z and his 1st grade cousin.

Hop: The Chapter Book is a 64 page book with twelve easy chapters and pictures from the movie. It would be perfect for 1st graders that are good readers and up or as a bedtime book. Z has decided to read one chapter a day.

What a great prize package! If you would like to win a set of these books, simply fill out the form below. This contest is for U.S. residents only. Entries will be accepted until end of day on Sunday when I will pick a winner.

HOPping off to the theater,
K and Z


Support our site and buy Hoppy Bunnies, Counting Chicks, Hop: Meet the Easter Bunny, Hop: Chicks Versus Bunnies and Hop: The Chapter Book on Amazon or find them at your local library. We received copies for review from a publicist and will be sharing them with cousins.

Tis' The Season Already?

Though Christmas is definitely a big deal around our house, we don't actually have that many holiday books.  I've always thought that it was silly to buy a book that might not have year-round appeal.  And yet, there are many winter titles that would be refreshing reads on an unbearable July afternoon.  And it also seems that holiday preparations are starting earlier and earlier so there's really no excuse to miss out on all of the fantastic holiday reads that are out there!

The Christmas staple in my parents' home (besides the Bible and my mom's favorite, The Christ Child) was, of course, The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore, written all the way back in 1822.  I think we had a pop-up version that made the story really come to life.  Now, in my own home, we have had a version illustrated by Bruce Whatley for years now but it's always nice to change it up.  This year we've acquired a new version, illustrated by Australian Robert Ingpen.  It's a little different because it's twice as long -- one page per two-line rhyming couplet.  The print is also larger which makes it perfect for emerging readers.  Z is getting really good at memorizing poems and so I think it will be fun to work on getting through this one together this year.  I'm always good until Papa looks out the window (something about "new-fallen snow" and "mid-day below") and then I need a little help from the book!

If your family leans toward the untraditional or modern, we also have Little Critter's The Night Before Christmas by Mercer Mayer which comes with a read-along cd.  The language in this one has been updated a bit (ie, St. Nicholas becomes Santa Claus).  I'm a bit of a purist so I'll stick with the original but I know that many children respond better to cartoons and slightly more modern language.  However, if I am going to mess with a classic, I like to take it all the way -- like with A Pirate's Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates and illustrated by Sebastia Serra.  It features Sir Peggedy and his eight giant seahorses: Salty, Scurvy, Sinbad, Mollie, Cutthroat, Cross-Eyes, Roger, and Jolly.  I think I'm going to go look for a copy of that one!

There are a few other Christmas classics in our home as well.  First we have a shiny "Party Edition" of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss (1957), which is a must read every year.  Mmm ... roast beast.  Next is E.T.A. Hoffmann's slightly disturbing Nutcracker (ours is the Maurice Sendak version that partners with his set design for the Pacific Northwest Ballet annual production).  I didn't realize it was so old but Nutcracker (no "the") was written in 1816 in German.  That explains why it is far more terrifying than your standard children's story!  And then there's the newer Richard Scarry's Best Christmas Book Ever! (1981).  I think that Richard Scarry is definitely a staple for my generation.  With caroling sheet music, short stories and a board game, this is a great book for the impatient weeks leading up to the holiday.  There's even an instruction section on how to make a pomander (although I don't see Gold Bug anywhere)!

The Twelve Days of Christmas is a carol that is always fun to sing when you have a lot of time to kill but it is a bit disconnected with modern times (having surfaced in England in 1780) with its partridges, lords-a-leaping, pipers piping and maids-a-milking.  Sterling Books has just released a set of regional versions of this carol that bring it forward to modern times in a very fun way.  With sixteen versions so far, each one features regional authors and artists who bring the states (and districts) to life.  The books include "letters" that explain why each item was included.  We'll be waiting for the Washington state version and I would love to see a Hawaii one!  I know that we have readers in Texas, Arizona (almost), California, New Jersey and Louisiana (originally) so I'd love to hear if they picked the right twelve things for your region!

I've become a fan of paper toys recently and there's a great new book by Marilyn Scott Waters that has some great punch-and-fold designs -- The Toymaker's Christmas: Paper Toys You Can Make Yourself.  With just a few dabs of glue, I'm going to make ornaments and mantel displays on the cheap.  And because they are punch-outs instead of cut-outs, it will be easy for Z to help me.

If you're feeling a bit more ambitious than working with paper, try Fa la la la Felt: 45 Handmade Holiday Decorations or head over and take a look at the myriad of holiday and seasonal crafts on Martha Stewart's website.  I usually cut out some paper snowflakes each year and hers look far better than mine so I'm going to get some tips before starting this year.

Of course, if you don't celebrate Christmas there are tons of great winter books out there as well.  Two years ago we featured some of our favorites -- Penguins, Penguins Everywhere by Bob Barner, The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll and The Snow Bear by Miriam Moss.  We also love The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and you can read that one for free on WeGiveBooks.org!

We don't have any books around for holidays other than Christmas so if you have any suggestions, please let us know about them in the comments.  What are your favorite holiday and winter books to share with your family?

Waiting for a winter wonderland,
K and Z


Support our site and buy any of these books on Amazon or find them at your local library.  We bought some of these books for ourselves and received some for review.