BOB and 6 more Christmas Stories: Sandra Boynton

This is a true board book with small, sturdy pages. What makes its form different from a typical board book is that the seven stories (BOB plus 6 more) are made easy to find by tabs on the right.

I’m a Sandra Boynton fan, and this book does not disappoint. It begins with:

BOB

I have a tiny reindeer.

He says his name is Bob.

He likes to enterain me.

He says it is his job.

(To the very end of this two-page tale, the narrator still believes Bob is real, despite his sister’s nay-saying.)

The seventh story is actually a song. Christmas Lullaby comes with accompanying 1-page sheet music, in case you want to play it with your tot. This one is soft and sweet. The third and final stanza:

Good night, my little present,

and always peace to you.

I’ve nothing more to ask for—

You are my wish come true,

Oh, you are my wish come true.

A fun and lovely book sure to please parents and totz!

BOB and 6 more Christmas Stories

Author-illustrator: Sandra Boynton

http://kids.simonandschuster.com/

Happy Birthday, Little Pookie: Sandra Boynton

Hooray! A new Sandra Boynton board book. I still remember how excited I was when I first saw Sandra's quirky, hilarious cards in the stores years ago. No one else was doing anything like she was at the time, and I consider her a creative pioneer.

Little Pookie is a pig. The first page illustration of him is so pignant, oh, I mean poignant. Really sweet and childlike. Pookie is waking up his/her pig parents because it's Pookie's birthday. However, it's the middle of the night before this big event. So Pookie is coaxed back into bed, only to return at precisely 5:32 a.m. with yet another birthday announcement. Parents reply:

You're back little Pookie.
It's 5:32.
Well, okay, it's your day,
Happy Birthday to you!

The fun day plays out with piggie pancakes, a balloon, and friends. And it ends with a wonderful happy birthday wish. This story took me back to a time when birthdays were so important--when I thought the world revolved around the fact that it was MY birthday!

A sweet, sturdy, rhyming, realistic board books totz will love!

Happy Birthday, Little Pookie
Author-illustrator: Sandra Boynton
Robin Corey Books, 2010

Sandra Boynton: The Going to Bed Book

My first Sandra Boynton experience was a birthday card that said “Hippo Birdies Two Ewe.” It was accompanied by simple, whimsical illustrations of a hippo, birds, and two ewe. I’ve loved her quirky sense of humor and her illustrations ever since. (Okay, that “ewe” pluralization sounded odd to me as I wrote it just now, so I looked it up on wiktionary. Sandra is right—“ewe” can be pluralized with or without the “s.” Who gnu?)



A true small-size board book made of paper over board, The Going to Bed Book is goofiness at its finest. A crew of endearing animals on board a ship prepare for bed by going below to take a bath, brush their teeth, and so on. The surprise comes as the moon rises, when they all go upstairs for a bit of exercise before settling down to sleep. The rhythm never misses a beat and the last spread echoes the soothing, sway of a ship as "They rock and rock and rock to sleep."



Inside scoop:
According to an article in the New York Times, Sandra Boynton’s studio is located in a renovated barn beside her Connecticut home, which sits on 100 acres. With her first illustration sale at age 14 to a local newspaper, she bought two shares of AT&T stock!

Enjoy these videos of families reading this book. Take a look:





The Going to Bed Book
Sandra Boynton, author-illustrator
Little Simon, 1995

~ Joan Holub, author