Boards Books

My daughter likes Kipper. This book only has the word color and then stuff that color on the page along with Kipper. Pretty simple but very cute. It is a board book so she can teethe on it and not hurt it.

This book has wonderful pictures that really engage children. I especially enjoy the picture for the color "white". Kipper is surrounded in a cloud of flour....my kids (2 1/2 and 5 years old) thought that it was very funny! The book teaches colors in a simple and fun way!

This book is so simple it can be described as twenty pages, ten words, and lots of white space.

So why, you may ask, is it worth five big stars?

For one, the illustrations are big, bright, fun, fully representative of the color being shown, and are all of Kipper the Dog.

For two, it is suitable from birth to first reading, as it's never too early to start your child on the reading track.

For three, it's the first book my four year old has read on his own, spelling the letters, sounding it out, and then proudly coming up with the right words. That makes it priceless.

My one teeny tiny little gripe is that the style of lettering used for those important ten words is different to what is being taught in nursery school. The "a" that he learned is more like a circle with a stroke, the "g" in the book is the one with the closed loop at the bottom, and the "W" in the book looks like two overlapping "V"s. However, after we explained that some letters can look different sometimes, he had no problems whatsoever.

Deceptively simple but fiendishly clever.

Amanda Richards, April 10, 2005

This book has wonderful pictures that really engage children. I especially enjoy the picture for the color "white". Kipper is surrounded in a cloud of flour....my kids (2 1/2 and 5 years old) thought that it was very funny! The book teaches colors in a simple and fun way!

This whole little series of books (opposites, weather, colors and numbers) is really well done, but this one is special to me as it's the first book my younger son (age 2) has really fallen in love with. He took it into his nap with him today! He loves best the page about orange, where Kipper is drinking what looks like orange soda with a very long crazy straw. I like the teddy bear page for brown, with all shapes of cute teddy bears! I'm glad the TV show led us to Kipper books!

I discovered this book at the library and my son was just crazy about it. I was about to search the internet to buy it, when I found it on a scholastic order form from his school. I was thrilled.
The art work in this picture book is wonderful. Very colorful, warm and inviting. They make you want to climb into it and stay a little while.
The mother bear is putting Sam to bed. She asks if he is ready for bed, but he says "No, I'm waiting." For the next few pages mother bear is doing bedtime things, like drinking warm milk. At the end she realizes that he is waiting for "Kiss Goodnight." This is our favorite part because she kisses him once, then twice, then twice more. What a wonderful way to end the day and snuggle them into bed.

I've been reading this to my son for the last couple of months. He loves it and I enjoy it too. He starts to ask for kisses again, just like in the story, and it makes for fond memories.

We've read this at bedtime every night for 6 months, it's such a great story and my son loves it! We now have to buy the hardbacked book so he can treasure it for a long time!

This is a wonderful book for bedtime! I read it to my daughter every night. The illustrations are excellent and the story is sweet.

This book was given to my son as a gift and it is now his favorite book! The bright colors grabbed his attention early on (around 6-7 months) and now that he's 1 yr old, he can relate to the message. It's a great book for a mother and a son to share with a great bedtime message. I'd recommend this book, as it's been a wonderful edition to our evening story time.

My daughter loves this book! She wants me to read this 2,3, sometimes 5 times in one night! A must have. You can't go wrong with buying this book for your child.

My 17 month old granddaughter loves this book, and I love reading it to her. She likes to make the sounds of each animal. The pictures are great, and it is easy to read with expression. We read it several times a day and every night before going to bed. I highly recommend this book.

My 18 month old daughter will not put this book down. I borrowed it from the library and renewed it twice. I have to return the book today so I'm going to buy a copy. It is definitely a cute book for young children.

My 2 year old daughter loves this book! We read it together almost every night just before she goes to sleep. It has very simple, repetitive text that is easy for kids to follow and 'fill in' as you read. There are several other animals in the pictures on each page, and my daughter loves to point them out when we read. I would highly recommend this book!

This book is a gorgeous story for kids. It's excellent for very young kids through to early school age. The pictures are gorgeous and the story is really sweet. And it's got lots of animals in it, so it's full of interest

Mr.VanFranknhuzen was in our area schools in Clinton Township for 5 days this spring and used his wonderful books as lessons for the children to draw. He was so good with the kids the time just flew. One of the things he shared with us was about the "secrets" of the Loon book. He told us how much fun he had painting hidden loons in almost all the paintings and the children as well as the adults had fun trying to find them all. I don't think we succeeded but we're still looking. The magical story in combination with the beautiful paintings are a joy to read and see. We wait anxiously for your next legend. Thank you.

My mother-in-law loves loons! This book was perfect because it is about grandmas and loons. I would not suggest this book for the baby-preschool level... This is really a book that is written for the 4-12 yr old range. (4-6 if you are reading it to them and 6-12 if they are reading it for themselves.)

Great revelation! Grandmothers throughout the world should be such a guardian for their precious children. Warms my heart, and passes on great love from one generation to the next. Outstanding prose and melodic writing, great for young and old.

I read this story to my grandchildren today, and they loved it! We live on a lake where loons nest, and their call has always captivated us. I don't think I have ever heard a more beautiful tale that this one! My grandchildren are now calling every loon they see "grandmother lom". This story will be read again and again.

The legend of the Loon by Kathy-Jo Wargin is another one of her great legends. Although it doesn't specifically mention Michigan it certainly could be. The grandmother becomes concerned when her grandchildren go out in a boat and are late coming back. The children are lost and finally find their way back by following the loon. Grandma turned into the loon to show them the way back to safety. Great for older kids, although our younger ones enjoy the story as well.

My 2 1/2 yr old son loves the Car movie, the characters and LOVES this book set. He has just as much fun taking the books in & out of the box as he does reading them. He practically has the books memorized to read to himself. The box is holding up surprisingly well considering that he carries it a lot of places & often to the grocery store!

Keeps my 4 month old entertained with all the wonderful colors and I don't have to worry about him grabbing a page and ripping it while we are reading. Being from Georgia the whole family loves the book about Mater :)

My two year old who's favorite show is Cars loves these books. They are very simple books that each tell a watered down portion of the story. Each book is from a different character's POV from the movie; Lightning, Mater, Sally, and Doc.

The books are very sturdy which is great for when one of my children decides to get rough with them. The little case they come in is cute and while my boy likes carrying it around, it's made of a much thinner cardboard and I can tell it won't last very long.

All in all, I'm very happy with this product.

My son loves them. He carries them around in the little case they come in. Great gift idea.

My two year old loves the books and we read them every night before bed. They definitely are for the younger readers.

What is Valentine's Day without Chocolate? And what to do with the last one before bedtime? I think you know the answer... This book will appeal to older audiences even though it is a boardbook because of the use of clever adjectives. Children need words to describe their world and Lilly and Kevin Henkes give them those words. Pleasant reading that makes you want to read more about Lilly.

my 2 year daughter had several friends over for a valentine party. we gave these books as party favors. everyone was thrilled!

my daughter's name is lily so we have all the henke books, but this is her favorite. we read it every night. lilly (the mouse) manages to finally find the perfect place for her chocolate heart, and then wonders "when is it valentines day again?" i love the way henke writes and my 2 yr old loves lily, owen and all his characters! its win win!

My just-about-to-turn-six year old little girl (and fellow chocaholic) adores this book. We've read it so many times together that she knows each page by heart.

Lilly is a cute little mouse who decides to save her last Valentine's Day chocolate heart. But where shall she put it? Where will it remain safe and clean? She searches throughout her home but nothing will do. It's far too dusty under the bed, the picture frames are too narrow (the heart will surely fall off & get lost!), the bookshelves are too crammed with books. Finally, Lilly decides the best place to keep the heart safe is inside her belly. When she's finished enjoying her last treat she wonders aloud when Valentine's Day will come around again.

This is an adorable little hardback filled with charming drawings of Lilly's pastel world. I disagree that the packaging will turn off older kids. The light colored palette and lively drawings are exactly what attracted my daughter (well, that and the chocolate heart!). Boy's, however, will probably steer clear of this one ~ I know my son runs when we pull this one out :)

Lilly has one chocolate heart left from Valentine's Day, and it's bedtime, so where is the perfect, safe place to put her chocolate heart until tomorrow? This little bedtime dilemma has Lilly searching around her room for just the right place. Does she find it?

In Henkes' eye candy, easy reading style he delights young readers with another of Lilly's fanciful tales. In a small board book, modest sentences pop off solid, colored backgrounds as Lily, the little white mouse, dances from page to page in search of the perfect place for her last chocolate heart. Like I said, it's easy reading and perfect for young ones with short attention spans, not to mention the pages are strong enough to survive the pulling, tugging and turning of small hands.

Lilly's Chocolate Heart has the spirit to be a favorite, to be read over and over again. I can just hear a little voice repeating the last page by heart in a fit of laughter.

There is one more book with Lilly (Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse) and other titles with little mice, such as Julius, Wemberly, Sheila Rae, Chester, and Owen.

few pages, thick pages, cute poem. Duck could be a little longer, fairly short for my finger and hard for my little one to grab onto.

Little Duck pokes his head through the pages of this book as he walks around the farmyard. The very simple story includes actions on each page like looking at the sky or the pond that are fun to make the puppet perform. This book is suitable for an 18-month old (or much younger) yet still entertaining to her 3-year brother and sister (twins). This book is also fun for adults who like an interactive reading experience since the kids each insist on sticking their fingers in the puppet on each page.

Little Lamb is another wonderful book from the same series.

I highly recommend this little book. I have twin boys and they have been enjoying it since they were four months old. They like hearing the story and the finger puppet makes them laugh. They also like holding the book and playing with the duck puppet and the hole. They like the ladybug finger puppet book a lot too. These books are great gifts and are most suitable for very young children. I like the ladybug and duck books so much that just ordered them as gifts for my niece. Next we'll try bee book.

We bought this book in Germany for our 6-month-old daughter years ago. She loved it so much it went everywhere with us. When we lost our first, much-loved, much-teethed-on copy, it was a major catastrophe in our household, and we wrote frantically to friends in Germany for a few more copies, just in case! I am thrilled to find it in English (though the text isn't as cute as in the German version). Now we can share it with friends, we aren't having to translate every time we read it, and there are no more international incidents when our copy gets lost!

I bought this book in a store because my son, maybe 6 months old at the time, laughed and laughed when I picked it up. Now he is 1 years old and it is still a favorite. I recently bought 2 more copies as gifts.

The duck finger puppet comes through each page of this board book and it keeps your baby interested as you either read he story or just talk about each page. The story is not so important -- this book is more for smaller babies who will like the colorful pages and the yellow duck puppet. It holds a baby's attention much better than most other books at a very young age, and it is great for keeping in the diaper bag or reading at bedtime to calm your child.

By the way...my son's second word was "duck!" I don't think it was all from this book (he has 3 rubber duckies he loves too) but reading this book could not have hurt!

THE RHYMES ARE GREAT! THE PERSONIFICATION IS ALSO! THIS BOOK IS FOR THE VERY YOUNG, BUT I'M SURE SHALL CARRY INTO TODDLERHOOD! THE ATTACHED FINGER PUPPET IS PRETTY & SOFT AND THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE BRIGHT & LIVELY!

This is a darling little book that is great for a small baby, but even a toddler will enjoy it. The little lamb finger puppet is poking through the book and the reader can move it around and have it talk to the child and and act out the words in the book, to an extent. My 18 month old just loves to push the lamb's head back through the book and then have me "surprize" him by popping the head back through quickly. He thinks that is funny!

These books are absolutely FABULOUS! I bought this one for my daughters easter basket and I'm so glad I did. She has asked me to read it over and over again! The stories are one to two sentances per page, so perfect for toddler age. She actually has them memorized and reads along with me! I am now in search of the rest of the collection! I'm thinking The Little Ladybug will be our next book! DEFINATELY RECOMMEND!!!!

My favorite part about this cardboard book is the little finger puppet stuck in the middle of every page! It's a perfect board book for a 2-3, even 4-year-old as it's also strengthening fine motor muscles!

My son is only 8 months old and he has been enjoying this book for a long time. The sheep puppet gets his attention and keeps it (not an easy thing to do with most other books at this age).

I bought this for my three-year-old when she was just a baby, and we've both loved it ever since. The deeper meaning is lost on an infant and toddler, but the sweet, playful storyline and pictures are not. This one should be part of every child's book collection.

Our daughter cut her teeth on this book! (-Really, there are tiny teeth marks all along the edges.) So, how could we ever discard such a beloved treasure? Our 'baby' is 5 now, and we STILL love to read this book together at bedtime. She has long memorized the words and can read the book without the book even being present.

Boasting colorful and fun illustrations, the message in this book is: what you give out comes back to you! It begins: 'Blow a kiss and let it go, you never know how love will grow' -the chain reaction of love and kisses get passed along to several animals (a goose, a fish, a fox, a cow and more)and ends up right back where it began, with the girl.

Whenever our daughter catches us saying 'You never know' in our everday conversations, she finishes with 'How love will grow!'

The book is pretty short, so it's good for when you and your little one are too tired to go through 'Green Eggs & Ham.' All you page skippers out there know what I'm talking about!

This book would make a great gift for someone expecting, or for a toddler's birthday. This is a favorite bedtime book in our home!

I have a 4yr old and 2.5yr old and this book is one that endures they still love hearing it over and over even though both of them have parts of it memorized (my 4yr old has memorized the whole book).

My 8 1/2 month old daughter loves this book! I have been reading it to her everyday since she was about 3 months old. Whenever I start the story she gives me big smiles! The words have a nice rhythm and the word choice makes reading this book fun.

My 18 month old just loves this book. As we read along about each animal sharing a kiss we make the noise each animal would make and blow a kiss. We are doing just what the book teachs - Blow A Kiss and Let It Go -- You Never Know How Love Will Grow!

This book is perfect for children who are ages 2-3 years old. My granddaughter loves to talk and has no difficulty saying anything. I have noticed that she finds speaking Spanish much more fun when we read. At home her parents speak English to her; they use only certain catch-phrases in Spanish. Obviously she is more comfortable with English, but is learning and participating. I am training her to automatically switch languages when she is with me. The books in the Mendoza series put her at ease and she loves the illustrations and short sentences. The books are appropriate for small children; they are well written. The simple subject matter, such as learning how to identify 'parts of the body' in Spanish, or learning everyday 'phrases' that describe an action that a child repeats on a daily basis, keeps my granddaughter interested in the book; this is great because at the age of 2 or 3 years old the attention span is generally very short. The colorful pictures are a huge plus; they are 'eye-candy' for children.

This is great for teaching. My students learn best when they are MOTIVATED and they have REPETITION. This book provides both. Great sturdy, colorful book, that I use from ages 2 up to 9 or 10 year olds. It also goes well with Flip Flop Spanish: Ages 3-5: Level 1 or level 2, to help re-inforce the nouns they learn. I think more advanced story telling books, in the beginning sometimes frustrates the younger crowd, but this one is a good choice.

My two year old enjoys this book and it is teaching him locations in English and Spanish. Illustrations are cute, and it is more engaging than some of the books in this series which are a little boring.

I live in Mexico and have all the bilingual books I buy my daughter reviewed by our Spanish teacher. It is amazing how many don't make sense when translated from Spanish to English. This series of book actually used the Spanish language properly and makes sense. Very happy with Gladys Rosa Mendoza books and plan to buy every title.

This book is really cute. Not only are the pictures amusing, but the book itself is very clever. It follows a little girl around to different places and contrasts where she is to where other things are. If you are looking for a story, this is not it; but if you are looking for an easy to understand tool for children to learn elementary Spanish this is it! Once you read this book, you will be able to practice phrases all the time when referring to `where you are.'