75) I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

Sherry, Kevin. I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean. Dial, 2007.  32 pages. ISBN: 978-0-8037-3529-3.

Learn about sizes and different types of animals in the ocean in this little board book.A bright blue giant squid prides himself on being the biggest animal in the ocean  “I’m a GIANT squid and I’m BIG”. Swimming through the ocean, the giant squid compares his own size to all the creatures he encounters. From the smallest creatures of the ocean, the shrimp, the clams, and the crabs, to larger animals like jellyfish, turtles, the octopus, and the shark. The “I am bigger than” phrase is repeated throughout the  story, to emphasize the self-confidence of the squid. For a humorous effect, the squid is then eaten by a giant whale. Inside the whale, the squid is joined by other sea animals, to which the squid says “I’m the biggest thing in this whale!” Young children who are ocean fans will enjoy hearing about the squid’s personality and perhaps a size game can take place; A what-are- you-bigger-than game. (Board Book 2-4). The author-illustrator website can be found at http://kevinsherryonline.com/kevinsherryonline/Home.html.

66) Daddy Loves Me by Dawn Sirett

Sirett, Dawn. Daddy Loves Me. Pictures by Howard Shooter, Dave King. DK Publishing, 2008.16 pages. ISBN: 978-0756634643.

A perfect little board book to strengthen the bond between father and child. Beautiful color photographs of fathers, from different nationalities, show bonding relationship with their own children. Full color photos fill the opposite pages of the board book, while smaller photos outlined in a colored square show physical closeness, from baby’s hand overlapping father’s hand, to baby’s feet on top of father’s feet. There are colorful polka-dot patterns included in pastel colors ranging from yellows, blues, pinks, and greens. The rhyming text coordinates with the pictures: “My daddy’s hands are big and strong I hold them tight and walk along” or “My daddy always makes me laugh even when I’m in the bath!” This little picture book of smiling babies having fun with their father’s is great for emotional development. Babies and toddlers will giggle and enjoy the real-life pictures of other babies and strong male figures. (Board book 1-4) No author/illustrator website.

65) The Little Red Hen [Board Book] by Byron Barton

Barton, Byron. The Little Red Hen [Board Book]. HarperCollins,  1993. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-0-694-00999-2.

An old Russian folktale has been condensed into this small board book. The illustrations are collage-like cutouts on top of solid primary colors for the background. The text is bold and simple words tell the story in simple steps. Every image is labeled with text, and simple two-word phrases are repeated to  introduce children to dialogue. The story includes a little red hen who believes that her friends–a pig, a duck, and a cat–will help her plant and harvest seeds. But, when the little red hen asks for help all of her friends repeatedly reply: “Not I” in their unique animal voices. Even though the hen’s friends refuse to help her plant the seeds, cut the stalks, thresh the wheat, grind the grains, make flour into bread, the little red hen does all the work herself. That is, until the bread was ready to eat. When little red hen asks “Who will help me eat this bread? All her friends reply “I will”. The tables are turned,as the little red hen refuses to let her friends eat the bread that she  made all by herself. A great little read-aloud story about the true meaning of friendship. Children will learn that a friend should help others when they are in need. (Folklore Picture Book 1-6). No author/ illustrator website.

44) The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Pfister, Marcus. The Rainbow Fish. North-South Books, 1996. 12 pages.  ISBN: 1-55858-536-2.

Glitter and shimmer with the rainbow fish in this board book edition. A narcissistic rainbow fish was the most beautiful fish in the sea because of his long sparkly scales, but he would not share any of his sparkly scales with other fish. “I’m too beautiful, he thought”. The rainbow fish quickly learns to share his sparkly scales with other fish in exchange for friendship. This is a story about the joy of sharing. Giving away sparkly scales made the rainbow fish feel happy and he made friends. This board book, with its deep blue-green water-color illustrations and sparkly shimmering sequence for scales, will introduce young children to the concept of sharing. (Board book 1-3). Pfister’s illustration website can be found at http://www.marcuspfister.ch/
 

43) The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Bdbk ed.) Philomel, 1994. 13 pages.  ISBN: 0-399-22690-7

Carle’s timeless classic picture book has been adapted into board book form with the same creative story. A triple threat, this board book simultaneously teaches young children counting, the days of the week, and food recognition. Follow the hungry caterpillar as it eats “one apple” on Monday, “two pears” on Tuesday, “three plums” on Wednesday, “four strawberries” on Thursday, “five oranges” on Friday, and many different foods on Saturday. Each piece of food has a small die-cut hole representing where the caterpillar ate for fun interaction. The story is also scientifically accurate, the hungry caterpillar spins a cocoon and turns into beautiful butterfly! Children will learn the life cycle of the caterpillar and enjoy Carle’s trademark style–tissue collage on white background. Although the board book’s illustrations and text are smaller than the picture book, the white space allows the small text to be visible on the pages as well as enhance the color of the pictures. (Board book 0-4). Eric Carle’s website can be found at http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html.

 

 

42) Yawn by Sally Symes

Symes, Sally. Yawn. Illustrated by Nick Sharratt. Candlewick Bdbk edition, 2011. 24 pages.  ISBN: 978-0763657253

Yawns are contagious. A little baby named Sean opens his mouth wide and lets out a gigantic yawn. His yawn is detailed in a die-cut circle that babies and toddlers can touch and feel. In opening the board book, the circle-hole remains and Sean’s yawn is passed to a fish, a mole, a pig, a bee, a bunny and an elephant. Symes breaks the rhythm to resolve the ongoing contagion of the yawn disease, by providing the name of Sean’s elephant, Nellie, who is fast asleep with all the other animals in bed with Sean.  In this guess-who board book, parents will interact with their children, allowing them to guess which animal is next based on detailed descriptions of animal characteristics. The illustrations are large, and each character continues the yawn as you flip through each page. This is a perfect bed-time board book for toddlers. They might feel the effects of Sean’s yawn and fall asleep. (Board book 1-5) The author/illustrator website can be found at http://www.nicksharratt.com/

41) Azul (Librito De Los Colores/Book of Colors) (Spanish Ed) by Bouchama and Nadia

Bouchama, Nadia. Azul LIbrito De Los Colores/ Blue Book of Colors Spanish Edition.  Roca, 2008.  12 pages. ISBN: 978-849693909.

This little board book will teach young children the concept of colors and shapes in Spanish and English. Parents can point to friendly illustrations and toddlers can identify what the image is in English and Spanish. Babies can touch and feel the braided texture of real zapatos/shoe laces, touch and feel what “vaqueros/blue” jeans material feels like, the rubbery texture of what a “ballena/whale” feels like, and the cloth material of “calcetines/socks,” and a bowl of shiny “arandanos/blueberries”. This is a perfect bilingual board book that encourages learning. All images are blue, and the interaction between children and parents will help them feel confident enough to start locating the names of blue object around the house. (Board Book 0-3). The author-illustrator’s website can be found athttp://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oGdboOI1VPqFUA8wlXNyoA_ylu=X3oDMTE0NGJxOWc1BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMgRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDEyNF83Mg–/SIG=11moujclb/EXP=1331008398/**http%3a//nadiabouchama.blogspot.com/

38) Teaching Your Baby to Sign by Laura Heller

Heller, Laura. Teaching Your Baby to Sign. Baby Fingers All Day Long, 2008. 23 pages. ISBN: 978-1-40275545.

Introduce sign language to your baby and enhance language development and speech before children are ready to talk. This little board book is full of beautiful photographs of toddlers who perform the hand motions using American Sign Language. Learn how to sign single words: “eat” “drink,” “more,” “book,” “play” and more. A single word is printed in color against a white background for easy reading. There are instructions at the bottom of each page, highlighted in different colors, that explain exactly how to place fingers for signing—for “book,” “…with flat hands, touch both palms together and open them as if you’re opening a book”. Parents and children will develop a routine way of communicating that is fun and easy. Children will be attracted to the photographs of other children and will want to learn how to sign.  (Board Book 1-4). No author/illustrator website.

35) 123 California by Puck

Puck. 123 California: A Cool Counting Book. Illustrated by Kevin Somers. DuoPress, 2009. ISBN: 978-09796213-8.

Bold colors, small size, and up to 10 numbers in this counting board book. Introduce babies and toddlers to numbers, objects, and landscapes simultaneously. Count to ten describing California’s symbols, such as  surfboards, The Golden Gate Bridge, boats, grizzly bears, beach balls, and more.  There are large sized numbers alongside  pictures of objects, which force readers to identify the pictures aloud. Parents will help their babies or toddlers learn how to count and the special glossary section is written in English and Spanish, which will help bilingual parents identify fun locations, symbols and landmarks in California. (Nonfiction, Board book 0-4). A Kevin Somers website can be found at http://www.somersaultstudio.com/

34) Baby Eye Like: Triangle by PlayBac

PlayBac. Baby Eye Like: Triangle. PlayBac, 2008. 10 pages. ISBN: 160214-0340

Lets talk about shapes. Triangle shapes. From strawberries, to clover leafs, to pine cones, to fish tails, to mountain tops, very young children will learn about the triangle shape in this small sized board book that is perfect for little fingers. Each page has a triangle cut-out so young ones can touch and feel the shape of a triangle.  The natural world has many shapes that are triangular. Let young ones explore and identify what triangle shapes are in the real world. Babies and toddlers will soon begin to identify triangle shapes in the outside world, ( Non-fiction, Board Book 0-4). No author/illustrator website.