Best Childrens Books
The Best Childrens Books for Your Child!

Description

From the Booker Prize-winning, bestselling author of Possession: a deeply affecting story of a singular family. When children’s book author Olive Wellwood’s oldest son discovers a runaway named Philip sketching in the basement of a museum, she takes him into the storybook world of her family and friends...

Reviews

Characters so finely drawn you won't soon forget them

by Feathered Quill Book Reviews from Goshen, MA on 2010-09-07
A review of this spell-binding novel demands the superlatives we remember from 1950s movies--"a story you'll never forget," "characters so real they'll take up permanent residence in your heart and mind," "history masterfully interpreted." Yes, the book is that good. Erudite and extraordinary, it's better written and carries more layers and dimensions than we find in the books about the boy wizards. Blurbs on the first pages call The Children's Book a literary feast and a tragic fairy tale. They're right. Byatt, who is the author of Possession, a novel of the secret lives of Victorian poets and modern literary scholars that won the Booker Prize, turns her attention here to the late Victorian era. This was a golden age in England, when idealistic but moneyed and often naïve people turned away from the business of banking and empire to live pastoral, medievalesque lives in the Garden of England, which is roughly the Kentish lands south of the Thames. It's the age of Fabians, anarchists, and other idealists, the romanticized society satirized by Gilbert and Sullivan in Patience, with its Wildean poets and lovesick maidens. Following the golden age comes the silver age, the Edwardian era whose king was more interested in his mistresses than anything else and whose authors gave us faux children's books like Wind in the Willows and Puck of Pook's Hill, which transported adults to idealized visions of a make-believe childhood. After Edward's death came the age of lead--World War I, in which almost an entire generation of Englishmen was slaughtered. Byatt brings history and historical figures like Rupert Brooke into the lives of her fictitious but realistic families, all of which have many children. We watch these children grow up through the ages of gold, silver, and lead. Some of them survive. The novel is filled with the details of family life, but there are secrets in these families. Some of the children learn that their mothers aren't the women they've always believed they were, their fathers are not who they think, their siblings and friends and cousins have secrets great and small. When one girl learns that her true father, for example, is a famous German puppeteer, she goes to visit him, and we see the artistic ferment of Munich before the war. Another girl wants to become a doctor in an age when girls were taught to embroider and play the piano but not to know anything about the human body. The wife and daughters of a famous artist live passive, zombie-like lives; we learn that the artist's house has a hidden room filled with pornographic bowls. One of the mothers is a writer who creates on-going individualized books of fairy-tale adventures for her children, but when her son Tom's book becomes a stage play with lifelike marionettes and women in breeches roles (like Peter Pan, which was written at the same time), Tom himself runs away. Byatt's writing is satirical and elegiac at the same time, details are sharp, and the lives of the children of this 879-page novel are intertwined like the art deco stems and leaves of fantastical plants that bloom in surprising places and ways. While the only thing we might wish for in this novel is a list of characters that shows who's related to whom (and how), this is a book you'll pick up in every spare minute of your day, the book you'll sit and read for another five minutes that stretch into hours. It's more enchanting than anything you'll find on the Net or the Web. Quill says: The Children's Book is about the ordinary, magical lives of people so finely drawn we won't soon forget them

`An illusion is a complicated thing, and an audience is a complicated creature.'

by J. Cameron-Smith from ACT, Australia on 2010-08-25
This novel is set in late Victorian and Edwardian England (between June 1895 and May 1919) and involves the interconnected stories of three families: the Wellwoods, the Fludds, and the Cains. The novel begins when two boys find a third boy (Philip Warren) hiding in the cellar of the South Kensington Museum. It is Philip's story, including his quest to become a great potter, which anchors the novel. Art is important to each of the three families. Prosper Cain is Special Keeper of Precious Metals at the South Kensington Museum. Benedict Fludd, Cain's friend, is a potter of volatile temperament who destroys his own work at times. Olive Wellwood writes children's stories, inspired in part by her own large family. There is a tension between the positive and negative impacts of creativity - sometimes obvious (as in Fludd's destruction of his pottery) and sometimes far more subtle (Wellwood's impact on her family). It's tempting to see parallels between the changing roles of family members (especially Benedict Fludd and Olive Wellwood) and the changing shape of the society in which they live as the creativity of the late 19th and early 20th centuries gives way to war. At times I found the novel complicated: the intertwining of stories and the number of characters made it challenging. I did not find it an easy novel to read but it was ultimately both enriching and rewarding. `She thought of marching forwards and retreated.' Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Nothing less than an Edwardian Epic

by Jen Padgett Bohle from Germany on 2010-08-11
I savored this novel every evening for the 2 months or so that I chipped away at its formidable length. A.S. Byatt has written a whopping, inimitable masterpiece of a heavy handed Victorian England succumbing to the blithe, jaunty Edwardian era which in turn gives way to the disillusionment and terror of trench warfare and World War I. Byatt, so unapologetically erudite, gives us a labyrinthine novel that is both devastating and whimsical. It's full of complexity and contradictions, stories within stories, and an abundance of detail, both historical and literary, so that people and objects d' art almost become palpable. Byatt can be a bit pedantic at times, and in this work she is often overly descriptive and uses authorial elucidation too much, so that it seems she's doing our research work for us, especially with regard to historical background. Generally, though, her lavish descriptions and exposition work because we're invited, through her garrulity, to live in this world she has built and conjure it according to her exact instructions. Moreover, when she interrupts her narrative fervor it is always exposition concerning historical and social mileposts or facts about the arts and crafts movement, art noveau and pottery. It's pardonable, perhaps appropriate, because so much of the novel centers around modernization --- the shift in art and politics away from Victorian values to modernist art and liberal politics. There are so many beautiful sentences in The Children's Book and the narrative brims with flesh and blood characters and ideas one can mull over and over, that she more than makes up for any shortcomings. Suffice it to say that, in my humble opinion, she has created nothing less than an Edwardian epic. As in Possession, Byatt fully displays her considerable academic talents. In this work, she writes pastiches of World War I poems and victorian children's tales. The novel is so brilliantly infused with fairy tales and children's literature ranging from Perrault and the Brothers Grimm and ETA Hoffman to J.M. Barrie, Rudyard Kipling, and Kenneth Grahame that I'm still, weeks after finishing, working out the intertextuality. Fairy stories, allusions, and sinister tales of children simply inundate the reader. Through the German marionette master, Anselm Stern, Byatt alludes to the darker force of fairy stories, and art in general, a force that will eventually lead to the death of one of the characters. It is also through Stern and his family that Byatt presents German English relations on the eve of WWI and delves into the avante-garde German art and political scene. At the heart of the novel are five families and a cast of dozens, tied together in various ways (blood, art, friendship, politics). Byatt traces their lives and entanglements through more than twenty years and several locales, evoking the effervescence of the 1900 Paris World's Fair, the haunting loneliness of Romney Marsh and Dungeness, the bustle of London, the subversive edges of Bavaria, and finally, the killing fields of Belgium. Vivacious and attractive Olive Wellwood, a children's author and mother of seven (modeled after E. Nesbitt [remember Five Children and It?:]), is at first the central focus of the work, but Byatt regularly shifts between the families and deftly illuminates the lives of both parents and children. Olive and her husband Humphrey Wellwood are socially progressive Fabians, intellectuals, writers, and proponents-not-quite-agitators for social justice,and through them Byatt portrays the complexities of marriage, sexuality, what it means to be a father and what constitutes motherhood. The Wellwoods are also a vehicle for the author to explore the dissonance between creativity and family life, the destructive toll of creativity and art, as well as the melding of the political with the personal. Byatt fleshes out the eldest Wellwood children, the Peter Pan-like Tom who never wants to grow up; serious, tenacious Dorothy; and violent suffragette Hedda, while glossing over the rest of the brood. Olive gives each child a fairy story of his/her own that is obviously an allegory for the child's life. As a foil for Olive and Humphrey's exuberant family, Byatt gives us Humphrey's brother and sister-in-law: the London Wellwoods --- Basil, a banker and Katharina,a wealthy German heiress, along with their children Charles/Karl and Griselda. Basil and Katharina are everything Olive and Humphrey are not: concerned with social conventions, conservative, wealthy, and part of the old Victorian establishment. Charles and Griselda, though, rebel against their parents' ideals and dabble in feminism, anarchy, and socialism. Through Charles/Karl, especially, Byatt develops a theme dealing with hidden identities, masked identities and transformation, as Charles becomes the anarchist Karl. There is the disturbing and tragic Fludd family, with their laudnum-addicted, vacuous mother and (in)famously bizarre, brilliant, and wanton sculptor father who damages his daughters, Pomona and Imogen, in countless cruel ways. Geraint, the oldest sibling of the family, manages to escape the marshes and dilapidated Fludd home, entrenching himself in the London world of finance. Patriarch and artist Benedict, like Olive Wellwood, embodies the dangerous self-absorption and self-destruction art can engender. His brand of fatherhood squarely aligns him with Bluebeard or the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, but throughout the novel Humphrey, Prosper Cain, and other male characters will, to varying degrees, echo this characterization. In juxtaposition to Benedict Fludd is Major Prosper Caine, a curator at the South Kensington (Victoria and Albert) Museum in London, and an expert in the decorative arts, who befriends the Wellwoods and Fludds. He is the embodiment of Victorian chivalry and philanthropy, and it is his charitable actions that often advance the plot. Seemingly the deus ex machina of the story, he is perhaps a bit contrived. Prosper's daughter and son become part of the cast of children that fill the novel, as readers watch them all move from the buoyant naivete of childhood into hapless adulthood. One of the best threads in this novel involves Philip Warren (and eventually his sister, Elsie), apprentice and heir to Benedict Fludd, and an escapee from poverty and the lead-filled air of the potteries. Although the Victorians invented the concept of childhood, the notion that children were developmentally different from adults and should be allowed to play, explore, roam about and speak freely applied only to middle and upper class children. In The Children's Book, Philip and Elsie (and Olive and Violet, by means of flashbacks) are the only glimpse readers get of what childhood is like for impoverished Victorian children. In a notable and poignant opening scene, Cain's son Julian and Olive's son Tom catch Philip in the basement of the Victoria and Albert Museum, (where he has been sleeping for weeks) with a stack of expertly rendered drawings of the museum' holdings. Eventually, upon discovering Philip's unparalleled talent with pottery, Olive and Major Cain install him with the Fludd family, where he promptly makes improvements in Benedict's pottery studio, working his way up to master craftsmen and artist. Philip's sister Elsie eventually runs away from the potteries and joins him at the Fludd's home, and becomes a focus of Byatt's narrative primarily due to her relationship with Herbert Methley, (modeled on, it seems, the promiscuous Mr. H.G. Wells) a lubricious libertine who has a knack for impregnating young women. Elsie's redemption comes in the form of her very own fairy godmothers, three women from around the marshes who help her become an independent Edwardian "New Woman" in the vein of Ibsen or G.B. Shaw. And so the story goes. And goes. All the way to Belgium and the machine guns and trenches and mass casualties of World War I. Our Edwardian summer is over; the children have been sacrificed, marching to war for the fairy tale ideals of honor, country, duty, and glory.

Exclusively for Rabid Byatt fans

by ndc from on 2010-08-04
This rambling, lengthy historical tome may appeal to a select group of A.S. Byatt fans but it left me cold. I have read Byatt's POSSESSION several times and consider it one of my all-time favorite books. I struggled through this novel even though it is set in a period (19th Century) that interests me. I felt that Byatt's academic background both added to and detracted from the book. She describes the arts & crafts community of late 19th Century England in such detail that you can almost see the ceramic pots and feel the richness of the embroidered clothing of the artisans. But she also inserts pages and pages of almost text-book style history that felt like nothing but filler. And, there is a less-than-savoury sexuality that runs through the book that may be unappealing to some readers.

Tale of a family

by E. A Solinas from MD USA on 2010-07-22
A.S. Byatt is not the sort of author you read casually -- her prose is thick with atmosphere and symbolism, her books are full of literate and mythic references, and she does a lot of time hopping. And "The Children's Book" -- loosely based on the life of writer E. Nesbit, apparently -- is Byatt's slowly-unfolding tale of the dangers of art and the secrets held by families. It's no "Possession," but it's definitely worth reading. Banker Humphry and children's writer Olive Wellwood live in a large house in Kent along with a large brood of children; they are deeply involved in folklore, Fabianism (a sort of gradual socialist movement) and art. Additionally, they are involved with Humphrey's more "normal" brother, a museum curator named Prosper Cain and his eccentric children, and a weird potter named Benedict Fludd who has a runaway boy brought to him. All seems well on the surface of their colorful little world, but of course the veneer starts cracking like an overbaked pot -- the various families have ugly secrets, both past and present. Even Olive (who writes for children) cannot connect with her own kids, including the child she is pregnant with. The world is changing around them, bringing war, love, social shifts and changes to the various families. Apparently "The Children's Book" was based on Byatt's musings about how 19th-century/early 20th-century children's authors usually had some sort of horrible tragedy associated with them. And in "The Children's Book," it seems like nothing messes up the kids like their artistic parents, no matter what kind of art they pursue -- and there's a bittersweetness that fills the book, since you're left with the feeling that these scars will cripple them. The biggest problem with "The Children's Book" is... it's messy. Gloriously, sublimely messy. Sensual prose ("The glaze was silver-gold, with veilings of aquamarine. The light flowed round the surface, like clouds reflected in water...") and vivid imagery are mingled with infodumps and lectures, as well as hefty chunks of information about the social and literary circles of the day. And like golden thread in a tapestry, Byatt weaves in her considerable store of knowledge. In short: the plot -- such as it is -- sprawls all over the place, and throws out a thousand loose threads. But her velvety prose is almost enough to make up for that. Almost. As for the characters... well, there are a LOT of them. On the first read, I had a little trouble keeping all the myriad kids straight, and repeatedly forgot who one of the secondary characters was. But on the second try, I found myself fascinated by some of the characters, especially the neglectful figures of Olive and Fludd -- she insulates herself from reality by cocooning herself in her stories, and he is a parent/husband from hell whose mad genius has shattered his family. "The Children's Book" is one of those grand stories in which fiction, folklore and fact are all united... and then they explode into a messy, luscious piece of work. Not brilliant, but fascinating.

Description

Pre-service and in-service teachers alike benefit from the experience of renowned authors Charles Temple, Miriam Martinez, and Junko Yokota as they share a wealth of richly illustrated, practical ideas for sharing literature with children...

Reviews

This Book in Students' Hands

by Nancy Tolson from Belchertown, MA on 2010-04-26
It is so important for college students that are majoring in education to get their hands on good teaching material on children's literature. Children's Books in Children's Hands is a fantastic piece to have in their educational tool box. Children's books that are current, great teaching suggestions and even though there is a chapter on diversity, this book displays diverse books throughout. And BRAVO to the authors on "Chapter 5: International Literature" for not putting this as an aside topic, adding it on at the back of the textbook OR including it with "multicultural books". International books should stand alone to be recognized and appreciated. Perhaps this will help the readers of this book not to be afraid to teach them. The resources are rich along with the "recommended books" lists. "Myeducationkit" is something that I pray will enrich my students knowledge on children's books forever! I look forward to co-teaching with this book and having my students get their hands on it. It may be a little costly but it is an investment that can be used once they leave my classroom and enter their own.

Children's Literature for Adults

by from Traverse City, MI USA on 2001-05-02
This book offers indepth information about a variety of topics concerning childrens literature. In the first chapters it focuses on the development of children and their perceptions of literature at different ages. It then informs the reader about the historical development of children's literature. The biggest part of the book, however, is about the different genres of literature available. What I liked about this book was that it offered many examples and reading samples. It also included several essays from children book authors who wrote about their profession. The teaching aids and the recommended reading at the end of each chapter proved helpful. However, some areas of this book, such as this one, are only helpful to people interested in child education as a profession.

Description

Illustrated in full color. This car-and- truck-filled alphabet extravaganzathat starts with an ambulance and ends with a zippercar, is shaped like LowlyWorm's applemobile.

Reviews

We love this soo much this is our second copy!!!

by Texastwostepgreg from on 2010-08-30
My 3 year old son loved this book when I bought it for him last year. Somewhere along the way, it was lost from toting to and from the car, so I'm getting him another one. He loves the silliness of the pickle cars, etc. This is a classic Richard Scarry book and a must have for any Richard Scarry lover and their family!

GREAT CHUNKY BOOK FOR LITTLE FINGERS

by D. Torcellini from NE Connecticut on 2010-08-01
This is one of two books that I bought for my one-year-old grandson. It's a great choice for little guys, and is the ideal size for Mom to tuck into her purse or tote. Happy with purchase and would choose this book again.

Great for a little boy

by L. Singer from Minnesota on 2010-04-03
My son loves this book even though he's too active to sit through the whole thing. The apple shape is attractive for toddlers.

Very small book!

by Rob Roy from North Carolina on 2010-02-18
This is a very small book! I wish I would have known the size before I purchased it. Richard Scarry is great, but I would have prefered a book that is bigger than the palm of my hand.

Cute board book!

by Squeal from Los Angeles, CA on 2010-01-27
I loved Richard Scarry books as a child and I was so excited to get this board book for my nine-month-old son. The illustrations are so cute of the various cars, trucks, and vehicles, and of the Richard Scarry animals driving them. The book is a nice short length so it maintains my son's interest when I read it to him. This is a great board book for babies and I highly recommend it!

Description

Funny, likeable Little Critter is at it again. In this appealing picture book about Mercer Mayer's popular character, Little Critter struggles to remember what he is supposed to do each day. On rainy days he remembers his raincoat but forgets his boots...

Reviews

I just forgot

by Nicole Wilson, Author of "Undressing Chickens" and "The Callie Gang". from Seattle, Wash., USA on 2010-04-02
Another Little Critter Book, and just as enjoyable as the other ones. Little Readers will be able to relate to Little Critter, who tries so very hard to do it all right, but seems to forget something all the time. The story is funny and entertaining. Kids will get the message that it is okay to sometimes forget something; it can happen to anyone. A great bedtime story or anytime story for small children. Fun read.

I Like It, But I Do Have One Little Complaint

by Mark K. Wickersham from Tianjin, China on 2010-02-20
I decided to read this book to my girls because they tend to be forgetful. It's a cute story showing a kid (actually a little critter) who remembers to do some things, but forgets to do other things. I like how the story shows a young child doing chores around the house. Sometimes my girls don't want to help out the family, and this book shows that there are children who have jobs just like them. I also like how the mother expresses a variety of emotions when reminding her child what he needs to do. At times it is clear that she is disappointed, but at other times she is very gracious and encouraging to her child. The story has a nice ending when the boy expresses that he never forgets to have his mom read him a bedtime story and give her a goodnight kiss. My only complaint is that the father has an almost nonexistent role in the family. The only time he is introduced in the story is when he comes home from work; he is sitting down waiting for the newspaper. Way to interact with the family dad! Perhaps the other Little Critter books do a better job showing dad in a more positive light.

Good for beginner readers

by J. Hhoffman from Reading, Pa. USA on 2010-01-30
My grandson is in kindergarden and is just learning to read and he loves this book.It seems pretty easy to read.

Cute!

by from on 2009-03-12
My son loves the little critter books. This one is very cute and I'm sure most little ones can relate to it.

all kids should have a mercer mayer book!

by K. Orstad from South Dakota on 2009-02-03
Not much to say about it, my daughter and I love Mercer Mayer books (ok, so my daughter will let me read about anything to her... I'm the one that is addicted to this particular series!)

Description

A board book for babies or toddlers and their parents, featurig a well-known nursery rhyme and interactive text.

Reviews

Staggeringly bad

by Ichido from on 2010-08-30
Rarely does something truly deserve a one star. This does as it looks like a poor B&W scanned version. Bought this for my iPad hoping to take advantage of its vivid display and really disappointed on opening up. Do not buy. Not worth a cent.

loves the book

by Penelope from NJ, USA on 2010-08-26
She learned new words and is able to sing the song on her own. Wonderful!!!!

I don't get the hype

by chardk1 from on 2010-08-24
The underlying children's book may very well be great, but the Kindle edition is awful. The pages have clearly just been scanned out of a copy of the physical book (you can SEE the page edges in the scan) and the contrast is awful, so that while the pictures are beautifully illustrated the whole thing is just awash with muddy greys and blacks. Reading on the iPad really exposes the poor production quality. Again, I am not taking anything away from the content but the Kindle version is so cheaply and poorly produced that it looks like a pirated copy or something. At $4.99 a poor value.

My grandson loves it

by Kacy Willow from on 2010-07-10
I bought this book for my grandson who is now 10 months old. He loves looking at the pictures and watching his Nana make a fool of herself while she sings the song. I like the fact that the music notes are included on the back of the book. I had forgotten the melody so that really helped.

Head and shoulders above the rest

by Bethany Jayne from Louisiana on 2010-07-06
My daughter loves the illustrations, and this is one of the books that gets her up and dancing. Many books are great to listen to, but this makes her get up and do a little dance.

Description

Believe it or not, 44 complete read-aloud classics and future classics--from Goodnight Moon to Stellaluna--are packed in this remarkably svelte, positively historic anthology. Flipping through the 308 pages of The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury is like browsing a photo album of beloved friends and family...

Reviews

20th Century Children Stories

by Linda Szymanski from Toledo, Ohio on 2010-08-29
A Delightful book! Full of all the favorites we all grew up with with lovely pictures! Stories are great- some short (for those very tired nights) and some longer, when you just want to read a good story with your child. Very nicely done, a keepsake for sure!

Great Buy/Book

by Feil70 from on 2010-07-18
This book is several stories in one. It makes it a great value and the stories take you back as a kid when reading it to little ones. I love it! It would make a great gift as well.

Good Treasury

by A. N. Roach from on 2010-06-02
This is a good treasury of classic children's tales. I don't think it is supposed to substitute for the original books and therefore may have some missing illustrations but the stories are still there. I like that the book has many stories in it so I don't have to lug around tens of books whenever we go anywhere. I think it's perfect for reading time with Mommy or Daddy but agree that the text and pictures can get confusing for a little one on their own. Either way, I think it's a good buy for any child's library.

great book recovered

by J. Boyd from on 2010-05-22
We recently remodeled and couldn't locate our "The 20th-Century Childrens Book Treasury" We purchased this book again, recieved it quickly and in great shape. Many nights, my son reads from it in bed and sleeps with it along with his favorite stuffed toys. Both my children have their favorite stories that are compiled, with all the wonderful illustrations from these classic books. This is a great treasury that they will hand down to their own children!

An absolute must for reading to young children

by Chris's Daddy from San Jose, California on 2010-01-12
I cringed the first time I saw this book--it was sad to see so many well-remembered classics squashed together like this, with the the pictures shrunken or gone completely. But, from a purely practical perspective, if you want one book to read to young children, this is the place to start. Having this in the house means that, come bedtime, there is always *something* you can read to your child--if not Stella Luna, how about the Berenstein Bears. If you're tired of Amerlia Bedelia, then let's try Madelaine. Whenever we took my son on a trip as a preschooler we would take this one book, and that would cover the bedtime story department. The lack of all the original pictures even turned out to be a blessing in a way. I would use this as a read-aloud book and, if my son particularly liked one of the stories here, encourage him to get the original out of the library and read it himself, a great way to start him reading on his own. An ideal gift for new parents.

Description

-Ideal for babies and toddlers.-Stunning large format brings images to life.-Helps to build a child's vocabulary.

Reviews

Great Book

by Diana Doherty from Alabama on 2010-08-24
I bought this for my son when he was four months old. He loved it then and continues to. The book is huge, with bold colors and beautiful photographs. Each animals picture has the name of the animal beneath it. This type of book can grow with your child. He started out simply enjoying the colors while I read to him. Now he points at the pictures (in no particular order) and turns the pages for me. Older children can point out animals as you read and eventually read them to you. It's a solid board book that withstands chewing, sucking, and attempts to pry the pages apart. I'm certain this book will be one of his favorites for quite a while.

Perfect for a toddler

by lauren from on 2010-08-11
this book i bought used and it was in excellent condition. other than a minor crushed corner, it was perfect. i bought it for a friend's daughter. she loves animal books and she will sit by herself ( Age 14 mo.) and just look at the variety of animals. great purchase

My Big Animal Book (My Big Board Books)

by Anna M. Ligtenberg from Chicago on 2010-07-28
ISBN 0312490836 - Printed in China (boo hiss to publisher St Martin's Press of NY, NY - you know, in the UNITED STATES - for outsourcing). Ages 0 to 4. Children's board books come in number three on my list of favorite book types. The target audience is the group we most need to get interested in books because, if we get them while they're young, they'll have a lifelong gift that will pay off in a million ways. Each page features images of animals on solid backgrounds. The animals are grouped (Baby Animals, Pets, On the farm, Birds, At the zoo) and each individual animal's picture is labeled. At the bottom of each page, there is a Who-am-I question, like "I fly through the jungle and learn to talk. Who am I?", with two questions per group of photos. No author or photographer is listed on the book. The book really IS a BIG book. It measures 10 1/2" x 10 1/2" and has standard board book pages that will stand up to a great deal of abuse of the sort young children dish out to their books. The images are excellent, crisp and sharp, and aren't cluttered up with distractions - a photo of a fish has just the fish in it - which will help in keeping the young "reader" focused. From learning to read, identifying various animals and even learning colors, this book has a lot to offer and kids will enjoy it again and again. As a dual-purpose book, these types of books are excellent for people suffering from Alzheimer's and other degenerative diseases. They enjoy the images and find the pages easier to turn for the same reason children do: the pages are thick and easier to grasp than a flimsy paper page. And, of course, if the little ones like it and their grandparents like it, then it's something they can share, at a time when time to share is at a premium. - AnnaLovesBooks

Good interaction book

by Eric Fontenot from GREENBRIER, TN, US on 2010-07-02
This is a great book for can you find the animal? My daughter loves this book.

Great Book!

by L. Lane from somewhere over the rainbow on 2010-07-02
My daughter has loved this book since the first time we opened it. The pictures are big and bright and grouping the animals (babies, farm, pets etc.) helps her to understand better. She smiles and points at each page. The price is very reasonable for what you get. Highly recommended.

Description

Donalyn Miller says she has yet to meet a child she couldn't turn into a reader. No matter how far behind Miller's students might be when they reach her 6th grade classroom, they end up reading an average of 40 to 50 books a year...

Reviews

Best Professional read in a LONG time!

by Teacher1 from on 2010-08-22
This book made me feel so much better about teaching reading. I believe that we are over-teaching reading strategies and killing the love of reading. This book shows how you should go about creating readers, kids who love to read and share what they've read. It confirmed my beliefs and I am going into this school year feeling very confident about my reading philosophy. Easy read and it makes sense!!!

I wish I could buy one for every teacher I know

by J. Prather from IN USA on 2010-08-09
This is a book primarily aimed at teachers, but as a parent of a soon to be sixth grader and a public library employee working with children, I found much to enjoy here. The author does a great job of pointing out some of the problems inherent in the public school system and it's failure to promote a joy of reading, and points to a real world solution that some might see as just common sense, but is in fact an important philosophy that I hope more people will listen to before we lose an entire generation of readers. I picked this book up because it seemed to be offering a solution for older students. Most studies these days seem to be focused on young children, and I think that many educators and parents have adopted an attitude that says if their children haven't established themselves as effective readers by third grade then they are never going to become an effective reader and are certainly never going to enjoy it. As an avid reader myself, this has always bothered me, and I am glad to see that this author's approach is working. I spend quite a bit of time in my job recommending books to children and talking to parents about how to help their children become readers and I will use some of the information offered here to reinforce what I always tell kids; reading is like sports, the more you do it, the better reader you become, and the more you will enjoy it. This book is very inspirational. Purchase it if you are a parent wanting to help your child. You can pick up some great tips that you can adapt for use at home. Certainly purchase it if you are a teacher - I wish I could purchase it for every teacher I know. Buy this book if you work with children and are looking for some confirmation that you can also change lives by being a Book Whisperer. You'll be helping to create a whole new generation of readers who will not only know the mechanics of reading but also the joy.

The Book Whisperer is a fantastic book

by Debbie Dingman from on 2010-07-31
The Book Whisperer has wonderful tips for getting students to read. The author emphasizes so many things that I totally agree with as a teacher. Students must read daily to become better readers. This book is a quick read and has totally inspired me as a teacher to try some of the strategies when I go back to teaching this fall. 6th grade is mentioned a lot and since this is what I teach it was even more meaningful to me.

You'll want to become a Book Whisperer too!

by C. Curran from Clifton, NJ USA on 2010-07-04
How do I love this book? Let me count the ways! As a preservice educator, I so believe in the message Donalyn Miller is trying to sell/get across in this book: let us get back to 'passing on' the gift (and it is a gift) of reading to our students and children! Reading this book was a joy. It is well-written, very readable, and downright fun at times. I found myself smiling, laughing, nodding, and even getting choked up along the way (all over the power of reading! Can you tell I'm a reader through and through?). I think Miller's presentation and delivery is perfect--practical, to-the-point, and easily understandable. Ease of implementation in my own classroom someday may be another story...but it is a challenge I am absolutely willing to tackle one day! Reading this book just got me so excited in anticipation of all the ways (and Miller provides so so many great ideas) I could create my own classroom of readers. I recommend this excellent, quick read to all educators, and to parents interested in cultivating a love of reading in their children.

Very Pleased

by Pursey Parks from on 2010-06-24
The book was shipped VERY quickly and was in excellent condition. I was very pleased with my purchase.

Description

The very popular Little Critter has a friend over to play and tries his best to be a good host. It's a long afternoon. After his friend damages Little Critter's bike by accident, leaves him in the tree house without a ladder, and doesn't help clean up his room, Little Critter decides that playing alone isn't always bad...

Reviews

Just My Friend and Me

by R. Garcia from on 2010-08-04
Ordered the book for my grandson's and they really have enjoyed it. The pictures are so colorful and just a sweet story.

beautiful book

by barb from on 2010-07-20
beautifully illustrated with good lessons and lots of details in the pictures to talk about. A lot of fun with a 3 year old!

The reality of having a friend over.....

by ND mommy from Dickinson, ND on 2008-10-29
The book is a perfect depiction of the roller coaster reality that can happen when a friend comes over for a visit. He is so excited and can hardly wait for him to arrive. Then when his friend plays too hard with HIS toys or beats him at a game, the friend starts to wear out his welcome. Good lessons in sharing and being a graceful loser. Overall a great story!

My nieces and I really enjoy Little Critter books

by Ulyyf from NYC on 2008-09-01
They're short, they're funny, they're topical, and they're cheap. This book details a typical visit with a friend, and the havoc two children can wreak. Little Critter puts it that he always has fun with his friend, but by the end of the day he's glad to be alone, a true sentiment if I ever heard one. One thing to note is how the illustrations and the text don't always add up, a good introduction to the concept of an unreliable narrator :)

excellent for problem solving!

by Designer Chick from Albuquerque, NM on 2007-05-14
We bought this book (and most of the Little Critter books) to help us discuss what's going on in our child's life. When problems arose with what it means to be a good friend, we were making little to no headway until we read this book together. Somehow it's easier to understand when it's a favorite book character having the problem and not you.

Description

"Please" and "thank you" are fun and easy to remember with Excuse Me!. Simple and repetitive, it's the perfect way to introduce those magic words that all little ones should know. From burping to breaking a sibling's toy, toddlers will love seeing these appealing babies in situations they know all about, and they'll have fun lifting the flaps to discover the right words to say-"Excuse me!" and "I'm sorry!"

Reviews

Book of Manners

by ZacStanley_Author from on 2010-08-12
When I bought this book to read to my baby nephew as positive reinforcement, I was shocked to find his 3 year old sister chiming in! Not only was it a good book for beginning readers but also backs up positive habits. Win Win! -Zac Stanley

Adorable and to the Point!

by A. Fleming from Chicago Area on 2010-03-12
First I must say the price of this book was very reasonable. I find so many children's books to be so grossly overpriced, honestly. We love this book - the illustrations are so cute and adorable - visually easy for a young child to comprehend and enjoy. The writing is simple, to the point (important with a toddler!) and holds my child's interest. The flaps are a bonus - our son likes to help open them and listens for the answer to such questions like "When you burp, what do you say?" ("Excuse Me!"). I think this is a wonderful first manners book for any baby/toddler.

Good learning tool

by Beachbum from Miami on 2009-10-28
When I bought this book for my 2 year-old, I thought she might be too old for it. But this book has become one of her favorites, and is a wonderful tool for teaching your child when to say thank you or excuse me. The illustrations are very cute, and the other books in this series are equally fun. Any book that can teach manners in a cute way gets two thumbs up from me.

My daughter loves this book

by Tami L. Rosengren from Serena, IL USA on 2009-08-28
My daughter loves this book. Shes 2 and we read it so much the first day she had manners by dinner...seriously. Ever since, she has used her manners just like described in the book. I actually bought it because it was a Karen Katz book and I love them, but the fact that she started using manners was a bonus.

A Little Book of Manners

by Paula Pattengale from California on 2009-06-15
A delight for both the young child and the reader (grandmother). It is simple, involves the child through the flip-up pages, and is short enough to engage a two-year-old. It makes its points and reenforces what parents are trying to teach young children. I highly recommend this book.