Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray

When Ricky received this book for Christmas a few years ago I had to admit I was skeptical. But I loosened up and now that he is three, he actually asks for this book by name. He laughs and thinks it's hilarious. So if he is happy before bedtime, then the book is fine with me.

This is the story of Walter, a dog who has a farting problem. The kids love him but their parents aren't so sure because his farts are so stinky. But Walter turns out to be a good dog to have because one night, burglars break into the house and Walter saves the day by farting all over them.

There is also a sequel to this book which I will blog about at a later time. This is an instance when I actually changed my mind about a book. I thought it was a grotesque story - farting is so crude. But I guess little boys eat it all up!!

Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

I just had to blog about this book because I've read it to Ricky every night for the last 5 nights per his request.

This is the story about a monster named Leonardo who is not very good at being a monster. He isn't scary, doesn't have thousands of teeth, and isn't big. He meets a boy named Sam and is unsuccesful at scaring him so just decides they will be friends.

Very cute story. I liked the illustrations as well. This is a good book because it diffuses all the notions about monsters - kind of like Sesame Street does. I had to return it today because it was due but may need to purchase for Ricky afterall.

What Do Wheels Do All Day? By April Jones Prince, Illustrated by Giles LaRoche

This book is interesting because it shows wheels on all kinds of vehicles (cars, trucks) , construction uses, and everyday uses (shopping carts, skateboards, etc.). This is good for also reinforcing shapes. There isn't much of a story - but the point is that it shows wheels being used in all kinds of scenarios - for pulling, pushing, and carrying loads.

This is a repeat request at bedtime. Too bad I had to return it today because I reached my renewal limit!!

Hansel and Diesel by David Gordon

Not sure how I missed this one since I reviewed David Gordon's other books . Like the others, this book follows the story of the traditional folk tale of Hansel and Gretel. I tried not to chuckle while reading it to Ricky because instead of the house made of candy, Hansel and Gretel, who are trucks, of course - stumble upon "brightly colored lights, shiny gas pumps, huge tanks of fuel, and piles and piles of brand new tires." The gas pumps are striped like candy canes. Very cute! The evil winch then tries to shred Hansel and Gretel with saw blades.

It has a good ending and it is done well. At times it can be a bit wordy, but it's a good story overall. Ricky loved it. I always love David Gordon's books. He's a great children's writer and illustrator. Great to be able to do it all!

Potty Training Books!

We are in the long process of potty training Ricky. I keep a few books in there to entertain him while he goes to the bathroom. I've been trying to buy books rather than borrow them because of the whole sanitary issue - with these books probably being in bathrooms. So far, I have run across these storybooks that have been just great:

Ricky likes Once Upon A Potty a lot and asks me to read it multiple times while he sits on the potty. He is particularly fascinated with the pictures of the poo poo.

I liked the way the author pointed out a toddler's anatomical parts in the way they know and understand them. I think Ricky finds this book really inspiring and encouraging.

The story is told from the perspective of Joshua's mother - and she tells the story of how she has been changing Joshua's diapers and how he slowly makes the transition to the potty. Although nobody uses chamber pots anymore, it was really cute!

Ricky really likes No More Diapers for Ducky! too. This is a story about a Ducky who wears diapers and goes to his friend's house. His friend is busy on the potty, so Ducky is playing alone with his friend's toys in his friend's room - wondering what is *so* important that his friend isn't playing with him.

His friend explains that he is on the potty, but Ducky wears diapers so Ducky won't be interested. Ducky takes off his diaper and starts using the potty while his friend plays inthe room alone.

This is especially cute considering that Ricky thinks he is Little Quack these days!

When Dinosaurs Came With Everything by Elise Broach, Illustrated By David Small

Whenever we go to our local Trader Joe's market, Ricky always gets a balloon - his reward for putting up with boring grocery shopping. Now if I imagine if Trader Joe's gave out dinosaurs instead of balloons.....well that would be something to see!

This is the story of a boy who does errands with his mother all day - they go to the bakery, the barber - and instead of giving away balloons as usual, businesses are giving out dinosaurs. As a result, they avoid going to the shoestore (buy 2 pairs get 1 dinosaur free), the movies, etc. Ricky and I really enjoyed this story and it has lots of funny parts.

Published 2007 by Simon & Schuster

Must Have Books for Toddlers - If You Give Books by Laura Numeroff, Illustrated by Felicia Bond

These books are an absolute must for toddlers because they are so darn cute. When Ricky was just a baby, I took my bookstore gift card and bought all the Laura Numeroff books - If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, and If You Take a Mouse to School. We read them all the time - and he never gets tired of them.

All the books follow the same formula - one thing leads to another. Full of consequences and utter chaos but lots of fun. Felicia's Bond's illustrations are really cute and they trigger lots of vocabulary expansion since the illustrations are pretty detailed. There are lots of things to name.