Tag Archives: boardbook

Jul25

Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley

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IMG_1171Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley, boardboard picture book, first published by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Ltd, this edition published in 2007.

This is a delightful children’s book about the life of a pet wombat. She sleeps, she eats, she digs holes, she sleeps, and she causes all sorts of destruction and mayhem, she sleeps again. Her human family continue to love her, as she digs up the flowers, chews the doormat and demands lots of carrots.

My children love this book, it is definitely a favourite. They love all the trouble that the wombat gets into, they think it is very funny! The story is written in a diary format, with short, yet descriptive entries for each part of each day. The illustrations are very distinctive, perfectly capturing the wombat’s mood. This is a wonderful book to share with preschoolers and lower primary school children, it will entertain them and it will make them laugh. You’ll probably find yourself chuckling too and wondering why you don’t have a pet wombat to liven up your days!

Jun29

The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith

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IMG_0794The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith and illustrated by Katz Cowley, boardbook (and CD), first published in the boardbook format by Scholastic New Zealand Limited in 2013.

This is an hilarious tale of a very interesting donkey. He only has three legs, one eye and he likes country music! And as the story progresses, a new quirk is added to the previous ones, making this a donkey like no other.

The illustrations are just as humorous as the story, and a great asset to the book. The donkey really is a very cheeky fellow, and is drawn as such. The Wonky Donkey is a cumulative story, repeating all of the previous attributes before adding the new one. This repetition is fantastic for preschoolers and lower primary school children alike. Older children and adults will also laugh out loud while reading this book! Both my preschooler and my second grader love it, they think it is side-splittingly funny. My preschooler loves to make the Hee Haw sound when we see the donkey on each page. Both of my kids really like the illustration of the donkey releasing such foul gas that it knocks out a bird (he is a stinky-winky as well as a wonky donkey!) Read it aloud, or follow along with the CD, for even greater enjoyment of this very funny story.

 

 

Jun27

Ladybird Baby Touch Rainbow by Fiona Land

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IMG_0761Ladybird Baby Touch Rainbow illustrated by Fiona Land, big boardbook, published by Ladybird Books Ltd in 2013.

This is a big format boardbook that explores the colours of the rainbow from red through to purple. Each page focuses on one colour, with that colour’s name in big writing at the top. There is some rhyming text describing the illustrations, which are simple and easily recognisable for children. The pages are shaped on the edge, and get bigger as the book progresses. There are touchy feely bits on each page too, giving babies and toddlers the opportunity to feel didn’t textures.

The book was too big for Baby T (14 months) to hold, but he was happy to lay it on the floor and turn the pages. He explored the different textures on the pages, and was very taken with the orange cat’s soft tummy. He wanted to keep stroking the cat’s tummy over and over. My preschooler was with us while we were reading this book, and though it was really too young for her, she still enjoyed touching all the different textures and talking about what she could see. She liked the bumpy tortoise and the sparkly boat sail best.

I liked that each colour was represented with multiple illustrations in that colour. I could point them out to Baby T, naming them and repeating the colour’s name to reinforce his colour learning. This was a very good introduction to the basic colours for babies and toddlers.

Jun26

Amazing Baby: Rainbow Fun by Emily Hawkins

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IMG_0755Amazing Baby: Rainbow Fun text by Emily Hawkins with graphics by Mike Jolley and Emma Dodd, boardbook, published by Hardie Grant Egmont in 2008.

This sturdy boardbook introduces babies and toddlers to the colours of the rainbow, one by one. There was minimal text using simple words and rhymes along with simple black outlined graphics. Each double set of pages was a different colour, from red through purple. The pages are also die-cut with decreasing concentric circles in the middle of the pages, until it disappears for the last double page where the colours all come together to form a rainbow. The physical size of the book is also just right for toddlers to hold.

I borrowed this book from the library, and as soon as we got it home, Baby T (14 months) pulled it straight out and starting looking through it. He was fascinated with the circular holes in the pages, and kept putting his hands through them. He also loved the bright colours, and pointed to some of the graphics. I tried to hold it to read to him, but he kept snatching it off me so that he could turn the pages himself. I did read it to my preschooler as well, and she enjoyed it, though it was really a bit young for her. However, she used the simple layout of this book to practice naming the colours in both English and French. She also liked the holes in the pages. I was amazed with how much Baby T liked this book, he has come back to it a number of times, seeking it out from the pile of library books to look at. This book is a fun and engaging introduction to the colours for babies and toddlers.

 

Jun23

Bringing Down the Moon by Jonathan Emmett and Vanessa Cabban

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IMG_0749Bringing Down the Moon by Jonathan Emmett and illustrated by Vanessa Cabban, boardbook, first published by Walker Books Ltd in 2001, this edition published by Walker Books Ltd in 2004.

One night Mole burrows up through the dirt and sees the moon for the first time. He doesn’t know what it is, but it is so pretty, he wants to catch it. He tries jumping and reaching it with a stick and climbing a tree to get closer to it, but nothing works, and he disturbs all his friends along the way. But when he thinks he has broken the moon, his friends are there to console and reassure him.

Bringing Down the Moon is one of my pre-schooler’s favourite board books, and we enjoy reading it together before bed. She loves it when Mole yells “hot-diggerty!”, she thinks that is a very funny phrase! I also like this story of discovery and friendship. It is a lovely story with beautiful illustrations. Mole is a curious little fellow, and his friends are compassionate and understanding. Mole learns that the moon isn’t near enough to touch, but it is beautiful up there in the night sky. And it’s beautiful that he shares that moment with his friends.

 

Mar27

Humf is a Furry Thing by Andrew Brenner

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IMG_8650Humf is a Furry Thing created by Andrew Brenner, children’s boardbook, published by Igloo Books Ltd in 2011.

Humf is a little purple monster, and he is also a furry thing, just like his mum and dad. He thinks he might like to be a feathery thing like his friend Loon, or a scaly thing like a lizard, or maybe a slippery thing. But maybe he likes being a furry thing best after all.

Humf is one of our favourite friendly monsters, along with his friends Loon and Wallace. There have been times when the kids have wanted to watch him on TV over and over, until they know the episodes backwards and forwards 🙂 So finding some Humf books was exciting. Humf is a Furry Thing is a sturdy boardbook with colourful illustrations, and a simple story great for sharing with a toddler or pre-schooler (older children can still enjoy Humf too!)