Childrens book review

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

I love to read so when I learned it was good to read to little ones all the time I was very happy for the opportunity to get even more titles under my belt. I started reading to my son even before he was born, then when he was so little that it didn't matter what i read I would sit in the rocking chair nursing him and reading out loud from whatever book I was in the middle of at the time. A little Life with Jeeves (A Jeeves and Bertie Compendium) here and a little The Color of Magic there.

All that reading paid off because now I have a 2 year old who loves to read. We read a book before nap and a few books before bed and then throughout the day he will randomly bring books out of his room and ask you to read them. If you ever visit our house be prepared to read a few books to the little one, just letting you know.

In the spirit of all those children's books that we read every day I thought I would do a little review here to maybe help out any of those parents or grandparents or friends who are looking for a book to read or gift to the little ones in their lives.

My Car by Byron Barton. I want to say this book is simple and when I first picked it off the shelf at the library I thought there was no way I would enjoy this book but because my son LOVES cars I would take one for the team so to speak and check it out. Each page is illuminated with bright high contrast colors which put a smile on my face each time I opened the book. Only a few words expand the story on each page making it perfect for the youngest readers. Sam (the main and dare I say only character) takes you through the workings of his car and a day in his driving life. There is even a little twist at the end which as a parent I could see coming form a mile away but my little guy found very amusing once he 'got it' which was about the third time around. All-in-all we hated to give this one back to the library and if my guy was a little bit younger I would probably purchase it for his collection but at his age I don't think it would hold his literary interest for much longer. If you are looking for a book for the very youngest ones I would say newborn to 3 years old would really enjoy this book.



Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. I am putting this one on here for two reasons. 1. It was Dr. Suess' birthday earlier this week and 2. people seem to wonder what the right age is for Dr. Suess. Dr. Suess is like Reese's peanut butter cups, "There's no wrong age to read Suess." It is bright, it is cute, it is smart, it is funny, it rhymes, it teaches a lesson, the list could virtually go on for ever (especially since this is a virtual platform but who cares about semantics). We all want our children to be bright, smart, cute, full of lessons and speaking in rhyme which would be funny and there in proves my point. Read Dr. Suess to your children from the youngest age for all of those reasons and one more oft overlooked but truthfully very important reason, you will like it too!


This next one I haven't read yet but it is much anticipated
Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman. I have a weird relationship with Neil Gaiman mostly because we have never met written each other or spoken to each other but over looking all of those things I don't like his books. At least I can't seem to get through a single one of his books for adults, his children's fare however are real page turners for me, go figure. Anyway this is his newest tale for tots, it comes out very soon and I am very interested in picking up a copy to share with the little guy. Here is a cool website where you can here Neil read the book.