The Busy Building Book by Sue Tarsky

The Busy Building Book by Sue Tarsky, illustrated by Alex Ayliffe

Rating: 4 stars

This is one of Ben's favorite books on construction.  The book follows the steps to build an office building in a big city, from plans to excavating, scaffolding to framing rooms.  It provides just a basic outline with minimal sentences, but included on each page are dozens of labels for those curious readers who want a little more information.  There's a lot going on in each page, so there is plenty to look at...and look at, and look at...  Definitely a good one for the construction collection in anyone's house.

And, speaking of construction, our construction adventure continues!  The house on Kirby Road that we're keeping an eye on is progressing from hole in the ground to a recognizable house.  Last week we picked up Lorelei from school and checked it out with the general contractor and our friend Sidd.

Look closely.  Can you see the hole in my jeans?
Note to self: Don't wear your good jeans when hopping fences.

When we arrived, Sidd invited us to hop over the (low, chain-link) fence, walk down a steep, muddy path, jump through a window-looking opening that was actually going to be a door, stroll around the "basement" while simultaneously dodging a handful of strong men swinging big ol' axes while digging trenches for pipes.

Did I mention that, in addition to holding the hands of my adventuresome 4- and 5-year old kids, 22-month old Kiefer and 62-yearold Grammy were tagging along?  And I (stupidly) was wearing my nicest jeans.  But did I let any of these factors stop me?  NO!  I'm THAT kind of mom who trespasses and traipses while looking cute!

Writing her initials in cement...all kids should do it once!
(Preferably legally.)

And I'm glad we did--because the kids had the chance to see the basement before it became a basement.  Sidd had plans for the house ready for us to page through, and the kids saw how it resembled artwork (albeit more precise).  They get a peak at how Sidd's imagination helped make this muddy hole become a home.  We walked around, with Sidd pointing out different things to the kids while I tried to keep them fairly clear of the swinging axes that might disfigure them (that'd be bad).  There was some fresh cement, and he let them write their initials in it with an iron stick that was lying in the dirt.  The kids' eyes were big the whole time while they soaked up this totally new and cool experience.

Next time, we're wearing boots.  And maybe Kiefer should stay with Grammy in a safer location...

Choo Choo Clickety-Clack! by Margaret Mayo

Choo Choo Clickety-Clack! by Margaret Mayo, illustrated by Alex Ayliffe

Rating: 5 stars

This book is like an old friend to Lorelei and Ben.  Ok, I realize that "old" is quite relative because we're talking about a 3 1/2 and 2 year old here...but we check it out from the library every few months, and they are always excited to see it.  We've read all of Margaret Mayo's books (click here to read my reviews of her books); they have the same pattern in the poem, so it's familiar to them for many reasons.

This one is so great, especially for Ben, who is crazy about anything with wheels and/or makes sounds when it goes.  (So inspired is he by big trucks, he often beeps when backing up!)  In this book, trains speed, airplanes fly, cars drive, race cars race, sailboats sail, hot air balloons float, motorbikes rev, bikes whiz, cable cars climb, buses go, and ferryboats load.  The book ends with nightfall, which of course I love and appreciate, when all the vehicles rest (and we find them in their "resting spots" across the page).

Maybe some parents are careful with their books, but we are definitely not, despite the fact that it pains me to see a ripped page or a book shoved off a table thoughtlessly.  We believe that it's best to just hand over the books to our kids as much as possible, so they have the thrill of turning the page--or turning back a page--themselves.  These books written by Mayo are so great that theywill definitely be read again and again and again, so the sturdier the pages, the better! 

Stomp, Dinosaurs, Stomp! by Margaret Mayo

Stomp, Dinosaurs, Stomp! by Margaret Mayo

Rating: 3 stars

We love Margaret Mayo's books--we check out one or more every other time we go to the library.  I just realized that I have only reviewed one-- Roar! --so I'll get on the ball and tell you about the others we've enjoyed soon.  In honor of my twin nieces' birthday month, the dinosaur book reviews continue...to Mayo's latest book.  This one isn't her best; the rhymes just seem to be a little more forced, to trip a bit instead of roll right along.

That said, Alex Ayliffe's illustrations are so toddler-friendly that the text could be an English teacher's nightmare and the book would still be worth checking out.  I like how the dinosaurs are torn-paper-versions of realistic dinosaurs.  The brightly colored dinosaurs and their prey (never other dinosaurs, though they do fight/wrestle with each other) just jump out at you, which is great for this read-aloud stage.

This is a good vocabulary book, too.  Words Lorelei learned include: gulp, whack (good as long as it's not your little brother getting whacked...and not in a Sopranos sense!), charge (not in the credit card sense), head-but, chomp, mash (helpful when we made mashed potatoes last night), guard, trap.  Not bad, and a nice change from Lorelei's favorite-of-the-moment books, the Fancy Nancy and Pinkalicious series.  It's good to have a brother, I think!

Slither, Swoop, Swing by Alex Ayliffe

Slither, Swoop, Swing by Alex Ayliffe

Rating: 3.5 stars

I've realized my blog posts have been getting quite lengthy.  Being succinct is not in my genes.  But I'll try.

We know and love Alex Ayliffe from his illustrations in Margaret Mayo's fantastic books.  But this one is all his.  There's really not much to it--each page is one verb, with a bunch of animals acting it out. 

But it has become one of Ben's favorite bedtime books.  He likes to act out each verb/page.  He moves back and forth for "swing," as if he's on a tire swing; he grabs hold of his own leg tightly for "cling;" and of course "flap" he flaps his wings...I mean arms...wildly.  Then the last one is "run" and he runs around his room in a circle.  No wonder he takes awhile to actually fall asleep!  Maybe I should get a better bedtime book.

Roar! by Margaret Mayo

Roar! by Margaret Mayo, illustrated by Alex Ayliffe

Rating: 4.5 stars

We are the dorky family who reads while we eat. Are you surprised? I guess you're not really supposed to do this or eat while watching TV; one should focus on the food only and chew deliberately and do only one thing at a time. Oh well. Chalk it up to another thing I need to work on to be Mommy of the Year. Maybe next year. Anyway, Roar! is one of the books that we started reading when we started reading while eating. Both my kids (3 years and 16 months-ish) sit in booster seats and I strap them in so they can't go anywhere (hey, it works for us) and then we eat and read, read, read. They love it! I usually let them choose one book each, and then I choose a few. I've got to be sure these books are interesting to both of them, so we rarely read a Berenstein Bear book or something with a whole lot of text. Then, to encourage eating, I won't turn the page until they've taken a bite or spoonful of whatever they're eating. I often pretend to peek at the next page and get excited about what I see so they are motivated to "help me get there." Even if we've read the book dozens of times, this still works. For now!

Anyway, the book.

It's a good one! Ayliffe steals the show a bit with the illustrations--so bright and interesting and fun. This is just a parade of animals and what they do: elephants mud-wallow, giraffes stretch, tigers prowl, zebras run. That's my favorite page, the zebra one, though Ben's favorite is the hippo page because once my husband made a hilarious hippo sound, so they make me do it again. PLUS, as an added bonus, the hippo has his mouth wide open as only hippos can do, and Ben likes to "feed" the hippo whatever he is eating. Yes, I'm sure to wipe off the page before returning it to the library. Only to check it out again. And again. And again. It is a poem, which I always appreciate (maybe because I can't write a poem to save my life), and the text is great. There's a new word for Lorelei on every page, and one that is easy to explain, like prowl or fierce.

This is a great, great book!