Review: It's Heaven Having You

It's Heaven Having You

Written by Giles Andreae

Illustrated by Vanessa Cabban

Publication Date: 2002
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 1-84121-693-3

Summary/back cover:
From feeding ducks at the duckpond to running a bath full of bubbles, Little Bear discovers that Heaven can be so many things, especially when he’s with Granny and Grandpa Bear.

Review:
This story is by the same team and follows the same central character as Love is a Handful of Honey. Like its predecessor, this story features the same sort of sweet illustrations and loveable rhymes.

It focuses on all the wonderful things about what makes spending time with Little Bear so special. The story is cute and cuddly and sweet and warm. It’s a lovely book to read to the littlies while winding down to bed-time.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review written by team_s

Review: Wee Little Bunny

Wee Little Bunny

Written by Lauren Thompson

Illustrated by John Butler

Publication Date: 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 978-1-4169-7937-1

Summary/back cover:
A young rabbit enjoys a “busy, dizzy” day of playing in the meadow near his home.

Review:
This is a perfect book for young listeners and those learning to read on their own. There’s only a sentence or two per page, and the rest of the page space is taken up with gorgeous illustrations of the wee bunny’s adventures.

The story is simple and sweet and reads beautifully. My two year-olds already have some of the words memorised and love to help me read the story.

My rating: 4.8 out of 5

Review written by team_s

Review: Eyes, Nose, Toes Peekaboo!

Eyes, Nose, Toes Peekaboo!

Written by Dawn Sirett

Photography by Dave King

Publication date: 2008
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Limited (DK)
ISBN: 978-1-40533-148-7

Summary/Back cover:
Point to your eyes, nose, and toes and play peekaboo!
Lift the big flaps with baby.
Help baby develop thinking and memory skills.
Enjoy hours of peekaboo fun!

Review:
This book is aimed at children under 2 years of age. It has simple but beautiful photographs and simple text. Babies love lifting the flap and touching the touchy-feely patch under each one. This book, as the title suggests, focuses on body parts like eyes, ears, nose and toes of both children and soft toys. Both my kids loved this book and the others in the series. The books are board books with very sturdy flaps.
Some other titles in the same series are:
Farm Peekaboo
Bedtime Peekaboo
Bathtime Peekaboo
Dress up peekaboo

5/5

Review written by Judith

Review: 1001 Animals to Spot

1001 Animals to Spot

Written by Ruth Brocklehurst

Illustrated by Teri Gower

Publication date: 2002
Publisher: Usborne Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-4095-0864-9

Summary/Back cover:
Teeming with animals to find, count and talk about, this bright picture book provides hours of puzzle-solving fun. It also helps develop basic word and number skills. The busy scenes bring to life different habitats from around the world. Children will delight in finding all kinds of familiar and exotic animals – from lambs on the farm to armadillos in the rainforest.

Review:
This book has busy and bright illustrations that encourage conversation about various animals. Each page has 10 animals to spot and count. It encourages 1-1 matching and number recognition. My son loves this book as he is really into counting at the moment. Some animals are easy to find and others are not so it provides challenges as well as some guaranteed success. There are several other titles in this series including 1001 Things to Spot on the farm, 1001 things to Spot around town, and even a fairy and a pirate version.

5/5

Review written by Judith

Review: Baby Einstein See and Spy Counting

Baby Einstein See and Spy Counting

Concept by Julie Aigner-Clark

Illustrations by Nadeem Zaidi

Publication date: 2001
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 978-0-78-680808-3


Summary/Back cover:
The concept of numbers and counting from 1 to 5 is demonstrated by the Baby Einstein characters in a variety of playful, amusing scenarios. Young children will delight in finding, naming, and counting a variety of objects in each illustration. The book also builds vocabulary, and teaches the names of parts of the body.

Review:
My almost-3 year old loves this book - the general gist is that each page has five questions along the lines of "How many sunflowers are painted on the canvas?" and ""How many bananas is the monkey holding?" - the questions are simple, the numbers are counting from 1 to 5, and kids seem to love it!  I honestly thought my son would be bored of it halfway through, but he's read it over and over, and enjoys taking it to bed to read to himself - the version we have is a board book, so is perfect for this.  I enjoy listening to him reading to himself - "How many baby ducks are there? One, two, three, four, five." Occasionally followed by "sixseveneightnineten!!"

It's not a reading book as such, as there's no storyline, but this book slotted into both our reading time and our play time quite happily - my almost-1 year old enjoyed looking at the pictures, and his big brother enjoyed 'reading' it to him: "That's a duck.  You say 'duck'.  There's one, two, three ducks."

My rating: 4 out of 5.  A great book for early counters.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Fizz the Fire Engine

Fizz the Fire Engine

Written and Illustrated by David Wojtowycz

Publication date: 2003
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 1-84121-484-1


Summary/Back cover:
Emergency! A train is stuck in the tunnel . . . Fizz the fire engine wants to be a brave hero, but can he overcome his shyness to save the day? Full of noises, action and fun, this colourful first picture book is prefect for vehicle-crazy little ones.


Review:
This book immediately appealed to my two sons because of the content - a fire engine, complete with written sound effects!  It appealed to me before I'd even picked it up, due to being another Wojtowycz book - he's become a firm favourite in our household with adults and children alike.


The illustrations, it goes without saying, are just beautiful - vibrant colours, gorgeous animation of vehicles that will appeal to any child.  The storyline has a little 'moral' running through it, about how sometimes you need to overcome your shyness for the good of others.  My almost-3 year old hasn't picked up on this theme yet, as he's too busy waiting for the "Nee-nar, nee-nar, flash, flash flash!" lines in the book!


My rating: 4.5 out of 5 - definitely one to read your vehicle-mad preschool sons!


Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Don't Worry Douglas!

Don't Worry Douglas!

Written and Illustrated by David Melling

Publication date: 2011
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
ISBN: 978-0-340-99981-3

Summary/Back cover:
Where do you go with a BIG worry?  Douglas knows he can count on Dad...

Review:
This is a gorgeous wee book about a bear who is given a new hat, and accidentally destroys it.  It is a perfect book for my almost-3 year old, as the moral of the story is that it's best to just own up and tell the truth - and it all turns out OK in the end.  As we read through this book the first time, my son was a bit worried about whether Douglas would be in trouble, but told me he should "get his Daddy to fix it" - and each time we've read the book since then, he shouts at Douglas on the 3rd or 4th page to "tell your Daddy to fix it!" - not quite the solution, but close enough for now!

This is a great book to read to preschoolers - the illustrations are lovely and clear, the text is perfect for littlies.  And I personally love the whole "you won't be in trouble if you tell the truth" moral that runs through the book.

My rating: 4.2 out of 5 - a definite keeper for our bookshelf.

If you'd like to purchase a copy of this book, you can find it here at Fishpond

Review written by Bronwyn