Baby Books

My 2 1/2 year old son absolutely loves this book..the illustrations are lovely, and it is so much fun to read with him. He has already remembered all the words, and fills in most of the gaps as we read it together. He is crazy about fire engines and firemen. I can't recommend this book enough.

My 2-year old follows this story pretty well (it has a repetitive-type storyline) and caught on quickly to the page turn cues (siren). He loves all the sound effects throughout the story. The illustrations are eye catching as well and help tell the story for a child that doesn't read yet. The price is reasonable considering how hard these cassette read-along are to find!

There's not much more to to add to the glowing reviews already here. I just wanted to say that the kids go crazy for Fireman Small. I like that he is such a sweet caring firefighter who goes out of his way to help everyone. I love any book that instills compassion in its readers. We love Fireman Small!!!

I picked this up thinking that it would be another good fireman book for my fireman-obsessed five-year-old. It certainly is that, but the flow and the structure also make it an excellent help-your-child-to-fall-asleep story. The basic plot is that Fireman Small is very tired and keeps trying to go to bed, but each time he does some new emergency happens that forces him to get up one more time. When he's done with the last one, everybody thanks him for all his help and he oh-so-happily drifts off to sleep. I usually read him several stories at bedtime, but I like to make sure that this is the last one; by the time we're through with it he's usually nodding off.

One small problem; Wong seems to have a unique sense of rhythm, which makes this harder to read aloud then you might expect; it took me a couple of readings before I felt that I had gotten it completely right. With practice, though, it flows beautifully.

This is a sweet story with a nice flow and repetition. My 2 1/2 year old son has immediately begun pretending to be Fireman Small saving the kitty and the baby bunny. I will definitely look into other books by this author.

This is a wonderful book...I just love reading it right up to the last (whispered) line to my little one.

We were given the board book edition though...I sure wish we had got this edition as the Hare looks adorable.

30 May 2005
Reflecting on this review after more than a year, I can say that my "little jumper" isn't as keen on it as he was then...maybe in a few more months he'll start liking it again. I think he finds it a bit dull right now.

This book is excellent...My 7 year old daughter recieved the book for her 3rd birthday and we still read it to this day. She absolutely loves it. It brings forth alot of emotion and still brings tears to my eyes every time we read it. I highly recommend purchasing this book for any new mommy and it makes a great shower gift too.

Guess How Much I Love You is a superb book, and an ideal keepsake for babies. I especially like the fact that Big Nutbrown Hare is quite sexless, and could represent the love of a mother or father. The toy that accompanies the book is a perfect shape, with plenty of sticky out bits for tiny hands to hold, my baby daughter thinks the world of hers. This makes a great Christening gift, or even something a bit soppy for a romantic partner (maybe a pregnant wife!).

Very rarely do the words of a story and the illustrations come together as perfectly as they do in this book. The illustrations by Jeram are timeless masterpieces that would look beautiful framed on your wall. I'm convinced her work will be regarded as lovingly in the future as we regard Beatrix Potter today. The story is also wonderfully told. There are not many words to this story so it is perfect for the younger set. The story perfectly captures the bond between parent and child. The game that they play is sweet and any parent can relate to it. Throughout the story, parent and child find new, inventive ways to express their love for each other. It is the perfect book for any parent who often find themselves looking at their child searching for the perfect words to convey their love.

This is the coolest book of this genre since "Hop on Pop". It has affected me and my entire life in more ways than any "review" could possibly try to achieve. If you have children, and you are one of the FEW parents that STILL read to them: PLEASE GET THIS BOOK! The world will be a better place because of it.
Thank You! so much Sam and Anita!!!

T.N.
Seattle, WA

I bought this book sight-unseen as part of Amazon's 4-for-3 promotion. When it arrived, my first thought was that it was way too sweet... "Oh Gag!" came to mind. However, I pulled it out a few nights later and read it to my baby girl at bedtime and liked it. I pulled it out again the next night, and the next. It quickly became one of our favorites. It is an especially nice way to end a day that didn't go so well - too much whining, too much stress, too much everything - this is a nice little book to share at bedtime to calm down, slow down, and relax.

My son thinks he is the boy in this book. This might be in part because I like to insert his name in the title and question that is asked in the book: How do I love you ______? I like to end with I love you ____. We own the board book version and it is a bedtime favorite. Our family discovered P.K. Hallinan (who does his own illustrations) when we purchased a copy of A Rainbow of Friends. Hallinan has written and illustrated several children's books; another of his books, similar to How Do I Love You? (though not quite as good) is ABC I Love You - this book has a brother and sister in it, so I can read it to my son and daughter together, and they can both be in the story. :-)

Reinforces the unconditional love between a parent and a child in a cute little rhyme. There have been times when my own kids have gone through one of the same things this kiddo goes through, and I quote part of the poem to them---for example "I love the way you act so brave when you fall and hurt your knee" or "and even though it may not show, i love you when you're bad." My kids love it, and I mean every word when I read it to them.

This book is so sweet. It makes me stop and appreciate all the little things about our boys that can drive us crazy.
"Even when you lose your shoes, I love you just the same," she says, and the picture shows a little boy in his church clothes with his pants rolled up like he played in the creek. I love cuddling with my little boys and loving on them while we read it.

Our 4 kids absolutely love this book, so do I! :)- This is a frequent request! What a cozy book!

I bought this book for a boy who I work with and I fall in love. I found it in great time cause feel down right now. And this simple book helped me stand up and look at my life from different perspective. Now will buy it for every kid or special people in my life

Whether or not you or your honoree grew up listening to or reading The Little Engine that Could, you'll find this book to be the perfect way to say, "I'm proud of you, graduate. I always knew that you had the ability and would put forth the effort to be successful."

This is a great alternative to other frequently given books like The Places You Will Go.

This is the most inspirational book I have read in a long time!! Recommended for all ages

I am an elementary school teacher and also the mother of 4. My oldest is graduating from high school this year. After I read this book, I bought several. One for my son and several for his friends. I also sent it to my nephew that is leaving for a mission to Honduras for the next 2 years. It's a perfect book for those that are heading off in new directions in their lives and it gives them advice and encouragement! I love it!

This is a book that follows the I Think I Can Book, about the little train, It is a wonderful book for anyone that needs a little boost of self-esteem, or courage. It is perfect for those that are graduating or who have completed a difficult task in their life. I would recommend it to anyone.

I first learned of Mistress Masham's Repose during a game of charades. (Can you imagine trying to act out this title, especially since it's a book so few people have heard of?) I had already read and loved The Once and Future King, and set out to find a copy. I have read this book three times over the past 20 years. Each time it strikes me anew as such a wonderfully funny, sweet and substantial novel. It could be that the title itself is what kept it from becoming a classic alongside Wind in the Willows and A Wrinkle in Time. Read this book! Buy this book for all the book-loving children in your life!

As an American child of about 10, I acquired a battered copy of this book along with a bunch of children's books from a family friend whose children had outgrown them. As other reviewers suggest, I was mystified by much of the book (the poet Pope?) but I still found it a great adventure story and loved the illustrations. It didn't hurt that I resembled Maria myself (a bookish tomboy with glasses--thank God for LASIK). I have re-read the book with pleasure on a number of occasions and now understand the references, but I wouldn't hesitate to give this book to an intelligent American child today. Perhaps it would prompt him or her to learn more about British history and literature. I'm glad to see it has been reprinted.

As kids, both my brother and I considered this one of our favorite books - and we did a LOT of reading. I can't tell you how many times I read it. Our copy was lost at some point, so I am thrilled that it is back in print so I can now read it to my own children. My kids are 3 and 6, so still a bit young for this book, but I'll probably buy a copy now for my own pleasure, and another for my brother.
I have always loved books that lead you to another book, and I just had to read "Gulliver's Travels" after reading this one. As a kid, much of it went over my head, but I still enjoyed it. Now that I think about it, I should re-read that one too...

Although one of White's lesser-known works, to my mind it's easily one of his best (Anne Fine regards it as her favourite children's book). The concept of Lilliputians living in an English landscape garden is superb, and White develops his theme in wonderfully enticing ways - and always with his typical 'feel' for character and setting. There's so much to enjoy in this tale - still a classic after 60 years.

After finishing university T. H. White worked as a teacher in the Stowe School which occupies a gigantic former Baroque stately home: here he conceived of the idea of Malplaquet, modeled after the greatest of all British country homes, Blenheim Palace, where the Dukes of Marlborough have lived and where Winston Churchill was born and raised. Malplaquet, an imaginary dilapidated repository of all its nation's history (we find out the Princes in the Tower were executed in its medieval dungeon, which also contains the ax which beheaded Charles I), would make a wonderful setting for any book, but rather than use it for a Gothic (the obvious choice), here White had the inspiration to make it the setting for a children's fantasy. White's mansion is not only the home of the little girl Maria who has inherited the estate (and not much else) and her warders--some cruel, some kind--but also a group of Lilliputians brought over from their island home during the time of Swift, whom Maria encounters one day. Maria's encounter with the Lilliputians becomes for her a means for learning about the nature of tyranny--both that exercised over herself by her guardian the Vicar Mr. Hater and her governess Miss Brown, but also that she herself can hardly keep herself from exercising over the Lilliputian community hidden on her estate.

This is a children's book that, to be honest, will best be appreciated by adults. White imagined his readers not only familiar with GULLIVER'S TRAVELS but also with some of the history of seventeenth and eighteenth-century England: American children particularly today would be confused as to who Mistresses Masham and Morley were, or what Malplaquet is named after, or even who Gulliver was. And their patience might well be tried by White's love of Wodehousean "types": the bluff Lord Lieutenant with an obsession with horses and hounds, and Maria's mentor the absent-minded and esoteric antiquarian the Professor . But adults (and even older children) should love this book, and its well-structured narrative is a real pleasure.

I've been reading this to my one-year-old every night before bed, and she never tires of it. It is made of sturdy pages with big (also sturdy)flaps for little hands to lift. She loves playing peekaboo, so this book delights her, and she squeals everytime she sees her face at the end. I love this book so much, I intend to keep it in my "library" of books so that my grandchildren can enjoy it someday!

My son recieved this book for his 1st birthday and it was an instant hit. It was a fun enjoyable read for him, but the flaps are super flimsy and he had torn most of the book apart within 6 weeks. He's 15 months now and the book has been out of rotation for some time. :(

My boys loved this book. It actually lasted through one and passed on to the next extremely well! Each flap puts a smile on my little one's face. Its a great purchase.

We received this when my son was 15 months and he has loved it since. Initially, he just loved to lift the flaps, and it has handled his roughness. With the great pictures, we also use it to ask him to find an animal on a given page or within the whole book.

This is the sweetest book-after many many readings I am buying a new one since most of the flaps are gone and been "loved." This was my daughter's first book when she was 4 months old-she's loved it since the first time we read it. Hope your little one enjoys it too!

Helen Lester has such a wonderful way of writing for children. The illustrations by Lyn M. Munsinger are so captivating that children want to see them again and again. So do adults!
This book teaches us all to accept ourselves for who we are. Trying to be someone we are not just doesn't work.

I don't have any kids, but this book has actually been around for a long time. I was born in 82, and this book was by far my favorite. The illustrations are great and the message is even better. It's a really witty way to tell children that labels don't matter. The illustrations also make the book even better, my personal favorite as a child being when Fluffy sticks marshmallows all over his quills to make himself more fluffy.

I bought this book because I'm going to school to become a teacher. It teaches kids that it is ok to be your self. Kids will laugh and so will parents.

This book is very appealing to me and my two kids (ages 2 and 5). The illustrations are wonderful, and it is very well written. The kids laugh as we turn the pages, and it is a book that reads well over and over.

I bought this for my three year old daughter...again based on reviews on amazon. Other reviewers were right: this book is a hoot. Everytime we get to: "H...H...H...H...H...Hippo" my daughter bursts out laughing. Highly recommended. Great illustrations set off the writing.

This is a wonderful 1st Bible for infants and toddlers! I've purchased it twice because the 1st copy was so "well loved" and showed it. The short rhymes that make up each story and colorful pictures are perfect for a young child with limited attention span. My son is 2 1/2 and has enjoyed hearing the stories since 18 months. My daughter started with this bible as well, and was able to remember many key Bible stories by the time she was old enough for Sunday school, simple because of the rhymes she had heard.

My 2-year-old loves having her very own Bible and reads stories from the book every night. The rhymes are simple, yet thoughtful and humorous at times, and the sing-song cadence allows toddlers to quickly memorize the stories. My daughter's favorite story is about "Noah's boat," as she says, and after a few weeks was able to recite the story herself. We even bought her a toy ark to reinforce the story. She has now memorized several of her favorite stories.

It's been such a joy to see her, at an early age, enjoy reading about God, Jesus, and the lives of His followers.

I checked this book out of the library. My daughter generally gets easily distracted when I read to her. After reading several books with me feeling like I was reading to myself instead of to her, I pulled this book out. She looked at every page, every picture, as I read the rhymes. We finished the Old Testament. I asked her if she wanted to put it aside for the next day. She asked me to keep reading--we read the whole book in one sitting! Amazing. The rhymes are simple and accurate but leave out the "bad" things. It is a very happy book. This would be a great introduction to the Bible for baby and toddler up through age 4.

We got this Bible years ago for our oldest daughter (now 4, we started when she was 1). As we read the stories, we dated the corner of the page. Now we are reading it to our younger daughter (now 2). She askes for Bible each night as part of our bedtime routine and loves to "read" it throughout the day. My four year old now reads this Bible independently and I love to listen to my oldest read the stories to my youngest. I have given several of these to friends with young children.

My entire congregation loves this beautiful book. It's now a tradition that our ladies' group gifts one of these to every baby baptized at our church: we used to give bibles which an infant would have no immediate use for. It's beautiful illustrations grab even the smallest child's attention and it's stories are captivating -- mothers even tell me they've read each so often that they have it memorized and their child is big enough to turn the pages while Mom recites the words while driving or making dinner!

Bought this book at 4 months pregnant to start getting my son used to another sibling in the house. He loves this book. Not sure why, but it does a good job explaining that the baby will cry and take up lots of time. This was also recomended by a peadiatric website.

This book is, in my opinion, an absolute must-have and perfect gift for any family who plans to breastfeed, especially if practicing other forms of attachment parenting, like babywearing or co-sleeping.

This book makes me tear up every single time I have read it, to myself or my daughter. It's just superbly done. The text just assumes that baby will be breastfed, or acknowledges the possibility of pumped milk in a bottle ("when baby is older"). Baby is pictured fitting into the family's activities with the older child in a ring sling and sleeping next to Mommy in a sidecar co-sleeper. It was such a beautiful thing to show my daughter a book that reflected pictures of what her family looked like!

There are fantastic little insets that speak directly to the older sibling outside of the story, many called "What about me?" that address how the older sibling may be feeling and acknowledging those feelings are ok. For example, that it's ok for the older sibling to be still wanting and expecting time and attention from parents, and that it's ok to feel angry towards the baby sometimes (but not to *hurt* the baby). It reminds children that the sort of needs the baby has are the same needs they had.

The book offers advice to children on how to make friends with the baby, and gives realistic expectations of what a baby will and will not do. My favorite illustration in this area is the one of the baby squeezing the older sister's finger - this is the one "game" we had prepared our daughter that the baby *would* be able to play with her right away, so it was fun to see it in there!

There are also incredibly helpful passages about what the older sibling can do to be helpful and feel included. I especially like where it tells children they can help by getting into the car seat quickly when going out and staying close by at all times!

There is also some really helpful information and advice for parents and caregivers about helping siblings prepare for baby written for adults, as well as information about attachment parenting and more resources at the end of the book.

All and all, I give this book my highest recommendation for children and adults in families who plan to breastfeed a new baby.

This is a well explained chidrens book about getting another baby in the family and preparing a child for that. If you bottle feed though, you'll have to skip two pages or skip the book.

We bought this book for our two year old boy when I was a few weeks away from expecting our second baby. We started reading it to him then and have continued to do so through his sister's first year. I love that the text and pictures portray our parenting style and have taught him about how we take care of babies. I've bought this book for my friend who is expecting her second.

I got this book (among others) to introduce our 2 1/2 year old to the concept of babies, and what they might need. He's reading it with interest, and I'm glad it was recommended to me. I like that it promotes attachment parenting, nursing, etc. while making it clear that there's always room for more love in a family.

Airport was a fantastic pictoral that realistically prepares any child for a trip to the airport, for their first experience on an airplane. My
grandchild is Autistic, and the pictures were very detailed... From arriving at airport, to waiting in line to check luggage, to boarding the airplane, flight preparation...... An awesome book for visual learners, with simple language, so they can process ahead of time what to expect.

I read this book to my 2 1/2 yr old son over and over again in preperation for his first airplane trip. He loved all of the sounds that the airplane made on our trip and wasn't scared or startled at all by the loud engines etc. I highly recommend this book for little first time flyers.

Our son is 27 months old, and loves this book. As soon as I finish reading it, he wants to read it again. I think it would be great preparation for a toddler's first airplane flight.

This book is great to prepare for a trip on an airplane. We were getting ready to move to Australia and this book along with the "Shae by Air" DVD made a huge difference for us with our 2 & 3 year old boys.
Now that we are settled abroad, we just went on a short flight and brought the book with us to the airport-- they could not believe they were actually in the airport while looking at the pictures in the book of the check in counter, security line, and waiting area-- it was great!

I loved this book for my grandsons. Excellent way to talk about traveling on planes. I highly recommend it as an introductory book of planes.