Monthly Archives: March 2014

You Choose!

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The boys love choosing and discarding and comparing, so this book is absolutely perfect.  It asks question after question (for example: If you could go anywhere, where would you go?  Who would you like for family and friends?  What kind of home would you choose?  And what would you put in it?).  The more you look at this book, the more you realize is packed onto each page. The boys grab it often and spend tons of time with it, engrossed in thought or (even better) discussing their options together.

Author: Pippa Goodhart
Illustrator: Nick Sharratt

Cinderella

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This is the version of Cinderella I remember from my own childhood; I never forgot the golden dress and was thrilled to find this copy. My youngest loves fairy tales and we enjoy reading them together. This retelling hits all of the notes you would expect (pumpkin, fairy godmother, transformation) while leaving out the gory bits (we’re going to be waiting a number of years before reading the Grimm Brothers’ version). Most importantly, this book is so beautiful he doesn’t miss Disney’s talking mice.

Author: Eveyln Andreas/The Grimm Brothers/Charles Perrault
Illustrator: Ruth Ives

Baby Beluga

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Baby beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below,
And a little white whale on the go.

Baby beluga, baby beluga,
Is the water warm? Is your mama home,
With you so happy?

This book is as adorable as its song and sweetly sends kids off to bed.  I have only one small quibble:  if you were going to choose one of the thirty-plus species of dolphins to illustrate “way down yonder where the dolphins play” with Baby beluga, would killer whales be at the top of your list?

Author: Raffi
Illustrator: Ashley Wolff