Tag Archives: toys

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale

Posted on January 12, 2014 | Comments Off on Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale

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This book was our introduction to Mo Willems, a man who probably needs no introduction if you’ve had kids in the ten years or so.  (If you haven’t, the quick version is he is brilliant.)  Like his other books, Knuffle Bunny has a straightforward story:  a favorite toy is left behind in a laundromat, communication issues ensue between a (barely) pre-verbal toddler and her father, and a happy ending is ultimately achieved.  Like his other books, the art is cartoonish.  And, like his other books, it absolutely connects with kids.  This is an especially fun story for reading aloud–lots of voices and sounds and the kids love to hear how Knuffle Bunny is beloved, lost, and found and how the heroine finds her words.

Author: Mo Willems
Illustrator: Mo Willems

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Posted in Picture Books

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The Night Before Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2013 | Comments Off on The Night Before Christmas

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Countless artists have illustrated this poem, many of them beautifully.  This may not be the most elegant version, but it is the one I grew up with and keep coming back to.  Happily, the boys love it; we read it together just before they headed to bed tonight, knowing that cookies, carrots, celery, and milk are waiting on the hearth and Santa is on his way.

Happy Christmas to all,
and to all a good night.

Author:  Clement C. Moore
Illustrator:  Douglas Gorsline

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George Shrinks

Posted on November 26, 2013 | Comments Off on George Shrinks

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One day, while his mother and father were out, George dreamt he was small, and when he woke up he found it was true.

This opening sentence essentially is the entire plot–the book’s appeal comes from the way George calmly but joyfully proceeds to fulfill his absent parents’ rather large to-do list under these unusual circumstances.  George Shrinks works especially well for very young pre-readers, so the board book version is ideal–I particularly recommend the lap-sized version, if you can find it.

Author:  William Joyce
Illustrator:  William Joyce

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The Hidden House

Posted on November 24, 2013 | Comments Off on The Hidden House

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This book tells a quiet story.  Three dolls are made by an old man and are happy for a time, but are then abandoned along with his house (implicitly upon his death) and left lonely for many years, only to be rediscovered and made happy again by a young family.  When we read it, it captures the boys’ attention completely–sometimes I think it is largely because of the beautiful,  dreamlike illustrations.  But we’ve read a number of books with wonderful illustrations that never really caught their interest (sometimes much to my surprise).  There is more here than meets the eye.

Author:  Martin Waddell
Illustrator:  Angela Barrett

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Mr. Putter & Tabby series

Posted on November 11, 2013 | Comments Off on Mr. Putter & Tabby series

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The first Mr. Putter & Tabby book I picked up was Mr. Putter & Tabby Pick the Pears.  I loved it.  The relationships between Mr. Putter, his fine cat Tabby, their outgoing neighbor Ms. Teaberry, and her good dog Zeke are the heart of the series and the the soft, bittersweet tone and pictures grabbed me immediately.  Much to my delight, my boys loved it too.  So we’ve slowly been adding to our Mr. Putter & Tabby collection.  Like any series, we’ve connected with some of the books more than others.  But we’ve read most of the following over and over again (sometimes we’ll read the whole book at a go, other times we’ll read a chapter before bed for several nights running).  We also have several others in the series on our wishlist for “someday.”  Here is our current collection in the order the books were published:

  • 1994 Mr. Putter & Tabby Pour the Tea (a great place to begin–the origin story of Mr. Putter and Tabby’s friendship)
  • 1994 Mr. Putter & Tabby Walk the Dog (introduces Ms. Teaberry and her chaos-causing dog Zeke–the boys love Zeke)
  • 1994 Mr. Putter & Tabby Bake the Cake (a nice Christmas story that we just take out for a short time each year)
  • 1995 Mr. Putter & Tabby Pick the Pears (as mentioned above, my personal favorite)
  • 1997 Mr. Putter & Tabby Fly the Plane (a particularly bittersweet entry)
  • 1997 Mr. Putter & Tabby Row the Boat (great for a hot day)
  • 2000 Mr. Putter & Tabby Paint the Porch (the illustrations here are priceless)
  • 2001 Mr. Putter & Tabby Feed the Fish (Tabby’s “fish problem” is presented with both sympathy and humor)
  • 2003 Mr. Putter & Tabby Stir the Soup (Zeke gets lots of giggles here)
  • 2008 Mr. Putter & Tabby Run the Race (the boys are in complete agreement with Mr. Putter’s motivation for running the race–a second-place prize of a model train set)

Author:  Cynthia Rylant
Illustrator:  Arthur Howard

 

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Posted in Early Readers

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