Animals abound

Here are some fun animal-themed books we've been reading this week. Most I'd recommend for children slightly older than our little guy (so maybe 2 years+):

Pssst! (Hardcover), by Adam Rex. I saw this recommended on another blog (thanks to Google Reader's search function, I was able to figure out that it was on Mother Reader's blog post here). I thought it sounded hilarious, but probably too young for our little reader, so I got it from the library mostly for my own curiosity/enjoyment. The story is about a girl visiting the zoo and being cajoled by some clever animals (ala Goodnight Gorilla!) to get them various items. The illustrations are interesting, alternating between a comic book sort of style and another style that I'm having a tough time deciding how to describe. Amazon.com's cited editorial reviews call them "droll, ultra detailed pantings," with a "surreal, expect-anything feel" and "tight six-panel comics, relaxing into airy spreads as the girl meanders along zoo paths." All of those sound like accurate descriptions. The book builds to a humorous conclusion that ties together the collection of items that the girl has been requested to gather.

Excerpt:

"Over here./Oh. Hi./What's up?/Not much. Great. Listen. Could you get me a new tire?/Why do you need a new tire? My swing broke. See? Oh./ Well...I guess so./Great. Get two just in case."

Bookworm's interest at 16 months: In a way I was right that this is too old for him, but I decided to just try to read through it at his level - not catching all of the text, but pointing out the animals, explaining the items that they were requesting, and showing him how it all ties together at the end. At that level, he loved this, and we read it many, many times. And it taught him what a "baboon" is (like "bus," "blueberry," and 30 other words, it is pronounced as "buh! buh!").

We got these next two for the Weekly Unplugged "water" theme last week, but we never really ended up doing a post-worthy companion activity

Into The A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet Book (Hardcover), by Deborah Lee Rose. This large ocean-themed alphabet book is full of vibrant illustrations of sea life.

Excerpt:

"Swim the ocean waves with me and dive into the A, B, Sea / where Anemones sting"

Bookworm's interest at 16 months: He won't sit through this at all. I'm not sure why. I'd suggest it for a slightly older child, or a lover of sea creatures. It does seem like the type of book that a child of any age would enjoy thumbing through and pointing at the images in.

Parent's Peeve: The alphabet letters featured on each page are barely any bigger than the text of the animal, so it doesn't make the fact that it is an alphabet book stand out. I'm not sure, but I think our reader might have been more interested if he recognized the familiar A, B, C pattern.

The Water Hole (Hardcover), by Graeme Base. This environmentally-conscious book is full of bright, richly detailed forest images (much like the cover). The story revolves around a "water hole" that different animals drink from in turn. As the story progresses, the water diminishes, as evidenced by a unique cutout feature in the book of increasingly smaller ovals as the water hole shrinks. It is a nice choice for those looking for stories about water conservation or general environmental responsibility.

Excerpt:

"3 Three Toucans squawking around the water hole. 'Ark, ark! Arrrk!' (It's party time, fellas! Drink up!) But something was happening.

Bookworm's interest at 16 months: He is too young to follow the story or sit through the text in its entirety, but he did enjoy looking through the book a few times and pointing to various animals. The panda bears seemed to be his favorite. There is apparently also a board book available, but the amazon.com reviews seemed to heavily recommend the full version instead, so we opted for that.

Parent's Peeve: The parenthetical interpretations of the animal noises on each page (for instance, the tigers' "Grrrrrr!" is interpreted as "Goodness Gracious, how very delectable!") seem a bit unnecessary.

And these we read awhile back, but I didn't post them because our bookworm was too young for them. I'll share them anyway, though, for those of you with older children. These are really fun books. (You can find our review of Krosoczka's Bubblebath Pirates, which our little one LOVES, here).

Punk Farm (Hardcover), by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. A clever book (especially well-suited for a music-loving mom and Dad or their bibliophile), Punk Farm follows a secret band of farm animals as they rehearse for a concert. We gave it a try because Krosoczka's "Bubblebath Pirates" was such an instant hit.

Bookworm's interest at 14 months: He was too young for Punk Farm. I look forward to reading this one again in another year.

Punk Farm on Tour (Hardcover), by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. A sequel to Punk Farm, Punk Farm on Tour follows the band as they hit the road.

Bookworm's interest at 14 months: He wasn't ready for this one either, but we'll try it again someday.

I realized we have quite a few other "animal" books we've read and not yet posted here, so I'll catch up with a few more another day. What books are your little ones enjoying this week?

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