Thank you to Charlesbridge Publishing for sending me these three gems. Charlesbridge has such a fun array of board books. You can browse their list here.

First up is Me. You. Us. (Whose Turn?) by JaNay Brown-Wood and illustrated by Jade Orlando.

The theme of this adventurous board book will be all too familiar to parents of little ones: taking turns! The look on the face of the penguin on the cover really says it all---taking turns can be hard, and figuring out how to take turns can bring out a lot of emotions for little ones. With text that mimics the frustrations of little, Me. You. Us. will quickly resonate with toddlers as the illustrations show two very sad penguins who can't play with the snow globe anymore after an argument goes so far that the snow globe breaks on the floor. "Ooooh, me first! No, me first!...crash." Throughout the book the penguins will have to figure out how to patiently wait for a turn, and how to generously offer a toy (or sled, in this case) to each other.

With illustrations that are full of strong, emotive faces, this board book is great to have on the shelf in case little ones need a little extra help navigating how to put taking turns into practice. In the end, taking turns is fun!

Another board book in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series is Fast And Slow (Both Just Right).

Set in the rainforest, little ones are introduced to Sloth and Jaguar. Jaguar likes to go fast. Sloth likes to go slow. As these two display their preferred paces, they quickly realize that while they have differences they can enjoy the perspective of another. For Sloth, maybe going fast isn't so bad. For Jaguar, maybe slowing down has benefits, like noticing details. And don't forget: there are speeds in between slow and fast. Monkey, turtle, snake, snail and parrot show Sloth and Jaguar that there are a lot of speeds out there, and "any speed is just fine."

Last up is Now! (Barks Dog).

In this campsite-themed board book, Dog and his dad have a lot to do before it's time to eat s'mores. Dog has a hard time waiting, and asks repeatedly throughout the book for s'mores by saying "now?"

Learning to be patient takes time, but being patient can have its rewards---like nice, yummy, not-too-hot s'mores by a campfire with friends.

Enjoy!

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