Shapes of the World Series - Squares, Ovals, Triangles by Dana Meach Rau

Besides the sticker book I blogged about below, I found these great non-fiction books in my library for Ricky. He knows his shapes - even octogon, pentagon, trapezoid - I love it! But these books actually take day-to-day objects and show how they are shapes as well. In the triangle book, there are pictures of ice cream cones - as shown above, mountains, and street signs. Even though your child knows his or her shapes, these books are a good reinforcement of the shapes we see every day. Now when we are out doing errands, I am enjoying Ricky pointing out various shapes he sees out in the public.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

This book tells the story of a boy who starts eating books and absorbs all the information of each book he ingests. Finally, he eats so many that he begins to confuse the information he stores and starts to abandon his habit. The story is cute but I really love the illustrations. This book had to grow on Ricky because the illustrations were not the usual bold-red-blue-yellow-green big and happy ones. The illustrations are very high design. My husband, who is a graphic designer, really liked the illustrations as well. I especially love the bite mark at the corner of the book! Well done.

Fire Engine Man by Andrea Zimmerman & David Clemesha

I know I know. Two fire engine themed books in a row. I am doing this out of comparison. This book is written from the perspective of a little boy, who pretends to drive the fire engine and do all those fireman-ish duties. His little brother can watch him drive by and visit him in the fire station. These authors also have a book called Digger Man, which I will review at a later time - and these books are great for toddlers. This book is written in a simple fashion and has great illustrations.

Firefighters! Speeding! Spraying! Saving! by Patricia Hubbell and Illustrated by Viviana Garofoli

Patricia Hubbell has written many books that little Ricky likes, and this is her newest one. This book describes the job of firefighters step by step throughout their shift. It begins when the bell rings and they go off to fight a fire - first getting dressed, riding in the firetruck, surviving traffic, fighting the fire, etc. The story is not scary and demonstrates how brave firefighters are and how helpful they are to the community. Just like her other books, the book is written in rhyming fashion, and will no doubt sustain your child's interest throughout.

An Absolute MUST When Travelling With Your Toddler: Little Sticker Books!!!

When Mark and I were planning our trip to visit my sister in Boston over the summer, I was on a mission to find new and exciting things to occupy Ricky throughout the trip. I am talking about situations when he wants to whine because he is bored. This could be when you are waiting in the security line at the airport, waiting at the gate, waiting to take-off, waiting to de-plane, etc etc. The situations are limitless. I discovered these little sticker books at 2 mom-and-pop book/toy shops in Chicago and they saved my life!

These books are small - about 3 x 5 inches and they fit in your purse or diaper bag very well. They come in multiple themes - as you can see from my picture. Some have a scene where you have to put the stickers (for example, a railroad station where you have to put the boxcars, people, luggage, etc.) and some are just stickers to play with. They only cost me $1 to $1.50 each and they proved to be one of the best inventions (besides the portable DVD player) for travelling with your toddler.

THE BEST Sticker Activity Book for Toddlers EVER!!!

If you have a toddler, this book and other variations of it are an absolute must. This book keeps my 2 1/2 year old busy for 20-30 minute intervals at a time and it is incredibly fun and educational.

There are sections of this book devoted to ABCs -uppercase and lower case, Phonics, Numbers, Counting, Colors, Shapes, Trucks, Animals, and Vocabulary. There are stickers that go along with corresponding workbook-type pages and you sit with your child, peel off the stickers he/she wants and have him/her put it in the right spot. This reinforces so many different important concepts that they need to learn at this age.

The book is so big that it will take your toddler months to actually finish the book, but there are so many different sections that he/she will never be bored. Admittedly, Ricky is devoted to the Trucks section and we always start there but then we do manage to navigate to other sections of the book.

I have seen variations of this book by the same publisher and I am hoping and praying to God that they manage to produce more kinds. This is by far the best activity book I have come across for Ricky. It is engaging and so very educational. I have recommended this book to all my mommy friends. But the funny part is that I have only seen these books sold at Toys R Us. Not sure why.

Five Trucks by Brian Floca

I think this might be the second Brian Floca book I've reviewed. The first one was Racecar Alphabet. All I know is, this guy has a good thing going - he writes & illustrates his own books.

This book is about 5 different kinds of trucks that prepare a plane to take-off. The language is simple, so it's great for toddlers. I especially like the fact that it uses the powers - first truck, second truck, third truck, etc. because I haven't run across many picture books that touch on this concept. I find this book interesting because it describes preparation for take-off for planes - which is also something rarely written about. A great read-along.

Trouble At the Dinosaur Cafe by Brian Moses, Illustrated by Garry Parsons

An angry T-Rex comes into the happy Dinosaur Cafe and decides that he wants to eat the other dinosaurs. But Terry Triceratops saves the day!! This book is hilarious and reminds me of a western shoot-out. The illustrations are amazing and your child will ask to read this book again and again. I am a firm believer that illustrations need to be just as strong as the story in picture books in order to grab and sustain your child's attention. I think this book will be good for demonstrating sequencing when the time comes for Ricky. If your child is working with Sequencing activities in pre-school or kindergarten, this story has good examples of cause/effect relationships. If your child likes dinosaurs, add this book to your list!

Goodnight Me, Goodnight You by Tony Mitton, Illustrated by Mandy Sutcliffe

I guess I'm on the bedtime book theme lately, but that's because I always end our bedtime reading with a bedtime book so I think I read these type of books more often than any other. But this book is also one that Ricky has memorized. And for that, I just have to include it in my blog. The book is written in the rhyme fashion, and it is so cute. The book shows how everyone and every thing is going to sleep. I think this is one bedtime book we will be checking out of the library several times until Ricky no longer wants bedtime stories read aloud to him.

Shhhhh!! Everybody's Sleeping by Julie Markes

The title of this book caught my eye because it is exactly what my husband tells our son every night when he tucks him in. The book shows precisely that everybody is sleeping - the librarian - among books, policeman- with his whistle, fireman - in a fire truck bed, etc. It really illustrates the point. This is one of the books Ricky asks for by name. I always end our night-time reading with a bedtime book and this is a really good one.

I Know It's Autumn by Eileen Spinelli, Illustrated by Nancy Hayashi

Besides the fact that this book is nice to read to your child when the leaves turn colors, this book is also the first picture book I have encountered that features an inter-racial couple as the mommy and daddy. The mommy is Caucasian and the father seems to be American Indian or Asian. Since my son is half Caucasian and half Filipino, I think it is neat (and I *never* use that word - it's so very 80s) that there is a book out there that features an inter-racial family.

The story is sweet and the illustrations are great too - thanks to the talents of Nancy Hayashi. Ricky is starting to memorize this book...a Fall favorite!

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague

Little Ricky loves this book because he likes dinosaurs, it has a great flow, and the illustrations are so funny. We actually own this book, but take her other great dinosaur books out of the library like How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? and How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? In terms of picture books, these books should have a place on your child's bedtime reading list at some point during the rotations before and during pre-school.

These books actually feature a different dinosaur on each page with its name clearly written somewhere in the picture. Ricky enjoys reciting the dinosaur names to me after I read each page and its so cute. His favorites so far are the T-Rex and Stegosaurus - his least favorite is Triceratops because he says he does not liked horned dinosaurs...

Henry & the Buccaneer Bunnies by Carolyn Crimi

In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day, I've chosen this great picture book that I've read to Ricky recently. This is the story of Henry, a pirate bunny like no other - who prefers reading instead of carrying out his normal pirate duties. This drives his father, Captain Barnacle Black Ear crazy. Afterall, Black Ear himself is known as the "baddest brute of all time." The examples are really cute - Black Ear asks Henry to force a prisoner to walk the plank and Henry replies, "Can't I just read about it?" The illustrations are great for the story and in fact it is the same illustrator for Minnie's Diner (John Manders) - which I featured on my blog earlier. The ending makes librarians around the world smile. Great book when your child is in the pirate mood.

We're Going On a Bear Hunt by Michael J. Rosen

This book tells the story of a family who goes on a bear hunt and the consequences of their curiosity. I don't think Mark and I will ever go on a deliberate bear hunt, so when I saw this book, I had to get it. Why not live through other people's experiences - even if they are fictionalized?

This is a book that Ricky likes, but I try not to read it too often. It requires lots of repetition - which is good for kids, but if your child expects you to read about 10 books in one sitting like Ricky, you will definitely lose your voice when you read this one. My husband is not fond of this book because of the noises you read (ie "squishy, squashy, squishy, squashy) but I appreciate this book for its sense of sequencing of events. Sequencing is an important pre-school concept, so I am all for reading this book once in a while - when I am only reading 2 books in one sitting.

The Racecar Alphabet by Brian Floca

This book is a big favorite of Ricky's. The book tells the story of racecars and each page starts with a letter of the alphabet and the action described has several words that start with the corresponding letter. Hence, the phonics lesson has begun! Ricky identifies each letter on each page and listens to me read the page - and then I review the sound the letter makes for him. The rhyming is super cute and engaging to the parent and child. Thinking about possibly purchasing this book for him - or telling Santa.

Building With Dad by Carol Nevius

For all those kids who are fascinated with construction equipment, this is the book (or one of them) for you. The story is about a little boy who is on site as his dad helps to construct the new school. The illustrations are pretty sharp and look true-to-life. The book opens length-wise - something very unique to picture books. Once you start to flip the pages and see the illustrations, it's quite understood why it is this way. The story is sweet, unique, and easy to read. Ricky identified with the boy and said the daddy was his daddy and they were going to build a school together.

Minnie's Diner: A Multiplying Menu by Dayle Ann Dodds

This is a really cute book. It's the story of a farmer who has several sons and they are supposed to work hard on the family farm. They are each distracted by the smells coming from Minnie's Diner and as each son goes to the diner to eat, his order is doubled from his brother before him. Even though Ricky is no where near multiplying yet, he did recognize the numbers alone and enjoyed the idea that these people ate so much food! I definitely see us checking this out of the library several more times!

The Three Little Rigs & The Ugly Truckling by David Gordon

These books are great to read! The Three Little Rigs is (of course) similar to the classic The Three Pigs and tells the story of three rigs who manage to avoid the torture from a mean wrecking ball. The story and illustrations are fantastic. My son loves this book and I dread the day when I have to return it to the library.

The Ugly Truckling follows the classic The Ugly Duckling and tells the story of a plane who is born into a family of trucks. It is sad but in the end, of course, realizes it is a great airplane. This book is great to read too.

Flotsam by David Weisner

What is flotsam? Apparently, it is floating refuse or debris. I never knew about this word until I read this book to Ricky. The book is about a camera found at sea. I don't want to ruin the book for anyone so I won't divulge any more about the plot. But basically, this book has all pictures and no words, so it is up to the storyteller to tell the story. I have read this book to Ricky a few times and every time it is different - the plot is the same, but he notices different details each and every time. The illustrations are great and leave much to the imagination. No surprise that this is a Caldecott winner. A huge recommend!

My World by Margaret Wise Brown

Don't even bother with this book. The illustrations are cute, but there is no story at all. There is some vocabulary to be learned, but "my brush, daddy's brush" is not what I would consider strong vocabulary lessons. This is my least favorite of all Brown's books and one that my son actually does not like. I would even venture to use the phrase "stupid book" for this one.

The Best Pet of All by David LaRochelle

This is one of little Ricky's favorites. This is the story of a little boy who really wants to have a dog but his mother is against the idea. He enlists the help of a dragon to change his mother's mind. It's a really funny story and the illustrations by Hanako Wakiyama are amazing - right down to the detail of the boy's mother's capri pants. You will love reading this book to your kid because of the flow of the story, the pictures, and the fact that it's not so long that you'll lose your voice. A strong recommend!