Sleepy Kittens

Just the fact that this book exists makes me happy. The bedtime story theme is so sweet in the movie, and having this as a tie-in is a lot of fun.

There is not a little brush that comes out of the book, like in the movie, but it’s still a lot of fun. The little kitties are finger puppets like in the movie.

And even though it’s supposed to be the epitome of an awful bedtime story, in truth, kids often like the simple stories that we adults find to be drivel, and I was surprised to agree that it makes a fairly good bedtime story that my son enjoyed.

Despicable Me The Game: Minion Mayhem

We are fairly new to the DS (having received one from Nintendo for review purposes of 100 Classics Books). My kids were excited, and we bought a few games for it. My kids are used to playing games on the ipod Touch, and at first, I was not at all impressed with the graphics and functions of the games we bought.

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem is the newest, most recently designed and released game that they’ve played on it, and to me it’s a world of difference.

The levels are fun, and a little challenging without being frustrated. The game plot line goes along with the plot of the movie too.

Other Despicable Me posts:

• Despicable Me Movie Review
• Despicable Me movie loves Social Media
• Miranda Cosgrove interview
• Julie Andrews — Legend of the Screen, Literacy Advocate
• How I Met Jason Segel
• Steve Carell, Nice Guy and Super Dad

Disclosure: Universal Studios paid my expenses to attend the press junket for Despicable Me, but my opinions are my own. I truly love this movie, and who wouldn’t love meeting Steve Carell and Julie Andrews?

In my family, this past month has involved extended out-of-town visiting for me and the kids (to be away from our house which is under some serious DIY renovations), which translated into zero trips to the library and a whole lot of exploring the scads of books on our own shelves. I found it to be a lovely experience discovering how many award winners we’re fortunate to have in our collection. For July, I’d like to focus on a few picture books that my four and two year old children have enjoyed, so we’re looking at some winners of The Randolph Caldecott Medal, which is “awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.”

One of our very favorites is the 2010 Caldecott Medal Winner, Jerry Pinkney’s The Lion & The Mouse. I shared my thoughts on this book earlier this year as a part of the Cybils Picture Book Finalists, and trust me this incredible wordless picture book deserves all the honors bestowed upon it! My children find new details in Pinkney’s illustrations with each reading, and the story played out in the pictures never loses its sparkle.

Another Caldecott Medal honoree that is a winner in our family, this one from 2004, is Mordicai Gerstein’s The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. My older son has been fascinated with this book for years, and if you read Jennifer’s Books on Screen post from last week, Let the Great World Spin/Man on Wire, this book provides an opportunity to share the story of Philippe Petit with your children, an interesting tale involving New York City’s beloved Twin Towers.

The 2000 Caldecott Medal winner, Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, by Simms Taback, is delightful to read with extremely colorful and eclectic collage illustrations, including cut-out features that connect each page’s pictures with the story of a long useful piece of cloth. I adore the message and emotion behind this story, making it one of those picture books that I don’t mind reading again and again. (And let’s face it, again and AGAIN!)

And finally, a 2004 Caldecott Honor Book, Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine, is at the top of my four year old daughter’s list of fun books. Just like my daughter, Ella enjoys putting together an outfit that incorporates every single color of the rainbow along with a variety of bold patterns. Even though she’s encouraged by her family members to choose something different, Ella insists on her clothing choices, and in the end, she emerges from her room in her very own style.

How about you? We’d love to read about the Award Winners that you and your children have enjoyed together. Please link up with us here, and share the love by visiting around with us, and come back each Tuesday to join our other community events, including Kids’ Picks, What’s on Your Nightstand? and I Read It!

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Dawn hasn’t received many awards in her day (except for the coveted “Meanest Mommy in the World” title, more often than she’d like), but she is kind of a big deal on her blog, my thoughts exactly.

I was not wrong. Bookworm2 absolutely adores both Old MacDonald Had a Farm and The Wheels on the Bus, both by David Ellwand

Both of these books contain photographs of stuffed teddy bears interacting within a scene to illustrate the song. In Old MacDonald Had a Farm we find Teddy Bear driving a tractor, scooping hay into a horse-drawn wagon, feeding pigs and generally looking quite cute.

In The Wheels on the Bus we find multiple teddy bears riding the Teddy Town Bus. There are bears waiting at bus stops with dogs on leashes. We see teddy bears of all types – some with glasses, some without, some holding cameras, and others content and enjoying their bus ride.

Furthermore, on each book there is a magical button. Push the button and it tinkles out the tune for the well-known songs which each book is named after. Does Bookworm2 like these books? Nothing delights him more and when he is getting antsy and agitated I hand them over. A smile erupts on his face and it becomes his immediate goal to see how long he can keep both songs going at the same time. (Do you know what I’m talkin’ about? Raise a hand!) If we can keep both songs going simultaneously, we have found something good. And we keep doing that until Mommy rethinks things.

On the whole, I found the illustrations in these books supremely cute. I like the concept of photographing teddy bears – a toy that many young children can identify with. I like the songs (played individually) and it makes it easy to sing along and turn the pages. If I only give him one book at a time, these books work out well for both of us and we have a fun time.

Definitely a cute novelty book and I offer my thanks to Silver Dolphin Books for giving us the opportunity to check them out!

Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know.

This month sees the transformation of one of Mo Willems’ most beloved stories from the page to the stage, with the opening of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. If you have a young child and are not familiar with Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, I will refrain from chastising you, but will instead very strongly encourage you to correct this wrong immediately. Seriously, it’s a fabulous book, the kind of book that kids love for its humor and cartoonish illustrations, and parents love for its oh-so-realistic portrayal of the joys of toddlerhood.

When my four year old daughter and I were lucky enough to attend the afternoon premiere of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, we both spent the hour giggling, bouncing and simply enjoying this familiar story come to life and expanded a bit. Dad and Trixie’s adventure at the laundromat plays out just as we know so well, now with catchy songs and just the right amount of lines and expressions meant as asides for the parents to appreciate. Gigantic, day-glo dancing laundry and periodic guest appearances by our favorite temperamental city bird add to the fun. The cast portray the feelings of both frustrated toddlers and their just-as-confused parents very well, making the play, like the book, accessible to audience members of all ages.

In the role of Trixie, the not-yet-speaking-words toddler who loves her Knuffle Bunny, Stephanie D’Abruzzo is fantastic. She played the wide-eyed, tantrum-prone, wordless (and occasionally ‘boneless’) toddler part with sublime perfection! The best connection to this story, in my opinion, is the fact that Knuffle Bunny was inspired by actual experiences, and it was D’Abruzzo herself who gave the real life baby Trixie Willems the stuffed animal that became her Knuffle Bunny.

I’m happy to say that I learned that little tidbit during a brief conversation with Mo Willems, who just so happened to be at the performance my daughter and I attended! In honor of her birthday that day, Mo kindly gave her some Knuffle Bunny body art as a souvenir, and I was reminded of his good spirit that most definitely influences the wonderful children’s literature that he creates. He also let it slip that there are plans to take Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical on the road, so if you’re not in the Washington, DC area, don’t despair, but watch your own local family theater venues for potential shows near you. It’s the perfect opportunity to expose your child to live theater and experience a story that is a modern-day classic.

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical is being performed at Washington, DC’s The Kennedy Center through May 23, 2010. Script and lyrics by Mo Willems himself, and fun music (that sticks in your head for days!) by Michael Silversher.

Dawn and her brood have been big Mo fans since her now-tween son was a Pigeon-loving preschooler. Her love for funny kids’ books, her crazy children, and other randomness are all chronicled at my thoughts exactly.

These new books from Harper Collins are in the same category as the former — books that will have special meaning to moms but that will also appeal to children. They would also make great baby shower gifts or even Mother’s Day gifts.

A Wish for You is written and illustrated by Matt Novak. The pictures are gorgeous — a sort of muted watercolor, with a whimsical yet realistic look. It’s a fairly typical story — two people who meet, and then become three. It starts off with “Before there was you,” and is one of those books that a young child would like to hear, because they never tire of hearing that they were loved and wanted. The text size is large and the words are easy with a simple rhyme, great for reading aloud or for young pre-readers to follow along.

Novak clever uses sound words like the ones on the page describing “when you were new,” including “goo! goo!,” “kitchy-koo!” and “pee-you!” What preschooler wouldn’t laugh at the odors that waft from the baby’s diaper?

A Boy Had a Mother Who Bought Him a Hat by Karla Kuskin will appeal to slightly older kids, and the illustrations by Kevin Hawkes are absolutely gorgeous. They make me want to take a straightedge to the book and frame them. This is the story about a mom who buys her son many different things (starting with a hat). Each item follows the same word pattern repeating all the items that came before and adding one to the end, which is a great way to bolster confidence in reading. The boy loves everything that Mom gives him that he wears/takes all of it with him everywhere. It’s silly, but I think that there’s a subtle message about over-gifting as well. It’s clear that the boy accepts the gifts as a token of his mother’s love, but he doesn’t need them to feel loved.

What books that speak to a mother’s love have been your favorites? Do your children enjoy hearing them (as mine did Are You My Mother?), or not?

In spite of Jennifer Donovan’s hard shell, she’s a little bit of a marshmallow inside. Read other surprising confessions at Snapshot.

For the very youngest among my own children, Time for Bed, Baby Ted by Debra Sartell and illustrated by Kay Chorao, has proven to be the perfect just before bedtime reading material in our family. With Baby Ted pretending to be many different animals in what appears to be some classic bedtime-stalling-technique action, Ted’s father gently guides him through the series of getting ready for bed tasks while playing along with his pretend game. I think it can be argued that Moms outnumber Dads in picture books by a significant margin, so this sweet and loving story featuring Dad caring for Baby Ted is most welcomed. Chorao’s distinctive illustrative style covers the pages with soft pencil drawings and watercolor paintings, which just seem perfectly suited for the mood you want conveyed by a bedtime story.

Classic children stories have been depicted again and again in various forms, and with the new portrayal of a story we all know, Sebastien Braun brings us a simple and adorable version of The Ugly Duckling. This straightforward telling of the tale of the hatchling who’s not like the others is appealing in its simplicity, while still maintaining the lessons intended with the original fable. I’m a sucker for children’s book illustrations, and the thick lines and bright colors of these adorable pictures drew me in immediately!

Nonfiction books provide an opportunity to educate and inform children, and when they’re accompanied by rhyming text that reads like a fun piece of fiction, it’s an absolute win-win. Pierre the Penguin: A True Story by Jean Marzollo and illustrated by Laura Regan falls squarely in this category and tells the story of a museum penguin who suddenly and inexplicably begins to lose his feathers. With care and ingenuity, a museum biologist crafts a special wetsuit that not only masks his changing appearance (that unfortunately has been making the other penguins avoid him), but also allows his feathers to regrow healthy and strong again. The accompanying Q & A section at the end of the book features information from Pam Schaller, the biologist who assisted Pierre and provides additional information and fun facts. My own two and three year old children enjoy this story, especially when it’s being read to them by my nine year old son (who thinks it’s pretty cool, too).

Picture books designed for older elementary school readers offer a nice bridging literary experience– more complex text supported by interesting illustrations. Goliath: Hero of the Great Baltimore Fire by Claudia Friddell and illustrated by Troy Howell intrigued me as a Marylander and tells the honorable story of a horse who was a major contributor in the fighting of one of the largest fires in our country’s history– over two days, no less! While my younger children enjoy looking at the realistic illustrations, this book holds more interest for my older son who pored over the text as well as the additional information provided in the afterword.

The 100th anniversary of the death of one of America’s most memorable and beloved writers just passed last month, and the works of Mark Twain continue to attract new readers, as they very well should, in my humble opinion. I’m happy to say that I’m introducing one of his signature books to my own son right now, as we’re slowly but surely reading through the complete original text of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain with amazing illustrations by Robert Ingpen. What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this story of an irrepressible and mischievous young boy? His adventures are known to generations of readers, and this new hardcover edition would be a welcome addition to any home’s bookshelf.

I think you’ll agree when I say that 2010 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for picture book releases! Reading any of these books with your own children would most surely be a pleasant experience for everyone involved.

When she’s not reading on her own or with children snuggled up against her on the couch, Dawn can often be found blogging away at my thoughts exactly.

Recently I’ve discovered a whole new use for bath books and I have grown in my appreciation for them. We recently added a Bookworm2 to our family and he isn’t as fond or gentle with books as my oldest son was. This has been something of a struggle for me in learning how to find books that delight and amuse our new one. Bookworm2 is quite the kinesthetic learner and so I’ve been hunting down touch-and-feel books and resources that he can manipulate in some way. Enter: Alex Toys bath books.

Alex Toys offers a whole line of bath books that have been perfect for my one year old’s hands and attention span. I can hand over one of these books and not worry about it being torn or soiled. They feel interesting to him. They have lift-the-flaps, introducing children to colors and shapes and which give him things to poke around with. They are bendable and colorful fun!

There are two sets of bath books available from Alex Toys. The first includes Find Me In The Ocean, Shapes In My Bathtub, Colors of the Pond and counting at the Beach. The other includes The Castle, The City, The Jungle, The Farm. You can learn more by visiting Alex Toys.

These books do not just remain in our bathtub (although they have seen the inside of it) but they have traveled with us in the car, outside (we live in Oregon where it rains – no worries!) and are scattered around the house. These books are AWESOME for young kids who might not have yet grasped the concept of “We need to be gentle with books.” However, when you want to invite little ones into your reading world without fear of destruction, might I suggest a bath book? They are the go-anywhere-do-anything books which have worked out perfectly for us!

Thanks, Alex Toys, for new and different fun!

Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know and Reading My Library.

I recently (and unexpectedly) received A Good Day Board Book by Kevin Henkes. Apparently the book has been around for a couple of years (Kyle told me they read it in preschool in years past), but this is the first release in board book form.

It’s a wonderful story that preschoolers and young elementary school students should be able to relate to. Everything is going wrong: the bird loses his favorite tail feather, the fox can’t find his mom, the squirrel drops her nut, but then. . . everything changes. It’s a great way to teach our children that circumstances change — sometimes in as little as a moment.

It also teachers colors (the yellow bird, the orange fox, the brown squirrel), and the reading-level was perfect for my budding Kindergartener to read himself.

Another fun board book that is perfect for the season is Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond’s Happy Easter, Mouse!. It’s an “If You Give. . . .” book, featuring the mouse from If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, but this one doesn’t follow that pattern. I can see this appealing to younger readers with it’s very straight-forward text and storyline.

The mouse colors some eggs the night before Easter, and then finds them hidden all over the house. Fans of If you Give a Mouse a Cookie will delight in the familiar pictures. This book also teaches colors and numbers.

Jennifer Donovan is sorry that most of her board books are being retired, but they are sturdy enough to save for her future-grandchildren, right? She is trying to record her experience of motherhood before it’s over at her blog Snapshot.

In my role as a round two judge for this year’s Cybils awards in the Fiction Picture Books category, I spent a lot of time with the seven finalists. I blogged about them, I read them to my children, I read them on my own, I studied their illustrations, I even dreamed about them. (Yup, that’s true!) I happily shared my thoughts about the winner, All The World by Liz Garton Scanlon when the annoucements were made, and I wanted to take a moment to feature the other finalists here.

Gloria Whelan’s The Listeners truly blew me away when I first received it back in September. I even purchased an additional copy from Amazon to donate to my son’s fourth grade classroom library, because it’s that amazing of a book. From the illustrations that burst with life to the straightforward voice of the child narrator that speaks with emotion and honesty, this book tackles an ugly part of our nation’s history with hope and beauty. I could continue to sing its praises, but I’ll direct you instead to my original review.

Next is The Lion & The Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. Seriously, this is one of the most memorable book covers I’ve ever seen. And yes, you noticed correctly over there; no words are present on the cover, only the exquisitely painted drawing of the mighty and powerful king of the jungle, with an expression that conveys the choice the lion must make in this adaptation of the classic Aesop fable. Not only are the words absent from the cover, but the entire book is wordless, save for a few animal noises that are written in the illustrations. The illustrations beautifully propel the story along, and no words are necessary to demonstrate the tension of the moment the lion chooses to set the mouse free.

John Perry’s The Book That Eats People is definitely unique and memorable, and opposite my prediction, my own young children really enjoyed this, even though I peg it more appropriate for older readers on the picture book spectrum. The humor quality is high here, and the combination of several different types of illustrations give the book a visual appeal. For an adult who loves to read aloud enthusiastically, this book is perfect, and the final page just screams for a big finish!

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown is a beautiful book that celebrates the power of one person, some patience and effort, and the resiliency of Mother Nature. My own children adore this book, and it’s one that I really don’t mind reading again and again.

Peter McCarty’s Jeremy Draws a Monster is an interesting book to me. I’m not sure that I ‘got’ the book the way several other of the judges did, as we pondered what the monster may have represented to Jeremy. (LOVE these deep conversations about picture books!) For me, I found the illustrations to be whimsical, and the story to be fairly simple but engaging to young children, along with a happy ending that all children can understand, as well.

A goofball duck with a pancake for a hat is on center stage of Eileen Spinelli’s Silly Tilly. Full of funny rhymes and brightly colored illustrations, this is one for a raucous reading with some silly little kids, which is why my own children adore pulling this one off the shelf!

Thanks to all of the Cybils organizers, panelists, judges and nominators. Congrats to the authors and illustrators of these wonderful picture books that will be enjoyed by tons of children for many years to come!

Picture books outnumber people in Dawn’s house by about a gazillion to one. More hyperbole, along with hyper children, can be found on her blog, my thoughts exactly.

Mostly, we’re in to whales and octopuses so we checked out the first book in this SeaWorld series first, Baby Whale which features a killer whale. Each book consists of around twelve full page spreads. The sentences on each spread are simple and not too complex, providing scientific information about the animal in a storybook fashion. There is about a paragraph of information per spread and a combination of full-colored illustrations and photographs of the animal being highlighted. Each book in the series begins by introducing the new sea animal baby which has just entered the world. The books tell a little about the mommy, daddy and information on the baby itself. You watch the baby grow a little throughout the book, from birth until it is a few months old.

The second book from the series which we read (also about whales) is book #6, Baby Beluga. In this one we learned that the Beluga grows its teeth when it is a few months old. Still, it swallows its food whole. We didn’t know that before reading this series so we added it to our repertoire of Whale Facts We Randomly Tell Strangers on the Street About. Those of you with small aged children have no doubt also heard the Baby Beluga song which is fun to sing before, after, and even during the reading of this specific book.

Although these are board books, because of the information included about the whales, I would say that these are better for toddlers than babies. That said, the bright photographs and pictures, and sturdiness of the books themselves, make this a great set of books to grow up and into. You can see a complete listing of the eight books in this series by visiting Ideals Books.

My three and a half year old son dove into these (har, har) when they arrived in our mailbox and enjoyed them thoroughly. (If they had an Baby Octopus in this series, he would give it a 5 star rating. Since they don’t, we’ll hold back 1/2 a star.) He’s so into ocean animals that he devours anything with sea creatures on it and gave each photograph careful study, noting the position of the whales and their tendencies. (His obsession has grown so much that even I began dreaming about whales and octopuses at night. True story! One night I dreamed that the world was going to be overrun by plankton that I was swimming in because there were not enough baleen whales left to eat them all! Last night there was a kid running around in my dream wearing an octopus suit with “tickle-y tentacles” as we say around here. It’s getting too much!) But despite how far down I’ve gone on the dreaming scale, I still think of this book series is a young SeaWorld lovin’ child’s dream come true!

Now, if you would like to bless the little person in your life with some of these books, you can feel free to leave a comment below in hopes of winning a few titles to get you started! Ideals Books has offered to give the first three books in the series away to one of our readers. This includes: Baby Whale, Baby Penguin, and Baby Sea Otter. U.S. Residents only. We will announce the winners on March 3 in our giveaway post.

Thank you, Ideals Books for your generosity! Again, if you’d like to see a complete list of the titles in the SeaWorld library, CLICK HERE.

Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know and Reading My Library.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

In his new book, This Little Prayer of Mine, Anthony DeStefano uses engaging rhymes to teach children that their prayers are important to God. He also discusses good times to pray: when we are fearful, when we are sad, when we need to make a decision, when we want to praise Him, etc… While these concepts can be applicable to both children and adults, DeStefano includes examples that are easy for children to understand, and Mark Elliott’s illustrations beautifully depict scenes that attract the interest of children.

This Little Prayer of Mine has garnered praise from many, including Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Dr. James and Shirley Dobson, and Pat and Shirley Boone (among others). It is a wonderful reminder that God loves the little children, and they can turn to Him in prayer at any time.

If you are interested in winning a copy of This Little Prayer of Mine, please leave a comment on this post. We will announce the winner next Wednesday.

Check out another chance to win over at 5 Minutes for Mom.

We have several giveaways to announce this week thanks to our generous publishers:

• Double Trouble goes to Emma, commenter #6
• The winner of the Alex Undercover Super Sleuth Kit is #1 – Annette W
• The winners of their choice of books from Hachette’s African American Living Legends list are #6 Linda, #14 Steph, and #11 Tomi.
• And the winner of D is for Drinking Gourd and The Listeners is #11 Beth C.

Lauren is a wife, a mother of two, and an avid reader. She blogs at Baseballs and Bows. Lauren thanks WaterBrook Press for providing the review copy of this book.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

The publisher’s description says it best:

Both books provide a helpful, step-by-step story that introduces girls & boys to the concept of toilet training. Pirate Potty is a pirate-themed, toilet-training book that is fit for the little swashbuckler in your life! Includes a pirate’s hat and reward stickers! Princess Potty follows the same theme…a toilet-training book that is fit for the Royal Highness in your life! This book includes tiara and reward stickers!

I’m a big fan of these cute books! The illustrations are adorable, and the humor level is just perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Read my full review of Pirate Potty and Princess Potty at 5 Minutes for Mom.

There are also fantastic prizes to be won, including copies of the books AND a Target gift card, so click over to 5 Minutes for Mom to enter now. The giveaway is open until March 8.

Dawn’s little princess and pirate (and the older pirate, too) fill her days with reading adventures, laughs and blog-worthy material. Check out the fun at my thoughts exactly.

I’m happy to say that Jennifer and I both had the immense honor of serving as round two judges, in the Middle Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction and Fiction Picture Book categories, respectively. I am over the moon with the winner selected for my category, and I can say with absolute conviction that this is a beautiful picture book that will be enjoyed for years and years to come.

All the World, written beautifully by Liz Garton Scanlon, and illustrated magnificently by Marla Frazee blew me away on my very first read through with my children. I believe it has the whole package: gorgeous and distinctive illustrations that support and expand the story, a text that flows and uses words poetically with bits of alliteration, rhyme and rhythm, and a lovely story with a subtle “message” that is wonderfully universal, but not shoved down the reader’s throat. I’m certainly not alone, since this also was awarded a 2010 Caldecott Honor, and has been the subject of many praising posts across the blogosphere. It also gets the top honor our own site can give- a 5 Star Reads label!

I definitely encourage you to go check out the winners, as well as the finalists, which were selected by the diligent round one panelists, who read through hundreds of books to present the best of the best. As a lover of children’s literature, I’m happy to share the Cybils love with you, and to offer huge congratulations to the amazing authors and illustrators who received this wonderful honor as a Valentine’s day treat.

Dawn’s library list is never ending, like most lists in her life. Blogging at my thoughts exactly is one item on those lists that is a happy task to attend to.

In I Love My Little Storybook we make friends with a white rabbit with brown spots and brown ears. This cuddly looking little rabbit is enjoying his storybook which looks good, feels good and takes him to many wonderful and magical places.

I Love My Little Storybook is a toddler’s introduction to reading. It whets the appetite for fairy tales and fanciful adventures in an imaginative world.

There’s a magic forest in my storybook
where all my favorite flowers and ferns and mushrooms grow.
My special friends are there. I say hello.

This book has a gentle rhythm to it and the illustrations are, of course, both inviting and delightful. There are giants in magic forests, castles, mushrooms and unicorns. This book really does an awesome job at describing and explaining the wonder and joy to be found in the world of books. It is a perfect introduction to the wonder that we can discover through the written word. I thought I Love My Little Storybook was completely charming in every way and I’m delighted to recommend it to you! Coax a little one over, draw them up into your lap, cuddle and explore.

Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know and Reading My Library.

The Let’s Talk About Series is designed for preschoolers and kindergartners, and the books focus on handling emotions in a positive way. Topics include feeling angry, feeling afraid, being patient, being good, being helpful and needing attention. The Help Me Be Good books are written for grades K-2, and they focus on replacing misbehavior with good behavior. Topics include being rude, being messy, fighting, tattling, and whining (and many others).

As parents, we know that these are issues children deal with daily. What I like about the Joy Berry classics is that they are very straightforward and easy to understand. Additionally, they are great conversation starters. When reading them with my children, these books started discussions about issues my children were facing at home and at school, and I appreciated that we could snuggle up on the couch and talk about how they would handle similar situations. My children enjoyed the CDs, which include the story and a song, but I preferred reading these stories with them so we could talk about them together.

I wish I could keep my kids from all misbehavior and teach them how to handle their emotions appropriately all the time. I know that’s not going to happen, but I appreciate resources like the Joy Berry Classics that can help me steer them in the right direction!

In addition, I (Carrie), am at the beginning stages of life with my children. Joy Berry also has books for infants. Teach Me About Special Times includes six books dealing with six basic things that children deal with: mealtime (generally loved by all), bath time (reassuring little ones that you “can never go down, you can never go down, you can never go down the drain!”), getting dressed (who needs to do that for themselves when you have a mommy!?), bedtime (avoidance), potty training (dreaded by all), illness (icky germs!).

These six topics are basic in a young toddler’s life. Pretty much all that they seem to think about is playing, eating, sleeping, playing, eating some more, playing and avoiding nap time like the plague that it is. This book hits on all subjects, encouraging them to eat good food (to help with all of that playing!) and how bath time can be both safe and fun.

The illustrations in this book remind me of Highlights magazine. There is a good usage of pastels to make the what might be possibly be the most frightening situation for your child feel more calm and peaceful. (Or, perhaps, as in the potty training book, make the parent feel more calm and peaceful!). If you have a little one who is learning about how to clean behind their ears and the need for rest (hahaha!) then you might want to take a peek at these books.

Do you want to start off the new year teaching your children good habits?

You can get the entire Help Me Be Good Set from Joy Berry for $99 ($30 off). Just use coupon code HMBG1233.

The Teach Me About Series is currently $25 ($10 off) if you use coupon code TMA12343.

These are affiliate codes, so we get a commission if you use this link and code. These offers expire January 31.

Lauren is a wife, a mother of two, and an avid reader. She blogs at Baseballs and Bows. Lauren thanks Joy Berry Books for providing the review copies of these books.

Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know and Reading My Library and finds herself occasionally living for the next nap time (if you didn’t catch that hint of desperation in her voice).