Daddy Wrong Legs: Nina Laden

Get ready for a giggle with Nina Laden's split board book, Daddy Wrong Legs. There are so many daddies and so many differently shaped legs, how can you not mix-and-match a spider, elephant, frog, and a human daddy?

Nina's gouache renderings continue in the cheerful style of Peek-a Who? and Ready, Set, Go! The rhyming text adds to the fun of this interactive read.

Wrong legs
Long legs
Strong legs
Dog legs

Enjoy a laugh with your totz, Moms and Dads!

Daddy Wrong Legs
by Nina Laden
Chronicle Books, 2014

Diane Muldrow: How Do Lions Say I Love You?

--> A rhyming book about how animals communicate their love for one another. I like that the author slipped in some nice teaching moments about animal behavior. It’s a soft, sweet story, many totz will enjoy.

Giraffes say I love you

with their necks so long.

The nightingale sings

It in a beautiful song.

I love this wonderful learning moment for totz!:

Horses say I love you

by sharing their air.

A traditional Golden Book with paper pages, but this could definitely be reformatted as a board book.

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How Do Lions Say I Love You?

Author: Diane Muldrow

Illustrator: David Walker

Random House, 2009

Poetry Friday: It Rains, It Pains

Another from I Saw Esau! Happy Poetry Friday!

It rains, it pains,
It patters, it docks,
It makes little ladies
Take up their white frocks.
The rain is done,
The wind is down;
Put on your best,
And go to town.

 I Saw Esau, The Schoolchild's Pocket Book
Edited by Iona and Peter Opie
Illustrated by Maurice Sendak
Candlewick Press, 1992

What's in Your Purse? by Abigail Samoun

Oh, the fun of looking through Grandma's purse when you are a tot. I remember! Do you? How about What's in Your Purse? by Abigail Samoun? The fresh lift-the-flap let's you peek through Mommy's, Grandma's, Auntie's, Sister's, and a child's purse. The distinguishing items are great, from Sis's cell and diary, to Auntie's passport. Clever questions encourage the reader to explore more. Where has Auntie visited? What's the book Grandma's reading?

My surprise was to look in the child's purse and discover Emily and Sarah's tic tac toe, and sleepover invite. My daughter is named Emily and her bestie is Sarah. I have to recommend this work!

Nathalie Dion's soft illustrations are filled with pattern and detail. The work appears to be watercolor and color pencil. A perfect choice for the subject.

Pick up What's in Your Purse? for your totz and take a peek inside.

What's in Your Purse?
by Abigail Samoun
illustrated by Nathalie Dion
Chronicle Books, 2014

Poetry Friday: Maya Angelou and Sesame Street

Remembering Maya. Our love to her family and friends. xox

For the Older Siblings: The Fourteenth Goldfish

Just back from the ALA Annual Convention, and I brought home Jennifer Holm's new The Fourteenth Goldfish. With a celebration of science and responsibility, I thought the Older Siblings of Readertotz would enjoy the fantasy. Who wouldn't be surprised to discover their grandfather suddenly appearing as a teen?

On a strange note, the main character is named Ellie, like my own daughter, and the book releases on her birthday...

Here's the full description:

Believe in the possible . . . with this brilliantly quirky, thought-provoking novel from New York Times bestseller, three-time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer L. Holm
Galileo. Newton. Salk. Oppenheimer.
Science can change the world . . . but can it go too far?

Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He’s bossy. He’s cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie’s grandfather, a scientist who’s always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?

With a lighthearted touch and plenty of humor, Jennifer Holm celebrates the wonder of science and explores fascinating questions about life and death, family and friendship, immortality . . . and possibility.

The Fourteenth Goldfish
by Jennifer Holm
Random House, August 26, 2014