Thank you to Holiday House for sending me these five lovely board books. My three year old has asked me to read them to her multiple times, which is always a good sign!
1. One of These is Not Like the Others by Barney Saltzberg
This book! If you ever need a good laugh with your child (which is always) One of These is Not Like the Others will keep little ones fully entertained. The first time I read it to my three year old she just couldn't stop laughing as we looked at the first page and pointed to a cow, a cow, a cow and...an elephant! Little ones are so attuned to picking up on patterns that she immediately knew there was something entertaining about the fact that instead of a fourth cow on the page there was an elephant! A book that celebrates differences the first two pages say: "One of these is not like the others. And that's just fine with us."
The one thing I didn't care for is that the book switches from showing illustrations of a different animal on each page to showing an illustration of three rabbits and a bicycle on one page. It's the only page that shows an object instead of a creature. I think I also would have liked the final two pages to show illustrations of children with the text "Some of us are a little different. And that's the way we like it!" instead of simply showing all of the animals playing together, which is lovely but sometimes kids need an illustration to connect that what the book is telling them is that differences between humans should be celebrated.
2. The Little Duckling Who Wouldn't Get Wet by Gek Tessaro
Ducklings can't be rushed. So when little duckling stood on a cliff looking at the water below, not even the big duck, the cat, the dog, the turkey, or the wolf could get the little ducking to jump in the water. Finally, after all the animals had given up trying to get little duckling into the water and gone off their separate ways, little duckling was finally ready to get wet. Because as we know, ducklings can't be rushed.
A fun story and one that I'm sure will resonate with parents. Children, like little ducklings, can't be rushed.
3. Who Has Wiggle-Waggle Toes? by Vicky Shiefman with Illustrations by Francesca Chessa
When it's time to get the wiggles out, Who Has Wiggle-Waggle Toes? will definitely do the trick! From wiggle-waggle toes to flip-flop feet to knockabout knees to out-there elbows, children will love wiggling along with this book!
4. How Do You Feel? by Lizzy Rockwell
With at least 27 distinct human emotions, How Do You Feel? covers ten of them, which is a good place to start for little ones. Happy, sad, silly, mad, sorry, scared, calm, brave, shy and friendly, these ten emotions paired with illustrations will help children identify feelings and to recognize when they too might be mad, sad, silly etc.. As Dr. Daniel Siegel says, "name it to tame it!"
5. Bunnies by Gail Gibbons
Bunnies, bunnies, bunnies! With lovely illustrations by Gail Gibbons, Bunnies is full of fun bunny facts. Did you know that most bunnies have white on their tails? Or that bunnies see better at night? Or that a rabbit's nose wiggles as it smells?
One aspect of Bunnies that's particularly fun is that it gives you a list of ways to care for bunnies at the back of the book such as "When you hold a bunny, be gentle and speak softly. Attache a water bottle to its cage. Keep your bunny's box clean. Let your bunny out for exercise..."
A lovely book for this time of year and an excellent companion for families that have bunnies or are thinking of getting one!
Enjoy!