Poetry Friday: Maisy's First Numbers and Colors

How about a couple little rhymes from Maisy for this Poetry Friday?



"Three spotted butterflies.
Flitter,
flutter,
fly!

Four scaly yellow fish,
swimming on by!"



"Charley's picked bananas,
a big yellow bunch!

Green pears for Cyril,
munch, munch,
munch!"

Maisy's First Numbers
Maisy's First Colors
by Lucy Cousins
Candlewick Press, 2013

I Spy Pets: Edward Gibbs

Not a board book, but perfect for totz anyway! The die-cut hole in the upper center of the front cover continues on every other right hand page inside. 

I spy with my little eye . . .

something with a hard shell.

(speech bubble from unknown green thing visible through the die-cut hole)

I like to munch lettuce.

(Turn the page . . .)

I'm a turtle!

(with a turtle filling the entire spread)

One of my favorite aspects of this book is the final die cut hole in the back cover. Even as adult, I absolutely had to look through it to see what I could spy in my surroundings!

This book is part of a series, so be sure to check out the rest, including I Spy on the Farm.

I Spy Pets

Author-illustrator: Edward Gibbs

Templar Books

Poetry Friday: Digger Dozer Dumper

Happy Poetry Friday!



Garbage Truck

The garbage truck adores his work -
the sights, the smells, the sounds!
The sour milk, the clanging lids,
the clumpy coffee grounds.
Hydraulic arms reach out, then lift.
He hoists the bins up high,
then tips and dumps and shakes them out . . .
and BANGS them down - good-bye!

Digger Dozer Dumper
by Hope Verstergaard
illustrated by David Slonim
Candlewick Press, 2013

Baby and Me: Emma Dodd

I'm a huge fan of Nosy Crow. They repeatedly hit the mark for totz. Check out Baby and Me, written and illustrated by Emma Dodd. The interactive book is fun with thick pull tabs, cloth diaper strips, and even a blanket for the girl to wrap her baby doll inside.

The soft colors and varied black outline are pleasing to carry the simple text.

"This is me.
And this...
is my baby doll."

Of course all the activity is leading up to the child's welcome and able assistance for the new baby in the family. So clever! Enjoy Baby and Me! It may be just the book you need to introduce your happy news to your totz.

Baby and Me
by Emma Dodd
Nosy Crow, 2013

Photo Friday: Baby Book Love

Happy Photo Friday, thanks to this Pinterest link!

Kiss, Kiss Good Night: Kenn Nesbitt

Kiss, Kiss Good Night is an endearing bedtime book to help your totz snuggle down and quickly fall asleep. Children's Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt's rhyme is lyrical and rhythmic.

When cuddly cubs begin to doze,
their mothers stroke them on the the nose,
then grumble softly in their ear.
In Bear, that means
"Good night, my dear."

Rebecca Elliott's art is is warm, with texture and curved lines which enhance and mimic the hugs between mothers and their babes. In the larger format, the two full spreads envelop the reader into Elliott's world.

Joan and I recommend Kiss, Kiss Good Night for your bedtime ritual. xox

Kiss, Kiss Good Night
by Kenn Nesbitt
illustrated by Rebecca Elliott
Cartwheel Books, Scholastic, 2013

Poetry Friday: Ernie, Dance Myself to Sleep

A little Ernie for Poetry Friday and hot summer nights where it may be too hot sleep!

Animal Opposites: Petr Horacek

As a longtime fan of Petr Horacek, I'm happy to share his new Animal Opposites, a pop-up book.  The large format holds a collection of animals that is a surprising delight by comparison, all with the fresh looseness of Horacek's illustration.

A fat pig is paired with a thin meerkat. A still sloth hangs opposite a bouncy kangaroo. The flaps and pop-ups of various sizes are just extra bonuses in this beautiful collection. I think this work could actually stand alone as a board book. Maybe a consideration, Candlewick Press, for the smallest hands?

It is a book like this that makes me again wish for an award to recognize brilliance in the board book/novelty format. Joan and I made the call out in 2009, here. And we both decided The Kunhardt Award would be aptly named for Dorothy Kunhardt's Pat the Bunny. Animal Opposites would be a contender for certain!

Animal Opposites, a pop-up book
by Petr Horacek
Candlewick Press, 2013

Poetry Friday: Squeal, From Lorie Ann Grover

Pinterest Pin

Squeal

Drip drop
It's so hot

Summer day
Sprinkler play


Lorie Ann Grover, 2013