Sunday, March 27, 2011

Book 69

Blue Moo: 17 Jukebox Hits from Way Back Never, by Sandra Boynton, Music by Boynton and Ford, Workman Publishing Company, 2007

In earlier posts, I mentioned I like silly books, and song books and Sandra Boynton books. Well, this book has all three. To be honest, I haven't really read the book, except to sing along with the enclosed CD, but the drawings are Sandra Boynton-charming and the words/lyrics are hysterical. What I really love about this book is the enclosed CD.

The CD contains the silly lyrics of a child's song with sophisticated tunes of really, really good music. And the recording artists -- well, B.B. King sings about a missing shoe, just to give you an idea of the quality of the recording artists on this CD. It's crazy. It's outstanding. I love listening to the CD. My son loves the music and loves the accompanying illustrations. Now if I could only get the Uninvited Parade by the Uninvited Loud Precision Band out of my head. Or maybe not. It is a great tune. Even if I don't know all the words. I just boom, boom, boom to the tune and my little boy is in giggles every time.


*For other reviews, please see Book I Buy and Why

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Book 68

Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme, written by Marianne Berkes, illustrated by Jeanette Canyon, Dawn Publication, 2005 (board book 2008).

As mentioned in a previous post, I am a sucker for signed books, so when I saw one of Marianne Berkes' books in a pamphlet of 100 Picture Books for Preschoolers, I just knew I could renew our acquaintance and have her sign a book or three for my son. Actually, Marianne is very gracious and would sign a book for anyone who asks.

Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme was the book listed in the pamphlet, so I'll review it first. This book is deceptively simple. Marianne Berkes takes a simple tune (Over in the Meadow) and replaces the lyrics with counting verses about rainforest animals. Sounds pretty easy in theory, but not so much in practice. Anyway, it works very well in this book.

Jeanette Canyon uses polymer clay to create brilliant, dimensional illustrations. I'm not sure I would like that style of illustration in too many books, but with the rainforest book, it is a perfect marriage.


*For other reviews, please see Books I Buy and Why

When I was reading this book for the first time to my two-year-old son, he walked over and pointed to the 4 on the leaf and said "four". I thought he was a genius. Then he pointed at the 5 and said "four" and the six. Oh well. So much for great expectations. :)

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Book 67

The Cow That Went Oink, written and illustrated by Bernard Most, Voyager Books 1990

For Valentine's Day this year, I painted a big shipping box to look like a barn and put in it a plush cow and a pig and this book, and gave it to my two-year-old son. Weird -- yeah, maybe. Smart -- yeah, definitely. He looks the toys and the book, and all of his farm animals are now housed in the barn box.

I first encountered this book in its oversized version when my friend and former colleague, Louise N., were looking for books for Reader's Theatre. We found this book, and since we already had the pig and cow puppets, it was a cinch to use. The only challenging part was turning those oversized pages and working the puppets at the same time, but that's another story. Anyway, whether this story is being read to thirty five-year-olds or one two-year-old, it's a riot. Which makes it hold up really well for repeated reading and is one of my standards in buying a child's book.

The title of the book tells about half the story, so I won't give away any more. It does have a happy ending, which is another one of my standards in buying a child's book, especially for a toddler.


*For other reviews, please see Books I Buy and Why