My Turtle and Me: Owen Bernstein

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Based on the bestselling Twilight Turtle by Cloud b, this sturdy board book bedtime story is intended to serve as a hands-on way to help overcome a tot’s fear of the dark. It has a click-on turtle-shaped nightlight inset into the top right corner that remains visible on every page by means of a cut-out oval. The story is comforting and quiet, leading up to bedtime.

From the last page:

My turtle cuddles close when it’s time to go to bed.

And I snuggle back because I love him so.

My turtle lights up to show he loves me too!

My Turtle and Me

Author-illustrator: Owen Bernstein

Cartwheel Books, Scholastic, 2012

www.scholastic.com

Fish, Swish! Splash, Dash! Suse MacDonald

This is a truly unique 1 to 10 counting-up and counting-down book. It's especially cool because it's a neverending, circular story that begins: 

Follow the leader 
and count with me
the fish that live
beneath the sea...

The text from then on is mostly simple a new fish is added on each page. The text reads: 1 fish, 2 fish, 3 fish, etc. The fish are all wildly different and intriguing. The colors are bright and beautiful. Each stencil of cut-out fish overlays the next group of fish, so that the next fish are used to pattern the previous page's fish. Each new group of fish is an exciting revelation.

As we come to the end of the book (or what would traditionally be the end), we:
Follow the leader and do it again!
Which means we turn the book upside down and count back down to ten. Page by page, the stencils all work in reverse now from back to front. Very innovative--I think totz will love this!

This is not a true board book, but the pages are fairly sturdy and should hold up to substantial wear, but not chewing.

Fish, Swish! Splash, Dash!
Author-illustrator: Suse MacDonald
Little Simon, 2007

Celebrating Joan's magnetic new release: A Kiss For You!

This board book (with lift-the-flap magnetic hand) began four years ago as a way to empower young children by showing the many important, loving things little hands can do. In fact, the original title was What Can A Little Hand Do? My editor loved the idea of blowing a kiss, which I had on one of the inside pages. So the title became A Kiss For You!

I made numerous dummies of the book to figure out the best way for the hand to move as a lift-the-flap which folds down on each page in turn, and Scholastic had the idea of adding a magnet so the hand would stay in place easily, until lifted.

Caroline Jayne Church's adorable illustrations added just the right touch that brought the story alive. I hope you and your child enjoy this book, which so many loving hands and minds came together to create.

From Publishers Weekly: "Readers can engage with this sunny board book by maneuvering a hand-shaped flap attached to the back cover, in seven scenes. Gently lifting the hand up and down makes a blonde girl softly pat a puppy. Elsewhere, a boy blows a kiss with the hand, and a brunette girl can play "peek-a-boo, I see you!" with readers...a fun, engaging gimmick. Ages 2–4. (Sept.)"

~ Joan

A Kiss For You!
Ages 2-5
Author: Joan Holub, readertotz co-founder
Caroline Jayne Church, illustrator
Scholastic, Cartwheel Books
September 2011