Fox In Socks

Fox In Socks

by Dr. Seuss

The two main characters in this book are the Fox and Mr. Knox. The fox is coming up with funny tongue twisters for Mr. Knox to say. Mr. Knox keeps asking the fox to not make it so hard but the fox just keeps coming up with one tongue twister after another, until Mr. Knox has enough and builds the Fox into one of his own stories and finally has revenge, placing him in a giant bottle where he can't say anything anymore.

Again, Dr. Seuss added a ton of fun pictures to look at for the kids. However, what really stands out in this book is the writing. It is a bunch of fun but also a challenge to read this to your kids. I could see this book be  great, once boys get to the age where they can read it themselves. It really shows how many words are written in different ways, but are pronounced the same. My oldest likes it, but I am not sure how much of the story he is really getting yet. 

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
be Laura Joffe Numeroff

This is a cute little story about a mouse that comes across a little boy and spends some time with him. It starts with the boy giving the mouse a cookie and then leads from one thing to another.

There are a ton of pictures and only one sentence per page. It's a great book for little boys because it invites to talk about a lot of activities they do during their regular day like taking a nap or coloring a picture.

What this book reminds me of is the life of a mom. It's quite funny, when you look at the pictures, the mouse wants this and that and the little boy is doing everything for the mouse. As the book progresses, the little boy looks more and more tired. On the last page he sits in a mess, help asleep, cleaning stuff everywhere and the mouse is on his lap eating another cookie. That is so much how I feel many nights. Makes me smile.

Duck! Rabbit!

Duck! Rabbit!
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

This book has not much of a story. It has a picture of the duck/rabbit on each page and then on each side a voice arguing for it being a duck or a rabbit. It concludes with each voice taking on the other voice's opinion and that is pretty much it. 

First my kids took a moment to get what they are talking about. Once they had it figured out, that the same picture could be both a duck and a rabbit, it was pretty easy going for them.

The graphics I found lacking of creativity. There was really not much to this book.

The writing is in the form of an argument and that wasn't what I was looking for as well. Maybe I am overreacting, but I am trying to get my boys to argue less. I don't need a book for them written in the form of an argument. 

The boys didn't favor this book either. They wanted to read it perhaps twice and then it got old really fast. 

The Magic Hat

The Magic Hat
by Mem Fox

The story line of this book is very simple. A magic hat flies into a small town. As it rests on people's heads it transforms them into an animal. After a few people are changed, a wizard comes to town and transforms the animals back into people. Everyone is having fun, the wizard leaves town again and uses the magic hat to transform himself into a boy.

The graphics of the book are alright I would say. Sure, they are pretty but also very detailed. At times, there is much more going on in the graphics than there is in the story. For instance, in the graphics the wizard brings an egg when he comes to town. Later you see a chicken hatch out of the egg and the people following it. None of that is in the story.

The writing is pretty good. There is a rhyme to it and it's easy to read. Yeah, I must say the writing is good although the book could be a bit longer for a 4 year old and the story line could be a little better done as well. Overall, my five year old really likes the story. I think he is mostly fascinated by the idea of magic.

All The World

All the World
by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee

The book is more about rhymes and a poem that takes you through a wonderful day. The rhymes are mostly not in sentences but list words that describe and name things. 

I think the most stunning feature of the books are the amazing drawings. The book is seriously a piece of art. The combination of breathtaking drawings with words that give you warm fuzzy feelings lets this book have quite an emotional impact on the reader. 

I like about this book that it is not just a cute book or just a girly fuzzy book, but that it is looking at the world at large and I think that makes this book a good read not just for girls but for boys as well. I know my boys enjoy this book, even though it doesn't get them as much as a scary monster book would. However, when we do get to the end and it say "All the world is me and you", even they get their fuzzy feelings out and like to include all the people that are important to them and should be added to that list. 

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Lee Virginia Burton

This is certainly one of the classics. Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel Mary Anne run out of work. All the new shovels, like the electric shovels and the Diesel engine shovels are taking their jobs away. They go to the town of Popperville to get a job there for building the new Town Hall cellar. Their offer is to do it in a day, or  do the job for free. As they dig very fast, they forget to leave an exit and are stuck in the cellar. A little boy had an idea. They leave Mary Anne in the cellar to be the heater of the building and Mike Mulligan becomes the janitor. 

For my two year old this story is much too long, but my five year old really enjoys it. It is a great story about construction, about engines, about adventure. One thing that I thought might be harder for him to understand are things related to the different time this book takes place at. Things like steam engines for instance, but he doesn't seem to mind one bit. 

The graphics are what I think one would call pencil drawings. They are detailed and interestingly made. Usually there is a drawing covering half a page or something similar, whereas newer children's books seem to have drawings covering almost the entire page. 

The language is great. Simple enough for a five year old to understand but also challenging at the same time and perhaps too much for a younger child. 

Widget

Widget
by Lyn Rossiter McFarland

Widget is the name of a little stray dog. He comes across a very nice looking home, but there are already six cats living with the older lady. The cats don't like dogs so Widget behaves like a cat and they accept him. As an emergency comes up and the cats don't know what to do, Widget barks and gets people's attention. Everyone is okay in the end and finally the cats decide that a dog might not be so bad after all.

The graphics are good in this book, the writing is also very nice. The story line is good and the over all it seems like a well done book. However, it never really got to my boys. They will read it now and then but it is not one of their favorites.

What I liked to do is go over the six cats and count them, count their six beds and their dishes too. But I wonder why it didn't get that popular with us. Perhaps it is because the story elements are dealing with social aspects more than other books do, such as finding a home, living with others and being accepted. I just don't see my boys think about those things very much.

Where the Wild Things Are

Where The Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak

Looking for a scary monster book? This could be it.

Max, whom his mother called "Wild Thing", has misbehaved and was send to his room without dinner. His imagination takes him away to the land of the wild things and he becomes their king. Eventually, Max becomes home sick and smells food. After he travels back into reality, his supper is waiting for him.

This is a bit older of a book and I think it reflects in the language. There are words like 'mischief' and 'supper' being used, that I think are not very much used anymore. Certainly not with four year olds.

What we really like about this book is the scary factor. When Max encounters the wild things, it goes "they roar their terrible roars, they gnash their terrible teeth..." I read that and my boys run for hiding every time. Then I have to call them back so we can finish the book and they look most delighted.

The pictures of the monsters are great. They do look scary without looking gruesome. This book is a classic and we can confirm that it totally hits the spot for little boys.

The Bridge Is Up

The Bridge Is Up
by Babs Bell Hajdusiewicz

My two year old loves this book. I didn't expect it to be so popular with him, since to me it seemed like too much repetition and -to be honest- it looked plain boring. But he loves it.

Every time a new vehicle gets added to the line waiting for the bridge to go down, he will talk through the list of vehicles for me and name each one, being totally enthusiastic about it.

The language is very simple and easy for a small child to understand. The graphics are colorful and age appropriate.

The book definitely speaks to boys. With a moving brings and lots of motorized vehicles, it is very appealing and therefore gets a big thumbs up.

Dino Pets

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Dino Pets
by Lynn Plourde

If your son likes dinosaurs, he will most likely enjoy this book. The idea is that a little boy brings home dinosaurs as pets. Somehow he looses one pet after the other and has no more. He is sad but then gets surprised at night by all the dinosaurs coming back home.

What we love about this book are the pictures of the dinosaurs. It is cheerful and my sons really love looking at them.

What we don't like so much is how the story is told. At first, the words they use didn't make it clear to my boys that one after another dinosaur got lost throughout the day. I had to point that out for them. It seems to me that the author was putting the priority of the story on it being in rhymes, that it became hard for a three year old to follow.

What I find is that boys can be very forgiving in regards to the story when the topic is correct. They love the book and will get it for us to read again and again.

Boo Hoo Bird

Boo Hoo Bird
by Jeremy Tankard

Boo Hoo Bird is a book loved by both my sons, the two year old and the five year old. It if was their pick, we would be reading it every day and I am not kidding here.

The story is this. Bird plays ball with his friends, then he gets hurt. His friends try all sorts of things to make him feel better, but nothing is working. His friends feel sorry for bird, that nothing is making him feel better and start crying with bird. That is when bird decides that his boo-boo doesn't hurt anymore and he tells his friends to stop crying and play instead.

This is what we do to make this book even more fun. When his friend gives bird a kiss, I'll give each of my boys a kiss as well. When bird gets a hug, my boys get a hug. When bird gets a cookie, my boys get an imaginary cookie and so on. They love the interactive play while we read.

The graphics in this book are beautiful, colorful and fun. There are lots of animals involved in the story, but not too many as that it could get overwhelming. The language is really well done. I think my two year old has no problems following the story. The topic is perfect for the age as well, as I find around two years is the age when little boys do get their most boo-boos.

Green Eggs and Ham

Green Eggs and Ham
by Dr. Seuss

We really like this book. The message is great, "don't say you don't like it until you have tried it." This would be a good book to talk about with your picky eater.

The language is easy and there is lots of repetition. It all comes in rhymes and has a great flow to it. It's a ton of fun to read this book with some attitude and the kids eat it up (pun intended).

I just think this is such a great boys book because even though the topic is food, it does have cars and trains and boats mixed into the story line. Boys love that and they love the ton of pictures that comes with the story.  So far, this is our favorite of Dr. Seuss.

Leonardo The Terrible Monster

Leonardo the Terrible Monster
by Mo Willems

This is one of those not scary monster books. The story goes like this, nobody is afraid of Leonardo so he finds the most easily scared kid and after he is not able to scare that boy either, he decided to become his friend instead, since the boy doesn't have any friends.

I don't think it was easy for my kids to follow the story line, as they expected something scary to happen since a monster is involved. Boys like the scary stuff and it seemed a bit of a disappointment in those regards.  Also, the book used some wording that a three year old might not get yet.

The book is not scary at all. It is not really funny either. I guess the best thing I can pull out of it is that friendships are more important than being good at what you do and that is something valuable to always be remembered.

The graphics look very modern. There are many pages that are 80% blank with just the graphics in one corner and the writing in the other. Or another page where the writings are in big letters and make up the background of the pages.

This book made it only into our so so list. It is nice and well done, but there are better ones out there.

The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstein
This book is a total classic. It tells the story of a friendship between a boy and a tree. There are basically three stages in the book. When the boy is a child, the tree is his friend. As the boy grows up, material things become more important to him and he uses up the tree. Once the boy is an old man, he shares companionship with the tree again while sitting on the stump.

I think my kids are still much too young to understand any of the meaning of this wonderful book. Perhaps,  it would be much more appropriate for a seven year old. However, they do enjoy reading about a  boy and about a tree so it does get their attention. The graphics are very simple but at the same time very nicely done and certainly child appropriate. I like the minimalistic look of the book as it goes nicely with the question that this books makes you ask "what are the important things in life?"

This book is definitely one to talk about with your kids. It opens up conversations about friendship, the environment as well as plans for their own lives and style of living.

If I Ran The Zoo

If I Ran The Zoo
by Dr. Seuss
This is actually a little longer of a book. It tells the fantasy story of a little boy that dreams up how he would create his zoo. He names all the places he would go and the fantasy animals he would catch there to bring back to his zoo.

The story is in rhymes and very nicely done. The entire book is full with fictional animals and pictures there of. However, it does not have a very strong story line as most of it is listing all the animals and giving short descriptions.

My boys did like it okay since it comes with a ton of pictures to look at but I am not sure that the actual story is drawing them in.

Wombat Walkabout

Wombat Walkabout
by Sophie Blackall
What a great book. It tells the story of six Wombats and how a Dingo comes along and catches four of them. The last two are smart and build a trap for the Dingo. As he falls in, they are able to free the others and go home to have tea.

My little one really adores this book. We use it to practice counting to six. As one Wombat after the other disappears, he gets to count how many are left. Also, there is a Dingo hiding as the Wombats walk about and my son likes spotting it as well.

The story is simple and easy to follow. There is suspense and friendship, which is what really makes for a great boy book. The graphics are wonderfully simple and beautiful. Overall, a great read.

I Need My Monster

I Need My Monster
by Ananda Noll
My five year old just adores this one. It is scary. I make the voices for the monsters and he totally digs that. When I ask him to pick a book to read, this is it. So far, it is the best monster book we have found.
The entertainment factor of this book is off the charts. The graphics are very well done. The monsters look awesome. All thumbs up!