Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too by Anna Dewdney

Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too by Anna Dewdney

Rating: 4.5 stars

Llama llama was a tradition in our family.  Each sweet child of mine would go through a phase where that was ALL she or he wanted to read at night.  I read the little board books to them as babies, and the rhyme must have seeped into their brains, because around age two and a half each located Llama Llama Red Pajama and Llama Llama Misses Mama on our messy bookshelves.  I read Llama Llama Holiday Drama, regardless of the season.

And now, a new tradition: one that involves not a little boy llama and his mom, but a little girl gnu and her dad.  I really like that.  There's no secret that a grown girl's confidence has a whole heck of a lot to do with her dad (thanks, Dad, for all the love and time you poured into me!).  If, like us, you are a fan of Llama Llama, you'll love this one just as much. The same quick, pleasing rhyme and the same heart-warming, sweet illustrations are there to greet you on every page.

What's the story about?  Nelly Gnu and her dad spend the afternoon together, making a cardboard house together--they shop for materials, construct it, and paint it together.  Like all good stories (and, like all of Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama books), it does have a problem--Nelly Gnu gets lost in the hardware store--that is quickly resolved.  But that's not the highlight of this book.  This book is good and sweet because of the bond between father and daughter that we get to see and hopefully it inspires a few of us to spend a little more time with our daughters (and sons!).

But before you buy or check out this book, you might just might want to pronounce gnu.  I mean, we all would prefer teach our children the correct pronunciations of words, right?  Despite the fact that my husband insists that he heard "Ga-new" while in Kenya a decade or so ago, this pronunciation guide suggests that the G is silent:

Llama Llama Zippity-Zoom by Anna Dewdney

Llama Llama Zippity-Zoom by Anna Dewdney

Rating: 4.5 stars

I think I have the imprint of this book still on my cheek.  Because that's what Kiefer does when he wants me to read him a book at bedtime: He grabs the book and smacks me with it.  Words, please come at anytime...

This book is so great.  It's super fun to read, and has all the sounds that little guys and girls like to hear.  There's not much to it.  Here is the entire book:

Llama Llama zip, Llama Llama zoom
Llama Llama Red Pajama vroom vroom vroom
Llama Llama swish! Llama Llama swoosh!
Llama Llama Red Pajama Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh!
Llama Llama Beep!  Llama Llama Bop!
Llama Llama Red Pajama Screech!  Clunk!  Stop!

It's like a song you can't get out of your head, but it hasn't annoyed me...yet.  The only thing that keeps me from giving it a 5 rating is the hard corners.  They hurt.  Okay, not really--it's the price.  At $7 (even at Target, where the check out lady and I had a grand little conversation about all of the Llama Llama books), it seems a little steep for such a tiny book.  But I still bought it as a gift for a vet-friend who is having a baby in the fall.  

Hmm...I hope she doesn't read this, about how I complained about the price of part of her gift!

Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
Rating: 5 stars!

I love this book!  I love this book!  I love this book!

Just had to get that out. 

While we're huge fans of all Anna Dewdney's books, I often shy away from them when I give them as gifts because they are situation-specific.  I mean, do I really want to give Llama Llama Red Pajama to a little 2 year old who might not have issues with the dark?  If my gift develops into a fear, I'm definitely off the guest list for next year's party.  And Llama Llama Misses Mama is a wonderful book about separation anxiety when school starts, but...it's November and the kids we know are mostly from school.  So...

...enter this book!  It's for anyone who celebrates the holidays, especially those who want to focus on the less-fluffy and commercial, more substantial and meaningful reason for Christmas.  It doesn't touch on the Holy Family--so if you're looking for The Christmas Story, this is definitely not it. 

Our little llama hero is having difficulty waiting for Christmas (as a person with little patience, I really empathize) and constantly counts down the days.  He sees fluffy snow, funny elves, and tons of cheap-o gifts during a trip to the mall with his mother.  He bakes and bakes zillions of cookies, does almost as many Christmas-related crafts at school, decorates his house with equal amounts of holiday stuff.  As any little kid--I mean llama--would, he gets overwhelmed and has "HOLIDRAMA!"  Hey, I know that concept!  I've been there! 

In the end, it's a great, gentle reminder, told (as always) in a wonderful way with catchy, rhyming text and super cute illustrations that:

"Sometimes we should take a rest / and hold the ones we love the best. Wishing, waiting, wanting things... / we forget what this time brings. / Gifts are nice, but there's another-- / the true gift is we have each other."

This is one that you should just order 4 or 5 of, just to keep on hand for your holiday giving list. 

Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney

Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney

Rating: 4.5 stars

I should give it a 5 but it has the word "hate" in it.  I know, isn't that so old-fashioned of me? 

Other than that, this is one of my favorite ready-for-school books.  The short, snappy rhymes that made Anna Dewdney's other books so popular and so fantastic are back, and because the text is so quick, it sticks with kids.  I hope this line sticks with Lorelei in a few weeks: "Don't be sad, new little llama! / It's okay to miss your mama, / But don't forget-- / when day is through, / She will come right back to you. / Llama llama, please don't fuss. / Have some fun and play with us!"

After another trip to a park where Lorelei ran over to ask some big kids to play tea party with her (they declined so kindly...whew!), I'm pretty sure she'll be just fine.  But a book like this one, which introduces the whole concept of Mom's-going-to-drop-you-off-at-school-and-leave-you-with-strangers thing has a perfect little dose of "missing" in it.  I am glad for it, because I explain to Lorelei that she'll probably miss me but maybe some other kids will really, really miss their moms, and she can be a good helper and a good friend and try to cheer them up by inviting them to play and stuff.

Fingers crossed.  Three more weeks till school starts, so I'm trying my best not to fret.  But I'm so GOOD at it!

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Rating: 4 stars

I think we're the last ones to find out how fun this book, and the others in the series, is to read.  I saw it at Lorelei's preschool (she starts in just two months!) when we were visiting a few months ago, and it took me a long time to simultaneously remember it and order it up from the library.  Oops.  That happens a lot... 

But when we did order it, Lorelei couldn't get the title out of her head.  Days after we ordered it (together, at the computer) and days before we picked it up, she would walk around the house, reciting "llama llama, red pajama!"  She was SO excited to read it, and that was fun to watch.

But it's a really cute book with awesome pictures (the one of llama llama yelling for his mama makes Ben belly laugh every time) and a very fast rhyme.  I didn't realize how many words rhymed with llama till I read this book! 

I think the only downside, which is only a downside for some parents and their kids out there, is that this book is about being afraid of the dark.  If your child is currently afraid of the dark, I think it's a good book to check out or buy and read, because, of course, llama llama gets to sleep (on his own, and presumably through the night) at the end of the book.  But if your child is not afraid of the dark, like Lorelei wasn't before we read this book, a new complaint might crop up, as it did in our house: All of a sudden, Lorelei realized how dark her room is.  Humph.  So she has a new nightlight (that makes three) in her room, and that works.  For now!

For that reason, we've not checked out Llama Llama Misses Mama.  Yet.  Is it good?  Have you read it?

Another good thing about this book is the idea of "llama drama."  Like the other llama book we read, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, there is a page where Llama Mama scolds her baby, kindly but sternly scolds her: "No more of this llama drama!"  which is a good phrase to have in your back pocket if, by chance, there is a touch of child-caused drama in your house.

And here's a link to a video, not of us, but of another mom and daughter reading the book together.  It's cute and shows you every single illustration (including the funny one of llama llama yelling at the top of his lungs) and every single word of the book.  What a great way to preview a book!  Check it out by clicking here.