Book Description

In Todd Parr’s world, reading isn’t something that just happens at school or at home--it canhappen anywhere! In his trademark bright, bold pictures, Todd shows us all the fun ways we can read--from in the library and in bed to in the bathtub and on the road. Children are invited to read the main text as well as all the funny signs, labels, and messages hidden in the pictures. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Aptly named, The Everything Book is a hodgepodge of early learnerwords, numbers, poems, and concepts. But, without a doubt, the gorgeousillustrations are the real star of the show, created by Denise Fleming bypouring colored cotton fiber through hand-cut stencils. Readers and artappreciators of all ages will want to surround themselves with the delicious,ripe colors. Whether she's writing about traffic lights ("We all must obey them/ Even the Queen"), a robin's nest, or the colors of fruit, Fleming imbues hersubjects with vivid hues and exquisite shapes. Children will pore over theloosely organized book; the sparse structure allows readers to create their ownstories, lingering over Summer, for example (with "summer" as its only text), tocount the flies, spy the squirrel, and admire the pair of sunflowers.

Readers can practice the alphabet, count crocodile eggs and ladybugs, makefaces, learn about shapes, and play with kitchen "toys": cups, pans, spoons,bags. Towards the end of the book, the theme becomes nighttime-sleepytime, withverses about winking blinking fireflies and bunnies and chicks getting ready forbed. Children will love the big, color-drenched pictures and simple words.Grownups will want to frame the art and hang it all over their house. Fleming'sIn the Small, Small Pondwas a Caldecott Honor Book. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Great book
It's very diverse and colorful. It has a fun little game in the back where you can go through the book looking on every page for little hidden lady bugs. Makes the book fun and versitile. Love the book.

My 2 year old son loves this book!
He just turned 2, and he loves all the pages of this book. He loves the animals, and the kids faces, and to sing the ABCs on the ABC page! This is also a wonderful book to keep in the bathroom while potty training (LOL). It keeps him interested and in one place for a while, which is difficult to do with a 2 year old!
GREAT GREAT book for interested little kids!

Fun! Fun! Fun!
I bought this for my son after reading the other reviews and everything they said was true. It has everything (ABC's, trains, cars, food, songs, seasons, counting, animals, body part recognition, etc.)! We have had it for over a year and it is still one of my almost two year old's favorite books. He loves the colors, pictures and has memorized just about every page. The poem at the beginning is the BEST and because of it, my son knew the difference between his right hand and left hand before he was a year old. Highly recommend for anybody ...

fun on several levels
The variety of stories and the colors are very appealing. My kids also had a lot of fun playing the "spot the ladybug" game where you pick a page and try to find the little red bugs.

Fascinating and beautiful
Me, I don't like this book all that much. My two-year-old, he ADORES it! Whenever he runs to get books to read, this is in the pile, and usually the first one. Though he has seen it many times, he still loves to go through the pages -- finding details we missed before, naming objects, imitating sounds.

The book begins with a rooster starting the day, followed by a hen and chicks waking up. From there you will see a baby eating with many objects (labelled) from a meal -- juice, toast, peas, egg, banana, spoon, milk, cereal. This is a typical page. To my mind not always very coherent, but colorful illustrations and lots to look at. Other pages include: Fruit Colors, Kitchen Toys, Shapes, the alphabet, counting, poems, seasons, animals, body parts, facial expressions .... basically, everything you can think of that a small child might be interested in. The book ends with the hen and chicks going to sleep.

I think there is a very good chance your child will love this book, too. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A bold bright addition to any collection of children's books
A enjoy looking at this book just as much as my children do. I am a mother of 4 and a preschool teacher. The colors in this book are simple and bold. It is a great resource for teaching Spanish/English and numbers in the classroom. I like the fact that the Spanish words are not the simplest choices. It challenges the Spanish learner in me. I use this book with pre-schoolers mainly 2 year olds. It is easily adaptable to the older classroom learning Spanish.

A great series for early language acquisition
I have been using this entire series with my son since he was born, and he is now 14 months. He loves the pictures and turning the pages. The books use the format of one word per page and it gives both the English and Spanish form of the word. This is a great series for early language acquisition.

Great for early language acquisition
I have been using this entire series with my son since he was born, and he is now 14 months. He loves the pictures and turning the pages. The books use the format of one word per page and it gives both the English and Spanish form of the word. This is a great series for early language acquisition.

Beautiful books!
This series of books is lovely, colorful and easy to read to our baby. He loves the books -- the illustrations hold his attention. We live in a bilingual area and these will help teach him Spanish when he's older. This is the only English/Spanish board book series that I found targeting young children -- I'm so happy to have found them.

Excellent early learning tool
I used these books in my classroom, the kids love them. Although these books are intended for a younger audience, I used them for kindergarten children learning a second language. The pictures are wonderful and they match the text clearly. There are 4 in the series. Numbers, Shapes, Colours, and Opposites.All equally good. ... Read more

Book Description

Sharing is a social skill all children need to learn—the sooner the better. Concrete examples and reinforcing illustrations help children practice sharing, understand how and why to share, and realize the benefits of sharing. Includes a note to teachers and parents, additional information for adults, and activities. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

No other counting book is like this one!
I had a very hard time finding a counting book that would help me teach 1st graders that numbers are made up of other numbers. This book gives you great poems that are perfect for the exploration of numbers 1-10. The poems are short, descriptive, and beautifully illustrated. With all the math "counting" books out there I know it is difficult to decide which one to choose, but this book is a definite must have! If you are looking to develop early number sense with children and early concepts of grouping then this is the perfect book. This book definitely addresses NCTM standards. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"The STRINGS all soar, the REEDS implore, / The BRASSES roar with notes galore. / It's music that we all adore. / It's what we go to concerts for." In this exuberant tribute to classical music and the passionate, eccentric musicians who play it, author Lloyd Moss begins with the mournful moan and silken tone of one trombone. A trumpet sings and stings along, forming a duo, then a fine French horn joins in, "TWO, now THREE-O, what a TRIO!" The mellow cello ups it to a quartet, then ZIN! ZIN! ZIN! a violin soars high and moves in to make a quintet. The flute that "sends our soul a-shiver" makes a sextet, and "with steely keys that softly click," a sleek, black, woody clarinet slips the group into a septet.We move on! A chamber group of ten!And the orchestra is ready to begin. Moss should be congratulated for creating a playful, musical stream of rhyming couplets that seamlessly, slyly teaches the names of myriad musical groups. Marjorie Priceman, the whimsical, masterful illustrator of Elsa Okon Rael's When Zaydeh Danced on Eldridge Street and Jack Prelutsky's For Laughing Out Loud, won a Caldecott Honor Award for this swirling, twirling, colorful musical world worthy of thunderous applause and a standing ovation. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson ... Read more

Reviews (23)

ENCHANTING
I first came across this book in one of my university classes (Music for the Child)and fell in love with it immediately. It is now is my son's (age 2 1/2) favorite book. Even my husband loves it. We can all recite it by heart. It's a great way to introduce musical instruments to young children. My son recently saw a harp in person for the first time and recognized it right away because of this story. The prose, the illustrations - all are wonderful!!! A must for any child's library!

Fresh, charming, artistic approach to counting and music
I wish I could give this book 6 stars, because it is a truly wonderful book for preschoolers. One by one, the instruments in a classic orchestra are introduced, combining simple counting with music education. The text is in elegant rhyme, perfectly complemented by the bright, original & whimsical illustrations (make sure you pay attention to the "dance" performed by the cats, dog and mouse). A top-notch addition to a young child's library.

Emergent readers' gem!
Being a cello player myself, I believe all children should be exposed to music as soon as possible. This is a great introduction to music, orchestras, and the sounds the instruments make. It's great for emergent readers because of the rhyming and the way the words seem to flow from page to page. The illustrations are beautiful and whimsical. I really like the way the author uses pretty advanced descriptive words for the sounds the instruments make, like 'mournful moan' for the trombone and 'the reeds implore'.

Students will also learn basic information about musical groups, such as what they're called, octet, quintet, etc. A great part of this book is that the musical terminology is not reduced to children's levels. The words are quite large and reflect what is really true about classical musical instruments and musical groups. I think children would enjoy seeing the illustrations and learning about these instruments, and perhaps picking their favorite one. It plants an early seed in their head about orchestral groups, makes music fun, and perhaps creates a new generation of orchestral students.

Obviously, this is a minority opinion
As the 20-plus reviews thus far have ALL been five stars! So, take what I say with a grain of salt...

and even I actually mostly like this book (though I know at least one person who actually dislikes the book and won't read it anymore -- she finds the art ugly and the text strained -- but I'm married to her, she can write her own review).

I don't particularly notice the art, I'm usually half-asleep when reading this book to my 4-year-old in bed. But the text does sometimes jar me -- my teeth practically break when I get to the lines that rhyme CELL-o with hell-O (clearly one is supposed to pronounce it HELL-o here, but I can't make myself do it) -- on the other hand, some of it's really quite nice: "with steely keys that softly click//its breezy notes so darkly slick,..." (that ought to give you a sense of it -- if you say that aloud and think "ooh, I like the way those words fit together", and you want to say them to your child, then get this book. If you think "a clarinet's notes are breezy? or slick?"
or you worry about the rhyme of clarinet and septet, then maybe it isn't for you.)

Still, I like the nice twist on counting books, with 1,2,3,
becoming solo, duo, trio, etc. -- and the mouse-cats-dog subplot in the pictures is cute, too.

Awesome!
My three year old loves this book. We've read it only a few times, but he can already correct me if I mess up. He is learning to count, about instruments, the orchestra. It is just a fabulous book. Not to mention the terrific artwork. This is definately one of my favorites!!! ... Read more

Book Description

It's family fun from A to Z in this alphabet book that shows kids and their parents laughing, playing and enjoying family life.All of the brilliant watercolors depict families headed by gays and lesbians."C is for cookies.Both of my dads know how to make great chocolate chip cookies.""L is for lunch.We always pack a picnic lunch when my moms take me to the beach." ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Refreshing, yet disappointing
I am pleased to see a children's book incorporating LGBT families as characters without presenting LGBT-specific issues as the central topic of the book. Kudos to the authors for choosing to depict a fair amount of racial diversity including interracial families. However, I was disappointed to see a lack of heterosexual couple representation. Heterosexual couples are overrepresented in children's literature generally, so I fear that the lack of representation in books like this contributes to a sense of other-ness: Non-traditional families do exist, but they are so different and separate from the mainstream that they all crowd together in the safety of their own book and are rarely if ever seen interacting with heterosexual families.

It's About Time!
It is about time that LGBT families have books that reflect their lives in children's books without being hammered over the head with issues. This is a wonderful book and finally our kids can look at a picture book and see illustrations they can actually relate to.

this book is beyond belief!
this book had one problem... to many animal shots. other than that this book really gave me a new out look on life. i've learned that some parts don't have to be hiden. my new found freedom has made me more popular than ever! im making new friends... i spend alot of time with my uncle i never knew! this is GREAT! i recomend this book to anyone who is struggling to find them selves... (my hockey coach recommended this book.. hi mr.Sroman)

This Book is WONDERFUL for non-traditional families!
This book is quite groundbreaking, and is excellent in the way it portrays our differences as not-so-different to children. Very thoughtful, well-written - a must have in any child's collection! ABC A Family Alphabet Book, and many more like it, are the focus of our website, www.[...].com, which caters to gay parents and their children.

Finally, a book written for our family!!!
We are a two mom family with a 5 year old son and a 16 month old daughter, and we have been waiting a LONG time for books that reflect our family constellation. I have been reading to my son since he was born, and "ABC A Family Alphabet Book" by Bobbie Combs is the first book to accurately, tastefully, creatively and humorously reflect the world of lesbian and gay families. Combs' books (see "123 A Family Counting Book" as well) are well written and beautifully illustrated and depict the every day lives of children who live in non-traditional families. What is wonderful about Combs' work is that the books are about learning to count and learning the alphabet foremost, and the illustrations of lesbian, gay, and multicultural families provide a natural backdrop for this learning. There is no heavy-handed political "message," only quality children's books that are a VERY welcome addition to our family library. I look forward to more works by Combs and by Two Lives Publishing, a company dedicated to producing children's books for alternative families. ... Read more

Book Description

In each spread of this bold and humorous picture book, available for the first time since 1995, children can examine their place in the world around them through detailed and engaging maps. Twelve beautifully illustrated maps such as Map of My Day and Map of My Tummy will fascinate children. When finished reading the book, children can unfold the jacket -- it turns into a poster-size map!

Reviews (4)

Kids'Book Lover
This books is an incredible concept book for young children. I have used it to teach many children the concept of mapping. HOWEVER - I didn't buy it for a long time because of the poor illustrations. Although they are intentionally messy and try to look like kids' art, they get in the way of the terrific idea of the book.

A new way of seeing the world
This book starts with children's experiences with the world and uses these experiences to create maps. Most every child can create a map of her heart. From there it is only a hop, skip and a jump to maps of the world outside our hearts.

Fabulous for teaching the trait of organization.
This amazing and irresistable book shows that maps are conceptual and visual organizers--and that they enable us to organize so much more than geographic space. Through the imagination of this remarkable young writer, we see how mapping can be used to teach young reader/writers the very concept of mapping--or of organizing ideas. Sara maps her favorite and dearest people and treasures--in the map of her heart. She maps her day, in thinking how we spend our time. She maps her stomach--what she loves to eat, and what's in there to please mom. These and other maps in the collection provide a wonderfully creative leaping off point for writing activities that involve mapping--activities even the youngest writers can handle. Everyone can map his/her face, desk, room, or day. Labels and written text can be used to enrich the writing, but they're not essential. It's easy to use and it's stimulating, too. This book should be in the classroom of every teacher K-5. Students LOVE it (so do adults), and the wealth of engaging writing activities it suggests makes it an excellent investment. How often do children get to see books written by other children? We can only hope Sara will write more! I recommend this book to every teacher and parent I talk or work with.

Vicki Spandel Director, Write Traits Portland, Oregon

Delightful maps from a child's point of view!
This is a marvelous book that inspires creative map makers in the classroom. Students love to share what their hearts would hold in them if they were drawn out as a map. Sarah's map of her dog is so fun! ... Read more

Book Description

This innovative book uses colorful pictures to help young readers recognize letter shapes. What does "A" look like? A hat! What about "B"? Lift the flap and find out! Then reinforce letter recognition skills by playing the bingo game at the end of the book. Learning the alphabet has never been so much fun! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Creator and engineer of the elegant Color Surprises and Black Cat, White Cat: A Pop-Up Book of Opposites, Chuck Murphy has also crafted an amazingly simple yet beautiful counting book, One to Ten: Pop-Up Surprises! This counting book doesn't mess around with fancy rhymes or cutesy sheep--open the first spread and you'll see a bold, fat number one--white on black--right next to a bold black number two on a white page. Pull the number one down, and one tropical spotted frog swims off the page! Lift and turn the number two to the right, and two toucans pop out from a leafy nest. Three colorful beetles crawl out of the number three with the slide of a tab. You get the idea--Murphy's almost breathtaking pop-up surprises take readers all the way to the number ten. Pop-up book collectors and budding bean counters alike will revel in this instructive, interactive masterpiece. (Ages 4 and older) --Karin Snelson ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Another Fanastic, Entertaining and Educational Book
Chuck Murphy has that special talent to keep children occupied with entertaining and educational books. Although I find these books wear out fast, they are well worth the price. The colorful pop-outs and designs are excellent. Our son is two and a half years old and just doesn't quite yet posses the ability push and pull all of the props without tearing them.

a delightful introduction to numbers for young and old
How lucky for children and adults that Chuck Murphy puts his considerable creative talents to the service of young children. All of his books are quiet little masterpieces, and One to Ten Pop-Up Surprises is one of the best.

Stark black and white numbers are lifted to reveal colorful frogs and birds, bugs and butterflies, cats, dogs, seashells and even little boys and girls. Three of the ten manipulatives are tabs, which are more difficult for young children, but any adult would be eager to help out with this beautiful book.

Our two-year old eagerly yells out each number and then counts the revealed objects. With this gorgeous teaching aid, learning is not only painless, but a pleasure.

Bought it 2 times
My son is visually impaired and just loves this book. He actually learned how to crawl by his father and i sitting at opposite ends of the room and "reading" the book. He would crawl between us. I could get him to stop anything he was doing and crawl to the book. Then he wants you to read and read and read it. We read it so much in his first year, we had to buy it again. Yes it is not durable, but I don't think there is much to be done about that.

incredible and appealing to babies and up
My son has loved these since he was about 8 mo, and now he is a pre-schooler. Well, as with all pop-ups, I always supervise, but this series has fairly simple engineering, so an over enthusisastic tug or rip is fairly easy to cellotape. Our four books have lots of tape, but they still work after three years of frequent use. The pop-ups and presentation are so appealing, you will never regret this purchase. An absolute classic for your childs library.

Mind Ticklers for Children as Well as Adults
Chuck Murphy's creative way to stimulate and educate a child. The book consists of 10 colorful pop-ups which encourage children to ask questions about the things they are seeing in the pop-ups as well as to count.
Our two young boys, ages 2 and 4, take these books everywhere with them. During long automobile voyages or flights each book keeps the child's mind entertained for at least 30 minutes but not more than 1 hour and 20 minutes during any given trip.
We have already purchased the above book three times since it has sustained a lot of wear and tear from the mountains to the beaches. Chuck Murphy's books are tops with our kids. ... Read more

Book Description

Children will be delighted to name-and write-the parts of their bodies as each is highlighted in dynamic and surprising ways in this innovative combination of quality content and chalkboard surface on every page.

Full-color illustrations

Concept books meet chalkboards in this innovative way for kids aged 3 to 6 to learn and play. It has all the components of bestselling chalkboard toys in a unique board book format. Every page includes a chalkboard surface for writing and drawing with non-toxic colored chalk, thus encouraging children to move, play, and learn. My Little Chalkboard(tm) books are filled with engaging text and illustration, plus prompts that help parents interact with their child while reading together. Packaged in a sturdy, reclosable plastic case with a colorful molded tray permanently attached to the book for handy storage are 6 pieces of colored chalk, a cleaning cloth, and miniature classroom eraser, all printed with the series logo. ... Read more

Book Description

This series of full-color board books, with both English and Spanish on each page, will intrigue youngsters while helping them build vocabulary and an awareness of the world around them.

The books feature charming illustrations and thoughtfully chosen words, offering an enchanting introduction to vocabulary. ... Read more

Book Description

Ms. Frizzle¹s class has been studying the senses. But they¹re in for a real lesson when assistant principle Mr. Wilde ends up behind the wheel of the magic School Bus. He and the kids take an amazing ride into the eye of a passing policeman, the ear of a child, and the nose of a dog! On the way they learn facts about sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. But how will they get back to school with the Friz? ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Parental guidance required
My science-loving eight-year-old son really enjoys reading books from the Magic School Bus series, and the topic and plot line of this one engaged him as well. But early into the book, he was asking me about nearly every other word. When I looked more carefully, I realized the reading level was higher than other books he had read in the series and many of the facts were things I had learned in junior high. I decided to take over, reading the book to him and explaining many of the topics in more detail. Don't get me wrong -- he really enjoyed the book and learned some "cool" new things about the senses. It just wouldn't have made much sense without my involvement.

Science
This book is based on the television show the magic school bus, with Mrs. Frizzle. The book contains great factual illustrations for the reader. The students of Mrs. Frizzle's class are learning about the senses so they get into their magic school bus and shrink down, and go into a students nose and from there they continue to the other sensory organs. I like the format of this book because it is very active instead of reading from a textbook the children can get the same information but have fun while they are learning. I also like hands on activities and this is as close as hands on with a book as you can get. It also gives small science experiments and reports that the class has written for the child to read. The author has such great imagination and brings the fun back into learning science.

Good science explanations but overwhelming for youngsters.
The Magic School Bus brings another cute story into print this year with Exploring the Senses. The story is somewhat predictable - the bus shrinks and children pop in-and-out of various parts of the body. But the basic explanations of the senses is good. Children ages 8 and older will learn about hair cells, smell cells, taste cells and rods and cones. The topics are a bit broad and children may need to read it several times to understand the science concepts. No experiments are included (unless you have a magic bus!). However, children will learn that we have many sensory cells and that each of these cells sends nerve signals to the big decoder - the brain. (From The Science Spiders(TM) Newsletter). ... Read more

Book Description

On a beautiful summer day a young girl sets up a lemonade stand and sells

enough cups of refreshment to add up to a dollar.Told in rhyme, this

delightful story combines the teaching of addition with a traditional rite of

childhood entrepreneurship!




... Read more

Reviews (2)

Wonderful combination of reading & math
My son enjoyed reading the story and the math component as well. It is easy enough for a beginning reader, and yet it can keep their attention as well.

Perfect For Teaching Money Concepts!
This beautifully illustrated easy reader makes counting coins fun and simple! Illustrations of coins on selected pages make it the perfect teaching tool at home or in the classroom! Random House has another outstanding Step into Reading title! A great ending too! ... Read more

Amazon.com

A companion to the popular One Yellow Lion and Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings, Matthew Van Fleet's Spotted Yellow Frogs is an engaging fold-out book for babies and preschoolers. Each spread introduces a new pattern, 3-D shape, and color. For example, one set of pages has the words "Striped Orange" on the left, and on the right is a striped orange cube entitled "Cube." Fold out the cube, and voilà! A pride of tumbling, striped-orange tigers appears. Young children will love the peek-a-boo approach of the book, but parents and teachers should let kids know that the patterns shown in the book are not necessarily the only patterns one might find in the animal kingdom. For example, beetles are not always "zigzag red" and butterflies aren't always "swirly purple." The book closes with a 36-inch-long, fold-out page featuring all seven shapes. Readers are asked to call out the names of the shapes, colors, and patterns, and to guess which animals hide behind each. The flip side shows a jumble of all the animals, so kids can pick out which animals are matched with the "wrong" pattern. Spotted Yellow Frogs is an excellent learning tool, and a book that children will want to read again and again. (Baby to preschool) --Aimee Damman ... Read more

Reviews (6)

a 2 year olds favorite
My son calls it the sticky tongue book. I like to call it a wonderfully illustrated and educational book for young children. 3d shapes are shown in different colors and patterns and then open up to show a scene of different creatures underneath. A red zig zag ball turns to a family of red zig zag beetles tickling each other and playing, one is eating and one is sleeping. My 2 year old loves the humor in the pictures. He asks to read this book every day.

Perfect for squirmy babies!
We got this book with a bunch of other hand-me-downs, and now I'm planning on getting the others from this author. My daughter is almost a year, and she gets squirmy every time we try to read any book but this one. With this book, she sits still, and looks so intently at the pages, laughing as we open each flap. Every time I say "the end", she signs "more". She could sit and read it over and over. While the shapes are more advanced than a baby will understand, I highly recommend this book for little ones, as well as preschoolers!

My 3 year-olds new favorite
It's a good thing I love this book, because I've had to read it every day for the past two weeks and there is no end in sight to my son's enthusiasm. Not only is it a good introduction to complex shapes, but the illustrations are phenomenal. The animals are drawn with complex emotions on their faces that are fun to discuss with my child. From bored to exhausted to annoyed to surprised to delighted to perplexed and on and on, with small details in the background that my son loves to look for over and over. This one will be a gift to other children from now on.

Very clever and fun to read
My 25 months old daughter liked the "Fuzzy Yellow Duckling" book she discovered at playgroup, and I decided that it was worth ordering from Amazon.com. While reviewing the selection by the same author, I ended up buying this one too. It hasn't been a disappointment, my daughter loves both books although I feel that this one is more suitable for slightly older children since the shapes it teaches are things like cubes, columns, wedges etc. Still, it's a great and very clever little book with a wonderful "ending" of double sided long "synopsis" of the book. I think I will buy the 3rd book by this author soon.

3-D Shapes Center Resource
I used this book in a learning center for a second grade class to reinforce the concept of 3-D shapes. They loved the illustrations which provided an excellent visual format for the concept. The minimal text makes it very readable yet the vocabulary is challenging enough for all reading levels. Considering it was written for preschoolers, the older kids loved it. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Simply Beautiful
My father-in-law found this song to sing to his first granddaughter, and now my wife and I sing it to our daughter. When she found this lovely book a few days ago, we were thrilled! I expect we'll get a copy with a library binding someday.

The illustrations are cute--but not too cute!--and the song is great. The book itself is well-made--with any luck, our daughter will sing out of it to her children someday (though I suspect she won't need it to remember the words).

Let me explicate this gem, word by word, starting with...um, sorry, gotta go--Quincy is crying. I'd best go sing it to her.

Beautiful song, beautiful book
My 1.5-year-old daughter loves looking at the babies in this book, and she's starting to try to sing along. It's fun for both of us to read together, and we sing the song later in the car.
I recommend the CD "Singin' in the Bathtub" by John Lithgow if you want a recording of "A... You're Adorable." It's a great album. (I also bought the Perry Como recording. Beautiful singing, but not my style.)

You need to sing the song to appreciate it.
This has an accompanying song that is sweet and very fun to share with your little one. I wouldn't consider it a book for learning letters, so if you're looking to teach ABC's this isn't what you want. This is a book that ups the snuggle factor at bedtime and gives you a visual aid if you sing the song as well.

If you're looking for a fun rendition of the song, you won't go wrong with the John Lithgow CD, 'Singin' in the Bathtub'. The whole CD is worth the money.

What a sweet book and song!
I got this book before my daughter was born and sang the song to her in the womb. She now sings along babbling as I sing. It is a charming little book about ABC's and the beautiful blessing of children. It is sure to be a big hit for any new parent!

a book that glows
It's not easy being a little kid sometimes, but this lovely and positive book is filled with nice things to say -- A you're adorable, B you're so beautiful .... Who wouldn't be cheered up?

The illustrations are gentle but lively images of children playing around large letters. I am not familiar with the Kaye-Wise-Lippman song others have referred to, but the book is enjoyable anyway. Though I would rather have had a phrase for each letter of the alphabet rather than three strings (MNOP, QRST and WXYZ), I suppose that makes it fit the song.

Particularly useful when your toddler or young reader is down in the dumps, this gentle reminder tells them that they are special and loved and important. If you know the tune, all the better! ... Read more

Book Description

Millions of Americans remember Dick and Jane (and Sally and Spot, too!). Now Dick and Jane and all their pals are back with revised editions of these classic readers for a whole new generation of readers to enjoy!

Go Away Spot
Dick said, "Down, Spot. I cannot play. Down, Spot, down. Go away, little Spot. Go away and play." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A True Classic
I grew up with the great adventures of DICK and JANE. I bought this for my daughter for Christmas. She is in Kindergarten and knows a great deal of sight words. She is capable of reading this on her own, and she absolutely loves it.
I too am a teacher, and I feel that the basic reading skills that Dick and Jane teach will help all children to become better readers.

Mother in ND
Lets get back to basic sight words. We loved this book becouse of the repeativeness, and the confidence it built in our childs reading.I you have a child with reading difficulties this is the answer. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Winner of the NY State Reading Associaiton Charlotte Award
10,000 New York State school children read new children's books and voted for their favorites. Skull Alphabet Book made the finalist list, relased last year and was announced as the Intermediate level Winner on April 10, 2004. Details on the Charlotte Award can be seen at www.nysreading.org
Author, Jerry Pallotta, will be honored at the NYS Reading Association in Saratogo Springs next Nov. 04.

A wonderful inquiry inspiring book
I have worked in museums educating students and teachers for nearly 25 years. The Skull Alphabet Book is a book that I have as "required reading" for my teacher workshops now, because not only is it fun and accurately and beautifully illustrated but it does an excellent job at stimulating curiousity, encouraging looking for details (yes, even the presidents portraits)... that might not be immediately noticed. All in all, it illustrates the learning potential of objects to teach a wide range of concepts. You can't just read the book... you have to look at it, gather information and then make your own conclusions. Fun for everyone.

More Fun to Read Than an Encyclopedia
As an elementary school principal and collector of alphabet books (670 in a collection and 900 "bibliographed"), this one ranks in my top 10 favorites. Author Jerry Pallotta and Illustrator Ralph Masiello have penned and drawn, respectively, several unusual alphabet books. This contribution eclipsed even The Yucky Reptile Alphabet Book.

Each letter of the alphabet is assigned to a skull. The reader is challenged to figure out to which mammal does the skull belong. That's just the beginning. Questions, information, and challenging art dare the reader-detective to do, what all educators want their students to do, THINK. E.g. The V page begins, "V is for. . . Does this page make you wonder what type of blood you have?" The illustration is a small skull perched on top of a gravestone in the night with a hint of a full moon. Hmmm, even adult alphabet book readers might find this skull challenging to identify.

Some critics might be put off by the addition of hidden presidential pictures in the illustrations! Not I. Children who would be engaged in this alphabet book will strut confidence in finding and identifying U.S. presidents in the illustrations. (Yes, our children can multi-task in their thinking and in their studies!)

As I have purchased alphabet books for older children in my family, I always found it difficult to find ones that engaged and intrigued the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. This one will be given frequently to children I know in this age group.

Thank you, Jerry Pallotta and Ralph Masiello, for giving sophistication to alphabet books that can keep children of all ages engaged in thinking, reading, and learning. ... Read more

Book Description

This fun-filled 4-book set helps your child learn, discover, and understand while having tons of seek and slide fun.The set includes four board books in a handy slipcase, each one featuring easy-to-slide pullout panels to reveal fun picture surprises.With Colors, Counting, Shapes, and Opposites, these little books for little hands are sure to please! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great Books for Toddlers!
I have never written a review of anything before, but these books merit a thumbs up! My mom gave our now-20 month old son some of these books when he was 10 months old. The "Opposites" book helped him learn those concepts quickly and with "Colors", he began to say "purple" and "yellow" immediately. Unfortunately, he did manage to rip the sliding pages out - he's very strong. But I have purchased new ones, and he is old enough now to just slide them out and not dismantle the book. I highly recommend this series for little ones.

Gotta Have It
I bought this series to keep my 21 mo. daughter busy on an airplane ride. WOW - this is a great series of books. They actually have parts that slide out that a toddler won't destroy (with a little help from Mom). The concepts are kept simple and include; Oppoosites, Counting, Shapes & Colors. I wish this author had other books made the same way - I would buy them all. ... Read more