Hand Hand Fingers Thumb

by Al Perkins

Illustrated by Eric Gurney

Hand Hand Fingers Thumb is hands down my toddler’s favourite kids’ book.  I remember this was also my eldest daughter’s (who is now 4.5 years old) first children’s book, given to her by Grammy.  And according to my hubby, this was HIS favourite book as a child as well!

I always read this with a kind of drumming rhythm that captures the attention and it always works!  I also find that toddlers generally have limited vocabulary and this book perfectly introduces very simple objects and body parts that most kids are already familiar with.  Part of the Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners, I definitely recommend this to babies and toddlers up to 3 years old.

There is no real story in the book, but the reoccuring scene is of monkeys and drums.  It mostly shows illustrations of monkeys and different fun things one can do with hand, hand, fingers, thumb – my favourite of all being the monkey drumming on a drum with his thumb, print facing downward of course, cute

“Hello Jack.”

“Hello Jake.”

Shake hands shake hands

Shake!  Shake!  Shake!

Review by:  Kids Books Blog

Thelonius Monster’s Sky-High Fly Pie

by Judy Sierra and illustrations by Edward Koren

I normally only have a few seconds to scan a children’s book before deciding to borrow it and this one caught my attention.  I am a very big fan of ink illustrations and I think Edward Koren did an excellent job in depicting Thelonius Monster and his little fly friends.  I also love the fact that he used only one color to contrast the black and white drawings, and what better color to choose than the slimey limey green for delicious crispy flies monsters love to eat!

The text sort of rhymes with “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly…” and the story is about Thelonius Monster who once swallowed a fly and found it quite delicious that he one day decides to make a pie made with scrumptious fly topping.  So he contacts uber fly hacker via email through arachnid@spider.net:

Thelonius urgently e-mailed a spider.  He wanted advice from a savvy insider.

“You’ll need something sticky” was her reply.  “To catch a fly.”

So chef Thelonius concocted the perfect trap and lures thousands of succulent flies for his pie, only he forgets to bake it and “the pie full of flies lifted off with a VOOM.”  To the luck of Thelonius and his ravished monster guests, the flies’ little footsies come unstuck:

But then, by a stroke of incredible luck, in the sky all the flies’ little feet came unstuck.

When the pie fell to earth in a huge cloud of dust, eleventeen monsters devoured the crust.

Unlike the classic folktale of the old lady who swallowed the fly and dies in the end, this story has a happy ending   Funny and original.  I would recommend this to 3-4 year olds.

Review by:  Kids Books Blog

Monster Hug!

by David Ezra Stein

Very visual book with vivid watercolors and ink illustrations, it has very little words but there’s no need for words as these monsters love to roar, growl and play!  The fun starts with a blue monster waking up from a red volcano, and a red monster spurting out of the blue ocean.  “Monsters meet…monster battle…monster hide, monster seek…Monster Hug!”  Little boys would especially love the playful battle between the monsters.  My favorite part is the end, where the two monster moms send the little ones to bed hehe

By Ruth Krauss

Illustrated by Crockett Johnson

First published in 1945, this kids’ book is still enjoyed by many and is considered a children’s classic.  The story is quite simple, which starts out with a little boy who planted a carrot seed.  His family reminds him that “it won’t come up” and yet he sits and waits patiently, determined his crop would grow.  He even tends to it by weeding and watering until one day, a carrot comes up, just as he thought it would.  Crockett Johnson (who is the husband of the author) did a great job in the renderings of the little boy.  I especially love the part where he proudly takes home the biggest carrot, almost the same size as him!   The book is so calm and the story zen-like and would make the perfect bedtime story.

Frog and Toad Are Friends

by Arnold Lobel

As most four year olds are persnickety when it comes to books, my daughter is no exception.  I always keep that in mind whenever I choose a book.  But when I spotted this 1970 copy of Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad are Friends at the local thrift shop, I knew she would like it.  And I was right, poor dear ol’ dad has been reading this same book to her every night for the last two months!  Luckily for him there are five short stories to choose from.

excerpt from “The Story”

One day in summer Frog was not feeling well.

Toad said, “Frog, you are looking quite green.”

“But I always look green,” said Frog.  “I am a frog.”

“Today you look very green even for a frog,” said Toad.

I love Lobel’s brilliant ability to capture the simple meaning of friendship and transform it into picture book stories children can relate to.  The soft ink and watercolor illustrations set up a warm tone to the story.

Whether it be helping find a lost button, going down to the river for a swim, or just helping a friend cheer up on a bad day, Frog and Toad are there for each other.  Did I mention it’s also a Caldecott Honor book?  Thumbs up to Arnold Lobel in making the beloved amphibian duo part of our family’s all-time favorite reads.

Review by:  Kids Books Blog

Wild Boars Cook

by Meg Rosoff and Sophie Blackall

If you’re looking for a kids’ book that brings out lots of giggles during storytime, look no further than “Wild Boars Cook”.  Meet Boris, Morris, Horace and Doris, four disgustingly lovable porcine characters that decide to bake a Massive Pudding.  The baking starts off with normal ingredients, like “ten cups of sugar…five hundred chocolate-covered chocolates and a gross of donuts.”  Then the hungry boars decide to take their culinary expertise to the next level by adding “one and a half puddles, a bucket of squishy butter, 26 bananas, and a squid.”  My daughter Alexis especially finds the squid too funny!  I also absolutely love Blackall’s superb illustrations of the long-snouted mischievous boars.  Perfect book for your preschooler!