PICTURE BOOK - FLAP BOOK/BOARD BOOK: Hello World: A Celebration of Languages and Curiosities by Jonathan Litton

originally published in 2016 in Great Britain by Caterpillar Books
USA publication 2016 by 360 Degrees, Tiger Tales

20.99

18 pgs - 9 thick cardboard 10 3/8 x 12 3/4 inches with hundreds of flaps to open

Goodreads rating: 4.44 - 16 ratings

My rating:  5, it was fun, informative, and creative

Endpapers none

Illustrations: Large maps of continents

My comments:  Wonderful, creative, kid-friendly flap book.  Say hello in lots (and LOTS) of languages of the world, with pronunciation and world location on large, double-page spreads.  An Atlas and Language book combined!   A lift-the-flap book for all ages.

Goodreads:  Learn to greet people around the globe in this interactive atlas of hellos. With more than 150 languages, flaps to guide you through pronunciations, and features on hieroglyphs, sign languages, and different writing systems, a world of exploration is at your fingertips.

BOARD BOOK - Llama Llama Hoppity-Hop by Anna Dewdney

Illustrated by the author

2012 Viking/Penguin Young Readers

$5.99 - 7 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.89 - 441 ratings

My rating: 5 stars

My comments:  I've not read many board books in my time, and I read this one during our Baby Time at the library this week.  It's absolutely delightful!  Rhyme and rhythm.  Easy actions that kids can do as they read along (hop, jump, thump, touch, tap, clap, stretch, bow and hug!) Perfect.  Simple, sweet, and oh-so-rhythmic. Gotta find some more Llama Llama books!

Goodreads:
Llama Llama TOUCH!
Llama Llama TAP!
Llama Llama Red Pajama
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP!

Can you move like Llama Llama? Watch Llama hop, stretch, touch, and tap in this third board book by Anna Dewdney. Then you can do it, too!

BOARD BOOK - Mommies Say Shhh! by Patricia Polacco

Illustrated by the author

2005 Philomel Books, Penguin
Board Book, $6.99

17 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.8 - 264 ratings

My rating: 4

My comments:  Yippee, a Patricia Polacco board book!  My favorite (though 'wordy') picture book writer has a book for little ones!  This 17-page board book,shows one family on their farm with all sorts of animals and is primarily written to show the sounds they make.  (I've never seen dogs who say, "buff, buff, buff," but if you don't like that you can use your own woofs or arfs.)  There are a lot of fun things happening on each two-page spread, and you can even hunt for the different family members as you proceed from page to page.  Fun!

Goodreads:  Goats say “maa-maa-maa.” Birds say “cheep-cheep-cheep.” Horses say “neigh-neigh-neigh.” Rabbits say nothing at all! But when all of these animals get together and raise a honking, braying, neighing ruckus, what does Mama say? “Shhhhhh!” Now available in this adorable board book, Patricia Polacco’s fun-filled collection of animal sounds and beautiful rural landscapes is a perfect readaloud for beginning readers. They’ll want more-more-more.

Board Books

Since I've been preparing to present "Baby Time" at the Library, I've taken a closer look at the board books that are available for babies.  These seem to circulate at the library a LOT!!!  I've always had a few of my own favorites, but think I'll try to take a little closer look for awhile.....

Dewdney, Anna - Llama Llama Hoppity-Hop (a rhyming, rhythmic book about movement...clapping, hopping, hugging, etc.)

Man-Kong - Lucky New Year (a pop-up, twirl around, hands-on board book that teaches about the Chinese New Year)

Meyers, Kevin & Haily - All Aboard!  National Parks (a great gift for a new baby that either lives near a national park or has parents that are hikers and explorers.  Parks included:  Acadia, Great Smoky Mountain, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Yellowstone...

Polacco, Patricia - Mommies Say Shhh! (a farm animal book with all their sounds and a large family of kids to watch)

Schwartz, Betty - What Makes a Rainbow? (ribbons are included and change as each page is turned...Ella's favorite book when she was 3)

BOARD BOOK - All Aboard! National Parks by Devin & Haily Meyers

Illustrated by Haily Meyers

2016 Gibbs Smith

$9.99 board book

11 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.04 - 45 ratings

My rating: 4

Illustrations - Love the colors, errors (see below), but I like them otherwise

My comments:  I don't usually write any kind of review for board books, but I've found a couple today that take exception to that.  I love anything to do with national parks, and that there's a BOARD BOOK for little ones about them is more-than-super.  The colors are great and the illustrations are fun. Although the text is particularly sparse (it is a board book after all), the verbs used are wonderful.... savoring.... marveling at..... surveying.... experiencing.... peering over.....
          There's a map at the end with the locations of the nine parks notated.  Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountain, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Zion, Grand Canyon, Olympic, and Yosemite.
          I have two beefs with the illustrations, both of which tend to drive me crazy.  The first - when saguaro cacti are shown where they should not be!  There's not a single saguaro cacti at Grand Canyon National Park.  The closest one can be found in the Sonoran Desert, much to the south.  Secondly, there's a puffin denoting Acadia National Park.  Although I'm sure there are lots of puffins way out on the far outer islands of Maine, you will definitely not see one at Acadia National Park (I lived there for 30 years, so I know that for a fact). It does make me wonder if there are other misrepresentations for other parks in the book.  I know this is probably insignificant for most people, but I do wish it had been researched a little better!

Goodreads:  From the creators of BabyLit®: Every area of the world can be mapped out for adventure, and brilliant babies love the sophistication of traveling by train.
          This new board book series written by the husband and wife team of Haily and Kevin Meyers and illustrated by Haily, celebrates the unique qualities of each city while employing a fun primer element to tell the story. These books will have you and baby seeing the world by train and will turn story time into a globetrotting event. Perfect as a souvenir or as part of a geography collection for brilliant babies, the All Aboard! series will be pulling into your station next!

BOARD BOOK - Lucky New Year! - Mary Man-Kong

Illustrated by Chi Chung
Golden Books, 2008
$9.99
6 double-page board book spreads

Pop-up, flip books are really quite fascinating. This one's cool, telling a little abouot the Chinese New Year - this year beginning on Feb. 14th with festivities running for fifteen days.

Calligraphy for gung hay fat choy, a wheel that you can turn to match yourb irth year with the animal year, a broom to sweep back and forth, an orange to sniff'n smell, dim sum containers to open, choptsicks to maneuver, "hong baos" envelope to open, dragon eyes to open and close and a big pop dragon as the finale. Lots of information for little ones about some of the traditions that are part of the Chinese New Year.

Lots of fun. If I could afford to start a pop-up collection, this would be included.

What Makes a Rainbow? - Betty Schwartz

A Magic Ribbon Book
Illustrated by Dona Turner
Piggy Toes Press, Atlanta, 2000
$8.95
Board Book
Ages 3 and up

When I asked Ella what her favorite book was, she ran to her crowded book shelves and pulled out this book. And what a cool book it is!

When Little Rabbit assked his Mama, "What makes a rainbow?" she told Little Rabbit to ask some of his friends. As each page is turned, another satin ribbon is pulled across the page underneath the previous one. So Ladybug loves red, then Fox loves orange, Little chick loves yellow, Grasshopper loves green, Bluebird loves blue and Butterfly loves purple. Just add the sun, and you get the whole rainbow!

The whole ribbon concept is particularly cool, and the giant pop-up rainbow and sun at the last page turn is wonderful. Clever, clever, clever. Nice repetition and rhythm, short and interesting. Perfect for MY little three-year-old!