Funny Fun Picture Books for Ages 3-4

A friend lamented that she hated all the books she was reading to her three-year-old and asked for suggestions. Her son only liked books with plot and a resolution and was not a fan of rhyme or extreme silliness. Knowing this I couldn't recommend Dr. Seuss or the Dinosaur and Shark books my son currently loves, but I could give her some other titles that have been open a lot over this last year. I made her a list: http://www.indiebound.org/user/2768/list/4 Looking at my list I realized that almost all of our favorites had a common theme HUMOR. The following books (taken from that list) are all funny, but the silliness is kept in check by great plots.

Funny Fun Picture Books 

with a Plot

for 3-4 year olds

 

Skippyjon Jones

by Judy Schachner

Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat who pretends he is a chihuahua. In his pretend world he has fantastic adventures while singing goofy rhyming songs. True, my friend's son isn't a fan of rhyme, but the plots of these stories are so fun and the character is so mischievous and lovable that I'm pretty sure her son will love the book despite the rhymes. Oscar is certainly a fan. Skippyjon Jones is a series, which means there are multiple adventures to be had for his fans.

Betty Bunny is a goofball, a strong-willed stubborn goofball who in this story decides she loves chocolate cake so much that she is going to marry it. The moral of this particular tale is that you can't stick chocolate cake down your sock. Like Skippyjon Jones, Betty Bunny is a series so that fans can keep the laughter coming.

Author Mo Willems has lots of fans, and Oscar is one of them. This is perhaps our favorite Mo Willems tale. Naked Mole Rat doesn't like being naked and likes to wear clothes, this creates consternation among his peers, but fortunately they realized that if it doesn't hurt anyone, fun is harmless. It's a perfect tale for youngsters who like to dress up and pretend.

The fantastic illustrations in this book have kept Oscar interested since he was about two, but it is only now, when he is four, that he is finally understanding it. The plot of this book is essentially that blue whales are big. They are too big for the classroom, too big for swimming pools, but big enough to move into.

Slowly but surely the chickens discover that the giant chick is not an elephant, an umbrella, or a squirrel, but actually is a chicken. It takes a long time though; chickens aren't very smart. This is a hilarious re-interpretation of Chicken Little that has enough jokes for both the adults and the kids to get a giggle.

This humorous tale of a Bear who has to be convinced to enjoy his birthday is unbelievably sweet. I'm sure we all wish we had a friend like mouse.

Best Books & Gifts for a 6 Month Old!

First apologies, it has been way too long since my last post. In my defense, I've had little sleep or time and we've been on two long vacations. I really enjoyed the vacations, but still it is nice to be back home, and back to blogging.

BEST BOOKS & GIFTS 

FOR 6 MONTH OLDS

Indestructibles

These fabulous little books are made of a strong paper-like material similar to that used in some postal mailers. They are small "paper" books that babies can grab, slobber on, and chew without choking, or worse, without destroying the book! Alas these were not available when my first son was born, but my second son, Henry, LOVES them! Henry loves to grab paper, and he is very good at it - I couldn't find my boarding pass as we were getting on a plane, turns out it was in Henry's mouth. Unfortunately paper, boarding passes included, are choking hazards, Henry started to gag and the boarding pass remnants were quickly finger swept out. He cried only for a moment, because I grabbed an Indestructible out of my purse and all was well. He still had fun crinkly paper to play with and I didn't have to worry about him dying.

The artwork used in these books are very colorful and full of contrast. None of the books have words in them, this is a benefit to many who like to make up their own stories or simply point to things in the pictures. I, however, am not always feeling that creative so my favorite Indestructibles  are the ones that illustrate nursery rhymes because then I always have something to say. They currently retail for $4.95 each (a bargain in the baby book world) and are available nearly everywhere books are sold, except the grocery store, which sells books now too I suppose (but not Indestructibles).

Rattles & Teethers

To parents of six-month-olds this might seem rather obvious, but I have learned that adults quickly forget what babies play with and are often at a loss of what to give as presents. Of course not all rattles are equal. The plastic rattles you can get almost anywhere aren't bad, but they aren't the rattles Oscar or Henry reached for the most. 

Henry's favorite rattle is about as classic as they come, in fact it's official marketing title is Standard Bell Rattle. His brother picked it out for him before he was born. Currently Henry enjoys not only it's tinkling bell rattle, but also it's ability to be a drum stick and a teething toy all in one go. The paint has yet to chip and I feel totally safe that he isn't going to end up with little bits of wood in his gums This rattle is so well made I'm pretty sure that Henry will be able to give it to his own children. Maple Landmark, the company that made his rattle, makes numerous rattles in many shapes and sizes.

Both of my sons loved and love the natural rubber teether toy Sophie the Giraffe by Vulli.In addition to inheriting his older brother's Sophie, Henry was blessed with an additional rubber teether toy by Vulli called Chan Pie Gnon Blue, which looks like an alien boob; he loves it, and yes, I do breast feed. There is something about the texture of the rubber that my children love, I'm really glad we got them as gifts, they are appreciated. Vulli natural rubber teethers are available many many places, but I put in links to YoYo.com because I know they have good customer service.

String-Alongs Board Books

Chronicle Books makes two different sets of small shaped board books with holes in the middle through which you can put a string (or shoelace really). They are books, beads, and little blocks all in one. These books have a fabulous slick texture that both of my children LOVE. We have multiple little board books, but these are by far their favorites. I taught Oscar the shapes using the Moma String-Alongs set and currently Henry loves to eat the little books as well as play with them as a rattle when they are all strung together in a circle. Oscar still loves to open the books up, peer through their holes, and pretend that he is wearing fancy glasses. This year Chronicle came out with an Eric Carle String-Alongs set. We don't own it, but it sure looks cute!

Cardboard Stacking & Nesting Blocks

At six months Henry cannot stack or nest our blocks, but he can grab them easily and surprisingly the cardboard is not harmed by his slobber. The nice thing about the nesting blocks, rather than cups, is that they will be enjoyed for years and years to come. Oscar, at three and a half, is just conquering the art of stacking them in the correct order and as ours are colored with bright graphics, numbers, and letters, we've been using them for number recognition as well. In addition to their traditional uses, they make excellent multi-story garages for little cars and are fairly decent toy containers. I advocate cardboard over wood because they don't hurt if they fall down on you. The set we have is rather expensive ($25), but it is worth it. Avoid Melissa & Doug versions, they look great but the quality is awful - they probably would not be able to withstand the drool.

I apologize for being unable to rotate the photos below - it's a problem on my computer I need to fix.

What can the Man in the Moon teach you?

The Man in the Moon

by William Joyce

Many once upon a times ago I used to manage not one, not two, but THREE parent educations programs for those with children 0-5. I  had a staff of around ten that was supposed to serve the entire Inyo County, including far flung Death Valley, a four hour drive south. I was 28-years-old and had NO management experience - that is what you get for $12 an hour, no experience. When all is said and done I can say that I gave the job my all and tried my best; I may have even done a better job than others in the same situation would have. But I was inexperienced in management doing a job that normally would be done by two (in some cases even three) people, and I wasn't yet a parent. When I found myself crying every weekend I quit, I lasted a little less than two years. But while I was there I went to a great many trainings, and they all said the same thing READ TO YOUR CHILD.

At the time I fully embraced group think and never even thought to question the great educational dogma. But now that I have Oscar, and I read to him, and read to him, and read to him, sometimes I think back to all those trainings and wonder if there wasn't something I may have missed. Of course my reading to Oscar will help him become a future reader, but what other than job security for me will that accomplish. I know in truth, that it is all about school success, but after school, how important is reading, really, in the adult world?

A woman came into the bookstore the other month to buy something for her son, she couldn't remember what she wanted to buy so she called her husband on the phone, "I'm in the bookstore" she said over the phone. I could hear his reply, "Why, you don't read?". "Yes", she laughed, "I'm picking up something for Robbie....". I looked at this woman, was her life really so much less than mine because she didn't read. She looked happy, she had a family, she had money, at least she looked like she had more money than me. So she didn't read, she probably never read for pleasure, but was she less happy because of that?

Is it better for adults to read a James Patterson mystery novel or watch a movie? Is reading Twilight superior to seeing the film? Is it better to read a story to my son or have him watch Dora the Explorer? Dora teaches my son another language, she teaches him to remember instructions and complete them. Is she really so inferior to Goodnight Moon? I have never stopped reading, and reading, and reading to Oscar, but for the last six months my mind has sorta wondered - WHY?

And then two days ago, I read Oscar William Joyce's new picture book The Man in the Moon and suddenly everything clicked. The Man in the Moon is too old for Oscar, it has a rather complicated plot and takes place in outer space, a concept beyond many a two-year-olds' capabilities. But the bookstore got an advance copy of the book, and I took it home. Oscar saw the picture on the cover and I shrugged and started reading it to him. It took us half an hour to read the book through the first time, and most of the story went in one Oscar ear and out the other. But the kid LOVED it.

Oscar wouldn't let me just read the story and turn pages, instead he would stare at the pictures. At least 15 minutes was spent on one spread, a visually simple spread all in blues. The Man in the Moon (MiM) was a baby, his parents had just been killed in a battle, and he was alone on the moon looking up at a new constellation of stars and seeing his parents in the constellation. That's pretty heavy for a 2-year-old, and in all fairness the book is not written for two-year-olds. Oscar had me read the page over and over and over again. He was pouting, but he never cried, and I realized this was his first brush with the concept of death. He may have been introduced to the idea before, but now he was starting to understand it. And we talked about it, about how the baby felt, about where the parents were...I was scared I was going to scar my child with this book, but at the same time I was grateful to be having his conversation now, and NOT when something horrible actually happened. Because something horrible will happen, Oscar has four grandparents, is he going to have four grandparents when he's 20? Death is an important part of life, and I prefer to slowly introduce my son to the idea of it before it touches him.

While reading this book with my son, while introducing him to these big concepts to him it hit me - the book is letting us do this. The book is helping me raise my child. A T.V. show could never do this, not so effectively, not so delicately. My son is smarter and wiser than he was two days ago and I have a book to thank for that. Rarely when watching T.V. do people stop to THINK about what they are seeing, but it is hard to be blind to that in a book, because while reading the words you already are in your mind, it's harder to ignore your own questions.

Most of the book was over Oscar's head the first time we read it, but now he understand almost everything. He understand outer space, he understands stars, spaceships, oaths... Much of what I thought was beyond his capabilities is not. It's been a big learning experience for Mommy.

Oscar's Favorites at 2.75!

Fortunately for me, Oscar loves books. He loves rhymes, and he loves a good story. Below are the titles most frequently requested at bedtime.

Mother Goose Poems

It doesn't actually matter which book of Mother Goose poems it is, as long as there are some pictures Oscar will like it. We have, and Oscar adores, the fancy Sylvia Long edition, but it doesn't include as many poems as some of the other budget friendly compilations. Grandma has the edition pictured above, and when we go to her house Oscar seems to like it just fine.

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake

When Betty Bunny eats chocolate cake for the first time, she declares, "I am going to marry chocolate cake." She loves it so much that she takes a piece to school with her in her pocket and refuses to eat anything else.

I'm a sucker for well-meaning but misbehaving children, and Betty Bunny is one of our favorites. I also love her wise-cracking big brother Bill. The only thing I don't like about this story is that Betty Bunny's mom makes me look like a frumpy dumpy mess! If only I could dress as fashionably as the Bunny family.

That Cat Can't Stay

This entertaining  book about a family with a penchant for cat adoptions is filled with fun illustrations and repetitive rhymes that Oscar loves. I only hope he never starts to take the book too seriously as we are renters and therefore we are NOT planning on getting any cats or dogs in the future.

Chicken Big

Chicken Big is a hilarious twist on the classic Chicken little. With all it's word bubbles and jokes it should be too old for Oscar, but he likes it anyway - hopefully he'll like it for a long long time.

Tugga-Tugga Tugboat

The other night in the bathtub Oscar asked me to sing him the tugboat song. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I asked him to sing it for me, and he started reciting the words to our book Tugga-Tugga Tugboat. We started reading Tugga-Tugga Tugboat to Oscar before he was a year old, and he loved it. I thought that he would have outgrown the book by now, but he hasn't, in fact this last month Tugga-Tugga Tugboat has seen a resurgence in popularity in our house and has become his most asked for book at nighttime.

Oscar's Favorites at 2.5

For the past couple of weeks Oscar has asked for one thing at bedtime: JACK. Sometimes he says "Read Jack?" and other times he'll make it more complicated by saying "Little Critter Jack now?" but the desire is always the same. He wants us to read him the Little Critter version of Jack and the Beanstalk. Little Critter, is, of course, the furry beast created by Mercer Mayer in the late 70s who, 30 years later, is still with us. (A couple of new books are published every year.) I love Little Critter because he is not perfect, (in fact sometimes he is downright naughty), but he tries, and the mouse or insect friends who follow him around from page to page are irresistible.

The Little Critter Jack and the Beanstalk is a lift-the-flap book; it is hardcover and the pages are surprisingly sturdy for a book that retails for only $7.95. The words underneath the flaps are essential to the story, which is nice for 2.5-year-olds who want to feel like they are helping mommy read the book. I enjoy reading the book because it is FUNNY. The crow atop the cow asks if "this kid was born yesterday" when Jack trades the cow for a bag of beans. The little mouse is an adorable, doubting best friend to Jack. Every page has something to make you laugh or smile. At the end of the book Jack is a hero not because he brought riches to his poor mother, but because the hole that the giant made when he fell became an excellent wading pool that all the neighborhood kids can use.

Little Critter Jack and the Beanstalk is actually one of a series of lift-the-flap Little Critter fairytale re-tellings. There is also Little Critter Red Riding Hood and Little Critter Hansel & Gretel. Oscar doesn't have them all, right now; they are hidden away as treats for future dates. But I'm sure, given his reaction to Jack and the Beanstalk, that the other Little Critter lift-the-flap fairytales will be well loved.

Paperback Favorites from a Boy who's Almost 2!

It goes by so fast! It takes so long until they sit up on their own, so long until they start crawling. Then they're walking before you know it, they start running all to soon, and then one night you open the story book and they tell you the EXACT sentence that goes with that page's picture:

"Good morning, Earl," said Jill.

It was the when "said Jill" came out of Oscar's mouth that my jaw truly dropped. My Oscar is almost two. Gone (thankfully) are the days of the oh-so-boring one word per page board books. We are now into stories, stories that he remembers. This is not to say that we have left board books behind, they are certainly a part of our daily lives, and it is true that Oscar still refuses to sit through Stellaluna; but the entry into the land of story-time is certainly a marker that shall be marked, or at least it will be marked in my memory. My little baby is now a little boy.

And here are my little almost-two-year-old's favorite stories.

My Friend Rabbit

by Eric Rohmann

My Friend Rabbit won the Caldecott in 2003, and it was well deserved. The highly defined pictures of colorful animals trying to get a plane out of a tree tell a story that is a pleasure to flip through, with or without words. I bought this book long before I was pregnant, I bought the book before I was married, before I was even engaged, and in truth I've been trying to read it to Oscar since he was about six months old. But at six-months-old, he just wasn't into it. Now however, it is his FAVORITE. 

"Mommy rabbit? Rabbit friend? Mommy rabbit?"

And then when the story is over:

"Again?"

And If I refuse:

"Daddy rabbit? Rabbit Daddy? Rabbit friend?"

The fun thing about this is that Tom (the aforementioned "Daddy") and I actually read the book differently. I read the words. I know it is a wonderful to read the pictures, to change the story every time, to extend and involve the listener...but I have accepted my weaknesses, one of which is that I really just want to read the words. Tom  however, will read the pictures with Oscar. In some books it seems to me they'll stay on the same page for ten minutes! I can't do that. In truth My Friend Rabbit is a picture book that doesn't really need words, but me, being me, I do appreciate that they're there. And Oscar seems to like it, no matter what.

Earl the Squirrel

By Don Freeman

Earl the Squirrel is similar to My Friend Rabbit in that the pictures tell the story, but it is different not only in the style of illustration but in that Earl has A LOT more words. Unlike My Friend Rabbit, Earl is a story that doesn't even NEED pictures. I can see myself repeating the story to Oscar on car rides and in other situations where a distraction will be needed. This is not to say the illustrations aren't appreciated, I for one love them. I especially love the fact that the only item of color, in the whole book, is the red scarf, around which the whole story revolves. The author, Don Freeman, is famous for Corduroy, which is a book we don't actually have. My husband doesn't believe it, but we DON'T own every book ever written. However, I am thankful we own Earl the Squirrel.

Sunshine on My Shoulders

By Jon Denver

Illustrated By Christopher Canyon

I am not a fan of Sunshine on My Shoulders, but Oscar loves it. I didn't buy this book, but we have it and one day I pulled it off the shelf to read to Oscar; I have not been able to hide it since. It is not that the book is bad, it is the lyrics to Jon Denver's song with very nice water color illustrations of a little girl on a lake with her dad. I don't like it because I have a personal distaste for what I see as overly sentimental blah.... but my tastes do not define the rest of the world, and they certainly don't define my son. Oscar LOVES Sunshine on My Shoulders. I do sing him the words, and I sing to a tune that is similar (though not exactly the same) to the recorded John Denver versions I have since seen on You Tube. I am including this book, because this is about Oscar's favorite books, not mine. I brought the book into the store because I knew I was going to write this blog post. It is shelved with the other paperback picture books on one side of our children's section. We currently have about thirty paperback picture books in the store. Oscar came into the store yesterday, and of course he spotted the book and immediately demanded I read it to him. He really likes Sunshine on My Shoulders.

Eight Animals on the Town

By Susan Middleton Elya

Illustrated by Lee Chapman

Unlike the other books in the blog post, Eight Animals on the Town has been one of Oscar's favorite books for a while. He started enjoying the book at about 12-months-old. Perhaps it is the bright colors, or the funny, humanistic shapes of the animals, but my suspicion is that the books bilingual nature is what really captures Oscar's attention. The book is primarily in English, with Spanish words thrown in. 

"Frog hops along hungry for Flies. Moscas says Rana, economy size."

Eight Animals on the Town. We do have other books, in Spanish, but in truth I don't know the language, and when I try to read them Oscar's eye's glaze over. I guess it is not enough for a book to be in another language, or to introduce another language, I guess it actually has to be a good book. Eight Animals on the Town definitely fits that the bill.

Oooh Ahhh Da? Go go? Can you read me some more Richard Scarry please?

As the former manager of multiple parent education programs for a local non-profit, I went to numerous trainings that discussed the need for crisp, clear, simple pictures in children's books with lots of contrast. And I can say that when Oscar was an infant bold simple lines did get his attention. The problem is kids don't stay infants for long. At 18 months Oscar has not yet discarded the board books of his infant past, but they are NOT his first choice. His first choice are books with busy pictures, with lots of different things to point to, and preferably filled with cars, trains, and planes, tractors all of which Oscar calls "go go". Essentially Oscar's first choice is Richard Scarry.

Richard Scarry, the author I grew up with and knew so well, is and I suppose will always be, popular. Pictures of rabbits, pigs, and worms driving and inevitably crashing cars resonates with kids. Fortunately Richard Scarry has A LOT of books, so though my beautiful child always wants to read his stories, at least I have a number of stories to choose from. We have Busiest Fire Fighter's Ever, Please and Thank You Book, A Day at the Airport and The Best Mistake Ever! and other Stories all of which were $3.99. We also have Richard Scarry's What do People Do All Day big book, which retails for $14.00 The big book is Oscar's favorite, and my least favorite; it is big, and FILLED with lots of pictures and lots of stories, and Oscar wants me to read it to him for hours. I love reading to my child, but my throat does get sore after a while. So I prefer Richard Scarry's shorter books, but Oscar disagrees.

Though Richard Scarry remains popular and relevant, there have been some revisions to his stories, many of which were first published in the 60s and 70s.  Here is a link to an awesome comparison of the 1963 and the 1991 edition of the Best Word Book Ever. Even the modern editions printed in the 90's don't include cell phones; in the Busiest Fire Fighters Ever! Mr Frumble alerts the fire fighters to a fire by pulling the handle of the alarm box in the street. Today he would dial 911 on his cell phone, and if he didn't have a cell phone he would flag down other pedestrians or drivers on the street to use their cell phone. (I'm one of those rare people without a cell, but don't worry I have a plan, in emergencies I'll use other people's phones). Regardless, the alarm box on the street goes over Oscar's head; he likes the fire engines, and the pigs wearing colander helmets. Actually Oscar is too young to get the the joke of the fire fighter pigs wearing colander helmets, but I get it, and it does make the book more enjoyable for me. This is important, because I have to read the book over and over and over and over and over AGAIN!

Incidentally, in 1968 Richard Scarry received an advance of up to $100,000.000 for What Do People Do All Day, he was outselling Dr. Seuss, and yet he never won any awards for his work. Here is a link to an excellent short biography of the man.

A 15-Month-Old's Favorite Reads!

Oscar's Favorites

Oscar is now 15 months old. Time flies, I remember his birth as though it was yesterday. I remember his first favorite book, Squishy Turtle and Friends, a touchy feely fabric book I had memorized. We had two copies so we could keep one at home and send the other to daycare with him. We haven't read it in quite some time now. Oscar can turn pages on his own now and he has moved beyond fabric books and into the board book world. In fact we've even started reading paper paged books together. Time does fly.

So as Oscar grows older his favorite books change. It is somewhat bittersweet, I'm sad that my knowledge of every line in the Squishy Turtle is now useless, but I'm also relieved; I was really getting sick of that book. So Oscar doesn't have one single favorite book at this moment, but he has a number that he wants me to read over and over and over and over and over again. I usually humor him, but reading a book five times in a row is my limit.


Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
By Kids Play
If you press the top right corner of the book you can hear a tune and see little pinpoints of light blink (like stars) on the cover. The song and stars are what makes this inexpensive (not board but not quite paper, more like card stock) book a hit with Oscar. The only annoying thing is that I'll be three pages in and he'll flip the cover back so he can see the twinkly lights. I have enjoyed learning the additional verses to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; the book has five verses, accompanied by lovely illustrations of nighttime critters following the star and meeting friends along the way.


Bright Baby Touch and Feel
By Roger Priddy
Oscar loves the bright and colorful photos in the bright baby touch and feel books. And he wants me to read the books to him over and over again: Truck, Apple, Dress, Shoes.... I have to admit that I will be most happy when he grows out these books. They are good books, he loves them, but they sure are boring to read aloud.

Peek-a-Who?

By Nina Laden

Peek-a-Who? has been one of Oscars favorite books since he was about six months old. And he still likes it. He likes the die cut pages that peek at the picture coming, and I think he likes to repetitive "ooo" sounds. He still doesn't understand the book, he doesn't know what a zoo is, or even what the choo choo of a train are. Because so much of the book is still over his head, it may be a favorite for years to come. We'll see.

Mole and the Baby Bird

By Marjorie Newman

Illustrated by Patrick Benson

This is a FANTASTIC story about Mole, who finds an abandoned baby bird, nurses it to health, and then has a hard time letting go as the bird grows up and learns to fly. One of the lines tugs at my heart every time I read it:

"He opened the cage door, and he let his bird fly away because he loved it. Then he cried."

Oscar is only 15-months-old, he has one word, "hi"; but he'll let me read him the whole book. He is interested in the pictures, some of which are breathtakingly beautiful and sweet. I'm thrilled that this is one of his favorite books.

Moo Baa LaLaLa!

By Sandra Boynton

The majority of my friends with children are BIG Boynton fans. Oscar (and I), oddly did not jump on to the Boynton bandwagon as early as some of his friends, but with Moo Baa Lalala he is joining in! If I had the patience for it he would have me read it ten times in a row. The book calls for making a lot of animal sounds, something both Oscar and I enjoy.

Hush Little Baby

By Sylvia Long
Though this book has been in the bookstore forever, I never picked it up. I have never been a fan of the Hush Little Baby song. Fortunately a co-worker keyed me into the fact that Sylvia Long was also not a fan of the song, and in this lovely little board book she has re-written it! No longer is mama buying everything under the sun for her little baby, instead mama is showing her baby the wonders of the night, shooting stars, the harvest moon. I sing the book to Oscar every night, it is part of our routine.



The Giant Jam Sandwich

By John Vernon Lord

Verses by Janet Burroway

In truth Oscar rarely sits through this full-story board book, but he does like it, and I don't mind that we often skip a page or four. I love the rhyming verse, and I love that I remember the book from my own youth; it was first published in 1972. I think Oscar loves how excited I am when he brings it over to me to read. He also enjoys pointing out the picture in the book that is on the cover.

Mamas and Babies Book and Memory Match Game

By Green Start

The board book has sweet rhymes, and Oscar will mostly sit through it, but what he really likes are the memory match cards. He can't match a single card. They are color coded, so that the mama panda has a green border and the baby panda has a green border, but even with that color assistance he cannot yet match the mama and baby panda together. But still he loves the cards. He loves taking the cards out of the box, he loves putting them into the box, he loves handing me cards, and taking them from me. Eventually we may actually use the cards to play a game of memory, but I doubt it will happen any time soon.

We Love Roger Priddy

Roger Priddy is a man, who happens to be an artist and book creator, who has his own publishing house - kinda; actually Priddy Books is a part of St. Martins which is connected to Macmillan Books which...well it is all a bit hard to keep track of.

Roger Priddy used to work for Usborne, a publisher that makes high quality inexpensive children's books. After working for Usborne he worked for DK, which also makes high quality books for children and adults, and has done a lot to improve the layout and graphic design of guide books. Now Roger Priddy works for himself at Priddy Books, and I must say he is doing a good job.

Roger Priddy's soft cloth book The Squishy Turtle and Friends, is Oscar's favorite. At first he liked to bop the front cover and make it crinkle, then he liked grabbing the octopus legs (it's really great, instead of two arms it has eight), and now he likes grabbing the entire book and thrusting it in his mouth. And sometimes, sometimes it even looks like Oscar is trying to turn the page.

Oscar likes board books too, but at this age (4 months) he has a hard time holding onto them for any length of time, and his fingers aren't yet agile enough to turn a board book page. Cloth books, on the other hand, are quite easy for his hands to grab; but he has some cloth books he doesn't like. Cloth books with a smooth overall feel, Oscar doesn't like those. Oscar is a fan of texture, and The Squishy Turtle has a lot of texture.

Oscar loves The Squishy Turtle so much he gave his girlfriend Amaya it's companion The Fuzzy Bee and Friends. The Fuzzy Bee is actually almost cooler than The Squishy Turtle, except for a line about a worm wanting to come out and play on a sunny day - I don't enjoy having mental images of dried-up dead worms when I'm playing with my son.

We were having an issue with forgetting to bring to Squishy Turtle back and forth from home to child care, so we decided we needed another soft Priddy book, and so we got Big Rex and Friends. Reciting hard to pronounce dinosaur names to a baby does strike me as a bit weird, but Oscar sure doesn't mind. In fact he seems to be enjoying the textures of Big Rex even more than The Squishy Turtle. New love is always the most passionate.

If you are interested Priddy also has a number of inexpensive board books that I just ordered for a local book fair. Most board books these days run $6.99 to $12.99 but for just $4.95 each you can get the touch & feel Priddy board books on Colors, Numbers, Shapes, Words, and even one for Halloween called Spooky. You can even get Spanish bilingual editions. I'm turning into a big Priddy fan.

Books A 2-Month-Old Will Look At!

My beautiful son Oscar was born December 11, 2008 and from the start, I tried reading him books. It didn't always work. But from about three weeks of age, he would look at the pages of Goodnight Moon as I read it to him (if he was in a good mood). Sometimes I was even able to read it three times or more in a row.

Now Oscar is over two-months-old, and he is rapidly paying more attention to the things around him, including the books I read him. Lady Bug Lady Bug, from My Chunky Friend set is his favorite, perhaps because I sing it to him, and perhaps because the words are nice and black on a white background (he looks at the words, not the pictures). Lady Bug Lady Bug is out of print, but if it were a different rhyming board book with black print on a white background, that I sang to him, I'm sure he would like that as well. He also likes The Rainbow Fish; he doesn't so much care for the story, but the pictures of the fish with shiny scales are fascinating to him.
We have an alphabet books he really likes, maybe because each page is turned quickly, or it could be the crisp graphics. Our alphabet book is ABC by Matthew Porter. It is fun for me to read because I can practice saying "U is for Uakari".

Baby Books

I apologize for my lack of posts, I've been distracted. Oscar Stefan Woods was born on December 11, 2008 - after 30 hours of labor and a C-section, and a VERY long wait. For some bizarre reason I thought I would have time to blog on maternity leave. I imagined a quiet baby napping and me on the computer. Well, so far that hasn't happened. But tonight Oscar has successfully taken a bottle of formula and his daddy is feeding him, so I have a spare moment.

Let me use this precious free time tell you about my favorite baby present. It is A BOOK. But it isn't one you can buy. It is a cloth book made from scraps by one of Oscar's grandmother's friends. We "read" it by describing the pictures. Oscar has even paid attention to it, not bad for a seven-week-old. Sometimes the best books can't be bought.