Cat Says Meow and Other An-i-mal-o-poe-ia by Michael Arndt

Cat Says Meow and Other An-i-mal-o-poe-ia by Michael Arndt
Chronicle Books

Rating: 5 stars

This is a picture book. Of that I'm certain. But it's not a traditional story--it's just an example of how to have fun with words and pictures. Ben saw it at the library and handed it to me with, "You've got to check this out, Mom. I saw it in school."

My trio and I have paged through it several times--Kiefer can "read" it by guessing the animal sound, and we all appreciate the cleverness of artist Michael Arndt and appreciate how he used the animal sound to draw the animals.

Look at how he uses "Quack" and "Glub" and "Moo" and "Oink" to draw a duck, fish, cow, and pig:

As Ben says, you've got to check it out!

I See Me! M is for Me

I See Me! M is for Me
Rating: 5 stars

Do you know how kids go through phases where they are obsessed with one certain thing? For example, my six-year old son can't get enough baseball--he'll read anything baseball-related, from picture books to the sports section of the New York Times. My seven-year old daughter has a "crafternoon" when she comes home from school most days, and often raids my recycling (I prohibit the dirty, messy stuff) to get new materials.

The youngest in our bunch is currently obsessed with the alphabet. Three and a half-year old Kiefer walks around proudly and loudly just spelling out his name "K-I-E-F-E-R!" He is learning how to write his name--he needs a little help sometimes with that pesky curve on the R. But he happily and seriously works on that R as if his life depends on it. Anytime he sees letters--from license plates to posters, t-shirts to the "SUNSHINE" coffee mug from which I'm sipping right now--he traces them in the air with his finger as his eye focuses on the letter.

He's going to love it!

When he sees this M is for Me book that I recently ordered from www.iseeme.com, he is going to go bananas! The cover alone will stop him in his tracks: K is for KIEFER it reads, loud and proud. That’s not the only thing personalized in this book. When he opens the cover, he’ll see himself smiling back at him. There’s no mirror involved; instead, I See Me! placed a photograph I sent to them of Kiefer on the page, complete with a short note: 

“Kiefer, This special book is filled with words that describe my hopes for you. Together we’ll read this book to learn the alphabet and all about you!”

Just like any alphabet book, there’s a word for each letter of the alphabet. But unlike any other alphabet book I’ve seen, these words are positive attributes that we all hope our children possess. Here are a few to give you an idea: 

A is for Active 

B is for Brave 

C is for Caring 

D is for Determined 

E is for Extraordinary 

F is for Friendly

To read the rest of the review, please click HERE to go to Washington FAMILY Magazine's book review section.

Alphabet Trucks by Samantha R. Vamos

Alphabet Trucks by Samantha R. Vamos, illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke

Rating: 4 stars

So far we've had heaps of luck with the 2014 Children's Choices Award-Winning Books.  The books on this list we've printed out guided our book lending last week.  These books were selected by kids and for kids--with the goal of encouraging kids to read more for pleasure.  These kids were spot-on.  There are some really great books on the list!

Including Alphabet Trucks, a compact little read that I've read half a dozen times to Kiefer already, and we've only had it a few days.  At three, the alphabet--recognizing the letters and learning the sounds they make--is exactly where he needs to be.  Nothing makes him happier than riding in his dad's old Chevy pick-up truck (if only it were orange!), but a book about trucks--with a pick-up truck on the cover--comes pretty close.

The rhymes (the fact that it rhymes at this age is a wonderful thing!) are a solid good:

E is for elevator truck,
Raise the forklift--up it goes!

A is for apple truck, carting produce to the store.

F is for fuel truck,
with a meter, pump, and hose.
G is for grapple truck,
And its grabby, massive claw.
H is for horse truck,
Full of water, feed, and straw.

As you can see, there's not a lot of information on each truck, just a brief introduction and a great illustration by Ryan O'Rourke.  In each picture, he's sprinkled in a bunch of those letters--Kiefer particularly likes how the Ms are sliding down the chute of the Mixing Truck. I like how the Junk Truck is hauling off a whole lot of Js to the dump.

But my favorite is the zipper truck.  Because I know what that is!  And I knew it when we first read it, promise.  I am NOT the know-it-all in the house, so I am rarely the one who has The Answer.  But this time I did!  (Enter triumphant ha-HA! here)  Years ago I saw a zipper truck, also known as a Barrier-Transfer Machine, do its thing as I drove into Washington, D.C.  I thought it was cool back then, and I didn't yet have boys who would verify its coolness for me. I told the kids about it.  I did my best to explain how it moved barriers to accommodate the different rush hour traffic needs on a single road, but this video helped them truly understand:

There you go!  One good book and one cool video to explain the car that exemplifies Z!

H is For Home Run: A Baseball Alphabet by Brad Herzog

H is For Home Run: A Baseball Alphabet by Brad Herzog, illustrated by Melanie Rose

Rating: 4.5 stars

Maybe because I'm a cheapskate, I really like this series of alphabet books published by Sleeping Bear Press.  They appeal to a wide level of readers, so they are wonderful books to grow with and grow into.

Take H is For Home Run.  Newly 3 year old Kiefer can sit and page through it by himself, looking at the bright, big illustrations by Melanie Rose about a sport about which his family is currently focused.  He can pick out the letters that he knows--K, L, B, M, and D…  I can read the first layer of story to him. That first layer is the rhyming text, the two lines dedicated to each letter and, therefore, each baseball-themed thing.  In these lines, Herzog has thrown in as many words that start with that letter, so Kiefer hears that letter again and again, reinforcing the sound the letter makes, as he also looks at the letter on the page.

D is for the diamond, a delightful design
That gives us daring double plays and doubles down the line.

5 1/2 year old Ben can read most of these words himself, so this is a challenging read-alone book for him.  He's still happy to have me read it to him (and I'm happy to read it to him).  And alongside each letter, next to each wonderful illustration, are a few paragraphs that give more details about that baseball-themed thing.  For D, for example, readers learn that a baseball field

is called a diamond because the infield is a square turned on its edge with a base located at each corner. D is also for dugouts.  Generally, the home team's dugout is on the third-base side of the diamond and the visiting team's is on the first-base side. 

The double play is a fielding play in which two outs are recorded.  It might be an infielder "forcing out" a player at second base before throwing out the batter at first base.  Or it might be an outfielder catching a fly ball and then throwing out a runner trying to advance to the next base.  It might even happen when a batter strikes out while a runner is caught stealing. 

D is also for designated hitter (DH).  Since 1973 the American League has used a DH in the lineup to bat in place of the pitcher.  In the National League and Little League, the pitcher bats for himself.

And 7 year old Lorelei can read all of this, maybe to herself or, if he's lucky, to one of her little brothers.

There's something for everyone.  Cheapskate me and Parentingkate me are both happy!


For a complete list of titles of these alphabet books by Sleeping Bear Press, please click HERE.

Fraidyzoo by Thyra Heder

Fraidyzoo by Thyra Heder

Rating: 5 stars

We've been reading more books at dinner time.  It's a habit I tried to stop but...it is just too fun, the audience too captivated, the opportunity to read books together too limited that we've started back up again.  I know that we'll have to quit sometime in the future.  But not today.  Or next week.  Let me squeeze a few more months out of this habit of reading with our mouths full!

(Okay, I DO encourage good eating manners--I do the reading, generally without my mouth being full, and they do the eating and listening and adding...)

We checked out Fraidyzoo for the second time in a month this week.  It was just so fun the first time around, and we had an even better time with it on the second check-out.  The story is pretty simple: Little T is afraid to go to the zoo, and her family is trying to guess why.  Which animal she is afraid of?  They guess one for each letter of the alphabet by dressing up as that animal in some incredibly creative (yet doable in your home!) ways.

Does it live in the tropics? Or gloop through the ocean?
Does it hop with a pocket? Does it ROAR?

When we checked this out a second time and read it last night while eating, the kids took turns guessing what animals the family was dressing up as is.  Lorelei, Ben, Kiefer.  Lorelei, Ben, Kiefer.  Three ages, three reading levels, all guessing happily.  Fun times!

The illustrations are spectacular--SO creative they will invite you and your kids to examine them.  We noticed on this second read how the snake had a stuffed animal in its looooong body.  We talked about how the lion sort of looks like a gorilla but it's L's turn so...probably not gorilla because it starts with a G.  And that tail...definitely lion-like.

 It turns out, though, that Little T is not afraid of an animal...well, not exactly an animal...  I don't want to be the spoiler on this one and it's really worth discovering her (funny) fear along with your child.  We laughed like crazy, all together.  It was one of Those Moments, you know?

Backseat A-B-See by Maria van Lieshout

 Backseat A-B-See by Maria van Lieshout

Rating: 3.5 stars

I was just talking about how Ben is the biggest little backseat driver...and then he found this book at the library!  Thanks to this book,  Ben is armed with new, helpful information to help me navigate through suburbia.

Not only can Ben remind me when to go and stop at stoplights, he can now:

• Tell me where the D for detours are.
• Remind me to get G for gas.
• Yell at me to pay attention when there's a M for merge up ahead.
• Scream at me when the O for one way is not going our way.
• Request a T for taxi when my car doesn't cut it.

Handy, huh?

Alphabeep by Debora Pearson

Alphabeep: A Zipping, Zooming ABC by Debora Pearson, illustrated by Edward Miller

Rating: 4.5 stars

There are hundreds of alphabet books out there--but this one is particularly good.  It is especially great for any little (or big!) car enthusiasts out there...

And Ben sure is.  We just learned about "symbol signage" in Meet Me At the Art Museum, so he loved all the signs for the road.

But I have to warn you in case you're brave enough to drive Ben somewhere.  (Which won't happen anytime soon because he's way too attached to me to get in somebody else's car...maybe next year.)  He is a back seat driver.  I've already had to tell him the important life lesson: "No one likes being told how to drive, Ben!"  He asks me all the questions about the rules of the road, and is constantly baffled by my bad luck with red lights.  "Why are the lights always red for you, Mommy?"  Sigh.  "I guess I need to keep practicing patience, Ben!" is what I cheerfully muster while muttering something else in my impatient brain.

Ben's intersection.
If there's an accident, we've got an ambulence on standby.

But rules of the road are important, and it is cool that he is paying such close attention.  Just a few minutes ago I built him an intersection on our floor with blue painter's tape (our favorite toy), and now he's having his cars take turns stopping and going.  He was disappointed there were no turning lanes; I promised him that next time, I'd plan ahead and include them in my design.

Q is For Duck by Mary Elting

Q is For Duck by Mary Elting, illustrated by Marcia McClintock Folsom

Rating: 4 stars

This afternoon I taught Ben how to use a shoulder--mine--as a pillow.  It's a necessary skill in the world, I think, especially when I wish for him that snuggling is always on the forefront.  In what seems to be becoming a quiet, sweet little habit, I lay on his bed and read my book ("Mommy, are you going to read Wild?  The one with the red cover and no pictures?"  "Good memory, Ben!  Yes.") and he reads his chapter books.

I say read, but I mean "read."  He flips through as I flip through, impatiently waiting for me to turn the page in my book so he can turn a page in his book.  He flat refuses to turn the page without a turn from me, so I end up faking a turn or two so that his impatience doesn't grow to frustration.

Quiet time is a strict routine in our house--the kids choose something and head up to their rooms to take a break from each other and "quiet their body," usually on their beds.  It usually lasts about 30 minutes, unless my husband is around and then somehow they remain in their rooms for an hour or more.

Today I put my book down when he so sweetly asked me to read him a book.  It did not take much arm-twisting...  My friends would fall over laughing if you asked them if I was a push-over, but we all have our buttons, and I'd drop everything and anything (well, except Kiefer) if they asked me to read to them.

He chose this book, Q is For Duck.  It's an alphabet guessing game--you've got to think about why the chosen letter goes with the chosen thing.  Clearly you realize that Q is for duck because ducks quack, but the answer requires some serious thinking from a 3 or 4 year old.  I like books and games like this, and this game is easily adapted to car rides (as long as you don't have one of those pesky DVD players that spoil conversation and reading and stuff...!).  It is very similar to White is for Blueberry, another logic-building book that twists the norm and makes you change your perspective.

Ben and I lay in his bed, reading this book on our backs with the book up in the air over us, thinking and wondering and laughing at the silly connections.  It was a lazy summer afternoon with just one of my three kids.  One of those hours you just want to freeze.

M is for Afternoon...because a little Memory was made.
S is for Ben...because he too can be sweet, like his big sister.
N is for Kiefer...because Kiefer was napping during this little interlude.
L is for me...because I'm lucky to have these kids, this life.

G is for Gold Medal by Brad Herzog, illustrated by Doug Bowles

G is for Gold Medal: An Olympic Alphabet by Brad Herzog, illustrated by Doug Bowles

Rating: 5 stars (or just one gold medal)

HURRY!  If you order this book RIGHT NOW it'll arrive at your house before the Opening Ceremonies!

We ordered our copy about a week ago and the kids were super excited to look through it.  I don't really make a big deal out of a lot of things.  I drag my feet in decorating for Halloween (much to Lorelei the Decorator's chagrin).  I force myself to put something green on their plate for St Patrick's Day (last year was guacamole.  I know...mommy demerit for me).

But the Olympics!  The OLYMPICS!  THIS is a reason for all caps and exclamation marks if I've ever had one!

I was a horseback rider growing up.  Did you know that I was the (ahem) state champion of Hawaii in both English and Western in 1990?  (It helped to have only two opponents and a cute pony named Flashdance.)  Anyway, I really believed when I was little that I would ride in the Olympics.  I was dedicated and had a lot of talent--but not the money.  When I was a child of an Army officer, I didn't realize that my leased pony was worth about as much as one unshod hoof of an Olympic steed.

But you know what?  No matter.  I believed, and I dreamed.  And I wasn't too disappointed when reality caught up with me. realized that life would not include the Games.  Sports--mostly riding, but also running--helped channel my energy into healthy pursuits.

My husband and I totally get into the Games.  We watch them as much as possible, even non-TV me.  Track and field, gymnastics, and horseback riding are my favorites.  We explain to Lorelei and Ben how much the athletes have to train, how hard they have to work, how much they have to want it.  I am inspired by these athletes, and I know they'll see that and get a little inspired in their own way, too.

It's hard to find ANY book about the Olympics, and I'm glad to say that this is a really good one that explains what the Games are about.  If you're not familiar with these alphabet books by Herzog, there are two ways to read them--first, a short poem for each letter that make the book a good sit-in-my-lap-for-a-bit-and-read book; second, an additional description of that letter-inspired theme that would take about 20-30 minutes to read out loud, but would really provide a ton of information to a curious kid.  Each one is informative and insightful.  It took us one long lunch to read this book; Lorelei and Ben had a bunch of (wonderful) questions that I was excited they asked and therefore took my time answering.

But the pictures are what make this book excellent.  They are HUGE in scale; they are drawn to draw in all these little eyes that are looking at the book, and hopefully watching a bit of the Games.  The illustrations are slightly bigger than life, and I found myself looking through the book once again after bedtime.

The Olympics only come once every four years, of course, so I think it's worth making them a BIG DEAL in your house, too.  Even if you're annoyed by these ALL CAPS and exclamation points!

(I'm excited.  What can I say?!)

P.S.  One of the other few books I can find with any Olympic storyline is the wonderful Koala Lou, which is also my very first blog post.

Animal A-Z by Louisa Cornfield

Animal A-Z by Louisa Cornfield, designed by Bethany Side and Nicola Friggens

Rating: 5 nonfiction stars

So we're wandering around the zoo this morning, waiting for the houses to open so that we can see some animals up close and personal (and to get a break from the heat) when we come across the flamingos.  They are Lorelei's favorite animal right now--only because of their color.  (Blech.)

But they are cool in their own right.  We looked at them for a good five minutes, Kiefer screeching his hello from the stroller, and the kids and I observing them, checking them out.  We noted how they rested with their heads on their backs, as if their fluffy bodies were built-in pillows.  We saw how their necks made "Ss."  There weren't any babies this time around, but we remembered that they are born gray and turn pink.  We tried to stand on one leg like them.

As we chatted and looked and waited, Lorelei turned to me and said: "They turn pink because of something that they eat."  What?!  Nah!  Really?  I had that moment of motherhood that I knew would come but I didn't expect it so soon.  Does she already know more than me?!  Not really, but...I have to get to the bottom of this (because that sounds sorta fishy to me).

Checking out the flamingos.

We had brought this great book in the car with us, and I knew that F was for flamingos, so I looked to see if this random fact-that-might-not-be-a-fact could have come from this book.  Nope.  But it does share an interesting tidbit: No one knows why they stand on one leg.  How comforting.  I love unsolved mysteries.  Makes me feel somehow relieved to know that some things just...are.  For no reason.

Anyway, it's a great book.  We have given it as a gift a few times, and I highly recommend it as a gift for a 3- or 4- or 5-year old animal lover.  And what kid isn't an animal lover?  It helps to have a mom who is truly curious and enthusiastic about all of these species (we saw a blue frog, a yellow frog, and a red frog today.  who knew there were so many colors?!), but kids are pretty fascinated independently of nerdy parents.

One of my favorite things about this book is that on every page there is a small diagram comparing the animal to an average human male.  For not-yet-reading Ben, I ask him which is bigger, the man or the animal?  He gets to "read" something from the page, and is happy about that.


P.S.  Lorelei was right!  They are pink because they eat brine shrimp, which has a high content of beta carotene, the same thing that made each of my kids turn orange when they ate carrots as infants.  Go, Lorelei!  Click here for full answer...and a cool wildlife website.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr., and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr., and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Rating: 4 stars

Poor Kiefer, our third child.  He's often the last thought.  Toys often equal an empty water bottle or reusable snack bag.  Despite the fact that she has loved him since the moment she saw him, Lorelei has only recently included him in her pictures of our family.  So I thought it was time to write about some books for babies and for 1 year olds.

What is the point of reading to babies?  The sounds builds listening and memory skills, teaches language, boosts their blooming brain skills, and exposes them to concepts and experiences beyond his or her day-to-day world.  Okay, but HOW do you do it?  How do I help make Kiefer as book obsessed as his big brother and big sister?  Here are a few things I do:

Kiefer dives into our library bag...

1. Read two books to him before naptime and bedtime.
2. Keep a book basket in his room full of board books that he can play with/read when he plays in his room.
3. Lorelei and Ben choose books for him when we go to the library without him
4. Include board books for him in our book basket in our car
5. Make books easily accessible in the playroom, where we keep our library books
6. Read anytime...we sometimes read books during mealtimes (we used to always do this, but now...just sometimes)

Now, about this Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book...

This should be one his favorite books!  I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I read this book for the first time just a few hours ago.  We've had the board book version, and I've thought it was okay, but I really like the hardback, real version of it--it is twice as long and much better.  I love that the beat is like a rap, providing me the opportunity to be gansta-like in my own suburban mom way for a few brief (and hopefully secluded) moments.

Skit skat skoodle doot.
Flip flop fleep.
Everybody running to the coconut tree.
Mamas and papas
and uncles and aunts
hug their little dears,
then dust off their pants.

You've probably found this book already, but if not...definitely grab the long version and spend some wildly fun moments rapping it...I mean reading it...to your kid.  Enjoy!

ABC's by Charley Harper

ABC's by Charley Harper
Rating: 4.5 stars

I only know a little about artist Charley Harper and his very neat, very fun illustrations.  I've seen the match-up game version of this simple ABC book in Anthropologie, my favorite clothing store ever, so I give him posthumous props for finding his way into their stylish doors.

Ben especially loves this book, and it's inspired him to say a few new words--just basic stuff like "bird" and "dog."  Hey, I'll take that!  I don't know what happened to X, though...instead of a cool bug or animal like the rest of the letters, there are a bunch of water bugs and you're supposed to find all the Xs.  This confuses Lorelei and Ben a bit.  Anyway, we can get over that minor foible.  We also trace the letters with our fingers, and we love the front and back flaps with all of the smaller images clustered in tightly together. 

We got ours from the library, but this is a great birthday book for a first birthday--what library is complete without at least one ABC book?  Our other favorites, which include more text than this one, include Dr Suess' ABC and LMNO Peas by Keith Baker.  Love those!

Alpha Oops! H is for Halloween by Althea Kontis

Alpha Oops!  H is for Halloween by Althea Kontis, illustrated by Bob Kolar

Rating: 3.5 stars

So we're finally getting into the Halloween groove, and it's really only because Lorelei is in preschool and all her friends are into it.  Last year I was impressed we even got a costume, and we even went trick-or-treating in the local way (which involved a little strip-mall-like place because the houses around here require a hike and a half to get through one neighborhood).  This year Lorelei's spook-o-meter is a little higher, so she's not at all frightened by pictures like those in this book, of monsters and goblins, werewolves and vampires.

The book is a follow up to Alpha Oops!  The Day Z Went First, which we checked out at the same time.  Like that book, it's a classic "A is for..." book with a twist: the letters are all jumbled up in fairly random order.  The only plot is they all have to find a Halloween-themed item that starts with their letter.  One in particular, B, shows up again and again, and is uncertain of his choice, but then ends up as the last letter as B for BOO!  And he scares all the letters off stage.  It's a cute ending.

It's a little confusing, and definitely better for kids who are completely comfortable with their ABCs in order, and therefore see the humor in getting them all mixed up.  It's only sorta fun to read out loud, because the only text apart from the "A is for..." lines is the dialogue between the letters.  And Lorelei and Ben don't find that too easy to follow.  Still, it's Halloween-y and it's Halloween week, so we've been reading it every day!

L M N O Peas by Keith Baker

L M N O Peas by Keith Baker

Rating: 5 stars

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but how about by its jacket flap?  Here's a snippet from Keith Baker's bio, found on the back flap:

"Keith Baker has ten letters in his name, all of which can be found in the alphabet.  If he could be any vegetable, he would be a pea--green, round, quick, smart, easy to draw, and always surrounded by friends... He's sometimes grumpea, sometimes sleepea, but usually happea, and he hopes that someday there will be peas everywhere on Earth."



"We're dancers--and drivers round town."

 That excerpt is an example of the cleverness that can be found in the pages of the book.  What a funny genius Keith Baker is!  It is clear that he had fun with this book, and our family has had a great time with it, too.  I'm not sure why we passed it up so many different times at the bookstore and the library; we really should have checked it out earlier.  (It was published earlier this year.) 

Many alphabet books tell too much a story, and you lose the actual letters and words that go with them.  Other books don't tell any story at all, so kids whose interest in "just" the alphabet will be, most likely, less than enthused to read them.  But this is a perfect balance: Baker introduces us to the peas, and tells them of all the vocations they can be.  Some of my favorite new vocabulary words for Lorelei include: investigator, officer, parachutist ('cause the GRAND-Dad is...ok, was...one!), unique, voter, volunteer. 

The story is great.  The pictures are SUPERB!  They are just fun--the peas are doing all sorts of things, illustrating the words.  As a bonus, there's a little ladybug on each page that the kids love to find, especially the first time we read through it.  (In fact, I had to wipe down the pages because we were eating pasta while we looked, so some marinara sauce from Ben's always-sticky fingers got on the pages when he excitedly pointed to the ladybug...but I cleaned them.  Promise!) 

This is a fantastic book--one that is tempting to buy...let's see if I can sit on my hands and resist the temptation.

In My Heart by Molly Bang

In My Heart by Molly Bang

Rating: 3.5 stars

This book is definitely not "traditional"--the family, as you can see on the cover, is multi-racial, and the drawings remind me of modern surreal art that, honestly, I'm not super fond of.  It's not one that my pretty conservative but still wonderful stepfather would fully appreciate, but it's not meant for his generation.

Despite the fact that I don't love, love, love this book, it is a really great book and, for some out there, will be a very important book.  After reading When Sophie Gets Angry: Really Really Angry I was pretty intrigued by Molly Bang.  So I ordered a handful of her books the following week to see what other sort of stuff she writes.  I like this one--it is worthwhile and heartfelt and special.  So definitely check it out, and let me know what you think.

This is the author's favorite book she's ever written--that's saying something right there when she's written dozens of children's books and won the Caldecott a few times.  On her website, she states that she was inspired by two situations when she wrote this book: adoptive kids who "don't come from their Mommy's bellies" and kids whose parents both work.  The book is a lullaby-like story reassuring kids that they remain in their parents' hearts, regardless of the proximity of the child and parent at the time.  And regardless of the birth parent.  It is a special, special book, and one that must comfort many adoptive children out there.

We like it for a different reason.  Lorelei is so into letters--just, literally, letters.  Lorelei will find Js in the woods when we walk the dogs, Os in her cereal and fruit...you get the idea.  She loves how Molly Bang uses images to write the letters.  I took a few pictures to show what I mean, because I don't think I'm doing the artwork justice... 

(I also am a little disappointed that the typed text is the same as that used in Fancy Nancy books.  It's just an unfortunate coincidence.  While I don't mind that whole series, this is a book of a higher caliber, and I wish I didn't think of a frilly little girl while reading this book to Lorelei and Ben.)

The other reason why I think I can't fully appreciate this book: I'm a stay-at-home mother.  I don't work.  I don't have to say good-bye to my kids each morning and reassure them that I love them, because I can tell them all day long, any day and everyday.  And, while this works for me and works for my family, it sure doesn't work for everyone!  So this book really provides a wonderful, comforting read to those families whose kids are in daycare of one sort or the other.

But it is, without a doubt, interesting and worth reading.  The artwork alone provides a different sort of image, and I love, love, love how colorful (skin and attire!) the people in the pictures are, and I love how creative those cool letters are!

Dr Seuss's ABC

Dr Seuss's ABCs by Dr Seuss

Rating: 5 stars, in alphabetical order

I can just imagine the conversation...

Me:  "Good morning, officer."

Officer:  "Good morning, ma'am.  Do you know why I pulled you over?"

Me:  "Umm...not exactly."

Officer:  "You were driving erratically.  Are you under the influence?  Have you been drinking?"

Me:  "Um, no.  Just coffee.  I was, um...well, um...I was kind of reading to my children."

Officer:  "While driving?  Along this windy road?  Why?"

Me:  "Why was I reading to them?  Because I want them to be critical thinkers, contributing members of society, happy and knowledgeable..."

I think all mothers must hide their head in shame at some point when asked about what they do while driving--or what they also do while driving.  I once had a sore shoulder for a few weeks because I was holding Lorelei's pacifier in her mouth for 10 or 15 minutes straight.  While driving.  So embarrassing...I mean, I know that I have incredibly precious cargo, and I am even careful about how much I talk on the phone while driving, and I truly only text while at stop lights.

But the other day for some stupid reason, I thought it'd be a good idea to hold this book up so that Lorelei and Ben could see the pictures, and have Lorelei "read" it to Ben.  She knows all the words, so I only had to look at the pages once or twice to get her jump-started on a particular letter.  And there wasn't too much traffic on the super twisty-turny road we were driving on...

I know, I know.  I'll never do it again, I promise!

But this book is a must read.  We're not huge Dr. Suess followers and this book actually sat on our shelf for years because I thought it was pretty strange and annoying.  It has no story, something I almost always say is necessary for this 1ish to 4ish age group.  But what it does have is some funny, gripping rhyme with silly pictures that somehow make sense in a little mind like Lorelei's.  She and Ben both love this book, especially Z (which you recite the entire alphabet before getting to, like one crazy drum roll countdown, more exciting than a space shuttle launch); even Ben points to himself when you turn the page after asking "What begins with Z?  I do!  I am a zizzer-zazzer zuzz, as you can plainly see!"

Of course!  A zizzer-zazzer zuzz!  It is something so silly that we grown ups have difficulty appreciating the silliness of because we think we're too cool to be silly. 

Also, this is a real teach-the-alphabet book.  Lorelei is able to sound out the first letter of almost all words we throw at her these days, something that makes my husband confident in her future place in Mensa.  But I know that it is her incredibly interest in reading and all things letter-related that has helped her get to this point.  I'm not pushing it.  What's the fun in reading if there's no fun in it?

This book rocks!  We love it.  It's crazy and very suess-ish, but a must-have.