Let’s go home, Baby Bee
Yay! I love thus series and the first sight of one arriving has me and the little people in my life super excited to sit down and share it. Baby Bee looks super cute, and that can be said for all that feature inside the book. Using the sliding counters, that are a key feature of this series, we get to help baby bee home to the bee hive, baby ladybird goes home to a log, baby snail takes a swirly path home to the plants, and baby worm heads back under the soil. The first page of each two page spread contains images of things that feature on the second page, which is the one with the sliding counter trail, and we had lots of fun finding things like a fossil, a spider, a caterpillar, and a toadstool. We have so much fun when we sit down with books from this series and Let’s go home, Baby Bee has become the new favourite!
Peekaboo Dinosaur
Another new addition to a series we LOVE is Peekaboo Dinosaur, which is one of the titles in the Peekaboo series by the incredibly talented duo Camilla Read and Ingela P Arrhenius. If there are things to physically interact with for toddlers then a book already has the advantage over those that do not, and the books in this series all feature 10 sliders and a mirror at the end of the book to include little ones into the book and their journey within it.
The slider on the front cover allows you to open and close the dinosaurs mouth, which was a huge hit with my little ones, and we spent a fair bit of time just with that (pretending the dinosaur was talking whilst opening and closing his mouth seemed to be the main concept for my nephew). There is repetition of the word Peekaboo throughout, which children recognise from when adults play peekaboo with them, and the words inside rhyme which adds some fun to reading the book aloud. There are dinosaurs of various shapes and sizes, with different characteristics referenced for some, and this variety of characters adds to the exciting content, especially when it is through interacting with the sliders that they are revealed. In my family we find dinosaur themed books difficult to source during shopping trips so this is perfect. This book keeps my little ones entertained for long periods of time, and they love that there is a new title in the series to explore.
Little Lion Where Are You?
My nephew is currently SO invested in singing and doing actions for ‘Daddy finger where are you?’ and makes up his own versions such as colours and even Thomas the Tank Engine, so when I saw this book and its content I knew exactly who to share it with, and further inspire his love of the nursery rhyme with Animals.
We got to look for a giraffe, hippo, zebra, and a lion, and the hidden mirrors behind the animals faces encourage little ones to be a part of the rhyme, which was a huge hit when we shared this book. This is honestly one of the most fabulous books to ever arrive as we had so much fun with it, and it made my nephew just so happy to sit with me and share, over and over. There is also a previous title ‘ Little Tiger, Where Are You’ and that is going to be added to our list of books to get hold of and share in the coming future too.
We love the bold illustrations of the animals, and how eye catching they are too. Each turn of the page rewards little ones with a new animal to come face to face with, and a mirror to include themselves with too. The repetition of words is what makes the rhyme inside each to remember, and it wont be long before my nephew is going around repeating this version of the rhyme in amongst those he knows, uses, and loves.
Sometimes Families…
The tagline to this book says all you need in order to know what to anticipate inside ‘A book about all kinds of families’ and it is just the most beautiful book visually and contextually. The illustrations depict that which is being referenced so perfectly, and are stunning to look at, with movement captured in a flawless way that is true to each animal species included, and also represents the action referenced in the text in every right way possible. I love the love, compassion, kindness and caring packed into this book, especially as the examples in the form of opposites are both portrayed so positively, with examples such as
‘ sometimes families are loud…’ – which features an illustration of a pack of dogs howling, ‘and sometimes they are shy’ – which features hedgehogs hiding amongst leaves.
‘ sometimes families say hello…’ which features an illustration of a parent elephant holding on to a baby elephant’s trunk, ‘and sometimes say goodbye’ – which features a baby penguin with their parent as the second parent heads off ( which reminds me of happy feet and how baby penguins are left with their dads whilst the mums head off to hunt for fish to feed them).
I am in awe of how many characteristics of families are included in this book, and how diverse that range is too. I can see how special this book will be to little ones, and how much they will love seeing the different dynamics of families represented by a variety of animals too. There is a mirror at the very end of the book to include your little ones as well and that is the perfect conclusion to a heart warming and emotive book.
Listen to the Music by Mozart
Another one of the titles in our favourite series which is beautifully illustrated by Marion Billet, and features 5 buttons that play classical music composed by the utterly iconic Mozart. Some of the music is instantly recognisable but others were a first time for me, and I love that these books afford the opportunity to hear something new irrespective of your age. The final sound in the book is twinkle twinkle little star, and it is the most beautiful version I have ever heard in my life!
The music corresponds with the illustrations perfectly – with scenes beautifully depicted, and the name of the composition features on the page, with a question relating to what you will hear when you press the corresponding button on that page, for example:
‘Sonata for violin and piano’ – ‘Can you hear two different instruments’ – and the illustration includes a mouse on a swing and a grasshopper on a piano and accompanied by a beetle playing a violin.
This book, and the others in the series make for the most magical gifts to give to new parents, babies, toddlers, etc. I have plans to do exactly that with a selection of titles from the series for family and friends due to become first time parents (and second time parents too!). I genuinely cannot wait for there to be more titles in this series in due course as they are such a delight to receive, indulge in, and then share on here.
Make Tracks : In the Sky
Yet another fantastic series that is incredibly popular with us is this Make Tracks series from Nosy Crow, who are definitely the leading publishers when interactive board books are concerned. I am delighted by the theme of this one being In the Sky because currently when I provide childcare for my nephew we are constantly staring up at the sky in search for aeroplanes. If I any aeroplanes or helicopters on trips out I take videos and photos to show and share with my nephew. We love transport in the sky so we jumped straight in which book, and have added it to our growing collection of titles in this fabulous series.
The book details an airliner, with a fully labelled diagram, and then you get to move the slider on the corresponding page to ‘fly this airliner off the runway’, and we love the additional questions dotted on the pages like ‘how many cars are at the airport?’. The illustrations are full of detail and engage your attention across the page which we love as there are then opportunities to name things you can see, and spot things being referenced. The rest of the content includes a hot-air balloon, a helicopter, and a spacecraft! Super cool choices of sky transport included and we fully approve! These books are so much fun to interact with for little ones, and the moving the counters make for so much fun along the way. The final counter trail is a full circle around the earth with you getting to move a spacecraft around the earths orbit – how amazing is that!
I Spot a Snail
Sporadic rainfall recently has given the opportunity for snails to make their presence within gardens (and other outdoor spaces) known, and I have even delighted in sitting in my living room watching snails progressing across my garden as the rain came down, so when this book arrived in the post I remarked at the timing! In collaboration with the National Trust – a detail that always reinforces my admiration for both topic and quality of the content – this book is a ‘My Very First Spotter’s Guide’ which has been beautifully illustrated by Kay Vincent.
As the front cover does detail, this book features ‘big flaps to lift’ and they are some of the larger of those I have seen in board books, which is fantastic for little hands, and reveal further insect related illustration and information – specifically the answer to the question that features on the top of the flap itself. The book features snails, butterflies, worms, ladybirds, and spiders. There are three areas of focus for each of those insects, all of which are covered on a two page spread, and those are the size of the insect, where they live, and then a varying third question we get answers to such as their colour or what they eat. There are so many facts included within this book, all of which are in the short sentence format, with the repetition of questions across the insects linking them to one another and offering you the chance to make comparisons. It truly is a fascinating book with so much for little ones to learn as they uncover facts about this array of insects and admire them in the bold, detailed, and colourful illustrations adorning the pages within.
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