Top 2 Books for Babies 2011

Yawn by Sally Symes, illustrated by Nick Sharratt, Candlewick

Baby Sean gave a yawn and started the whole chain of yawns from cats and bunnies to bees and elephants. Each board book page has a circle cut out over a black background for a yawn. What’s even more fun is the guessing game on each page as Sean hands off his yawn to a scruffy, fluffy…and so on until baby and all his stuffed animals are in bed. Bright, colorful pages with large images are perfect for babies and toddlers.

Welcome to the World by Valerie Wyatt, photographs by Lennette Newell, Kids Can Press

A small hardcover with big and close-up photos of irresistible baby faces; the text talks to baby about the sights and sounds and feelings coming ahead in exploring the world. The language is simple enough for babies, but lyrical as well which makes it a joy to read aloud and gives babies the variety of sounds that help them learn language: You will see hight chase dark, as clouds pass by. Beautiful.

Review: Counting in the Garden (Children’s)

Remember the “in my suitcase, I packed…” game, where each person had to list what was said before and then add to it? This cheerful, chunky board book reminds me of that. A child who likes to count the things in the garden, starts with one onion that the reader gets to see up close. The next two-page spread shows the onion in the context of the whole garden. Each succesive plant, vegetable, flower, or creature follows the same format, until there are 12 different things in 12 different quantities in the whole colorful garden.

Older preschoolers and kindergarteners will enjoy the challenge of counting and finding all the things in the garden.

By Emily Hruby, illustrated by Patrick Hruby, Ammo, 2011

Wild Alphabet: An A to Zoo Pop-up Book

Wild Alphabet: An A to Zoo Pop-up Book by Dan Green
Kingfisher, 2010
This fat and chunky book has clever pop-ups for each animal that represents
a letter ot the alphabet. A color picture and brief information about the wild
animal is great, and each description has a concrete word in it. Even though
the pop-up animals are in black and white, the cleverness of the engineering
is so great, you won’t even notice. Check out “O” with an orangutan hanging
off the letter. Don’t mistake this for a baby book; with animals like a narwhal
and wallaby, ages 4 to 8 will have great fun with this.

Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin

Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills
Schwartz & Wade, 2009
The adorable little feathered friends are back, just in time for fall harvest and Halloween. Thistle, of all creatures, has a beautiful pumpkins, and Duck and Goose set out in search of one, as well. Toddlers and young preschoolers will delight in the search as Duck and Goose look EVERYWHERE for a pumpkin, except of course, a pumpkin patch. The delightful expressions, soft landscapes, and colorful world of this innocent pair are not to be missed; as fun as can be.