​ Duck, Duck, Moose by Joy Heyer. Book review.

This is a delightful picture book about missing a friend. Duck is lonely because goose has gone away for winter. The other animals try to cheer him up by engaging him in games such as duck, duck, pig. However duck does not find this enjoyable nor does he like playing with the fish, snakes, porcupine, or moose. After feeling dejected for a while, duck decides a different game might work and so all the animals engage in hide and seek. On the last page, goose returns.

The book is written in rhyme and it holds quite well throughout. I specially enjoyed the onomatopoeia pages where Jack played with each animal. For example, Ooey, Gooey, Icky, Sticky, Quack, Quack, Quack when he was playing with the pig and the fish sounds were Sploosh, Splash, Blub, Glub.

The pictures alternate between full page colour, double page spreads, and single characters on a page but all are sweet, charming watercolors.

My granddaughter found this book very engaging and loved the humorous bits as well as the emotional moments. Highly recommended.

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Three Hungry Pigs and the Wolf Who Came to Dinner by Charles Santores. Book Review.

The illustrations catch the readers attention by virtue of their realism. The pigs seem as though they could grunt and waddle away at any moment. Each pig is unique and portrays individual personalities through their expressions.

The story goes in an unusual direction. A sow has two piglets on a farm. These are not meat pigs but animals that are trained to find truffles. The mother pig, Bianca, is the best truffle-hunter the farmer has ever seen. She passes her skills on to her piglets. One day, she gives into her  natural urges and eats a truffle instead of giving it to the farmer. The farmer banishes all three to the woods. (In the real world, they would have been butchered and eaten not sent out where they can devour more truffles.) Defenceless in the woods, the pigs are soon found by a huge wolf. Just as he is about to eat the sow, she drops a truffle into his mouth. He is hooked.  When the pigs help him find more truffles, all thoughts of eating them disappear. A pack of wolves surround the pigs but the big wolf drives them away. The wolf stays with the pigs and babysits the piglets while Bianca finds truffles. “And they all lived happily ever after.”

You might want to discuss the ethics of making an animal find food they love and then taking it away from them. Pigs have an innate ability to find truffles but often can’t stop themselves from eating it. Farmers are now using dogs, who take time to train but won’t eat the truffle. Children will want to know what truffles are. Perhaps you could have the child taste them (or a similar mushroom). You could hide a food the children love and see if they can “sniff” it out. Then ask them how they would feel if you took it for yourself.

Wolves are pack animals. When one is alone, it’s usually because something has happened to the pack. Discuss how the pigs and wolf have a mutually beneficial relationship. Let’s not think about winter. Maybe the ground never freezes there.

Bonnie Ferrante: Books For All Ages

Willems, Mo. I’m a Frog! Book Review.

I love Willem’s books. I do, however, find them a bit long for the target reading age. When reading this book to a toddler, one must keep the pace moving in order to complete the 57 pages before they lose interest. This is especially true since most of the page is whitespace and each features a simple, but humorously dramatic, illustration of a pig and an elephant. It is impressive, however, how Willems can portray emotion through such simple lines.

This book introduces the concept of pretending. The pig tells the elephant that he is a frog. The elephant becomes alarmed thinking that he too could turn into a frog without warning. The pig that he is in control and is using his imagination. At the end the elephant pretends to be a cow.

This book would be a great introduction to a game of pretend.

Willems, Mo. There Is a Bird on Your Head! Book Review.

Click here to buy There Is a Bird on Your Head

It is very difficult to find an early reading book that can hold a child’s interest. Mo Willems rivals Dr. Suess in a charming sense of fun. His book does not rhyme, but instead has a single sentence, sometimes a single word, on each page. The vocabulary could be handled by children in early first grade. It is a large book, at 57 pages, but a quick read.

It is the story of an elephant to has an unwanted bird, which expands to be two birds and a nest, on his head. The birds, elephant, and pig are simply drawn but the consternation of the elephant comes across clearly.

The book is laugh out loud funny. There are several moments where children will pause to enjoy the humor. The ending is satisfying and silly. Children will enjoy reading and rereading this book.

This book would be a cute Easter gift or springtime present for the beginning reader.

Highly recommended.

Bonnie Ferrante: Books For All Ages