Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?, written by Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle, is a current family favorite. I was first introduced to this series when I was seven years old and my two-year-old sister got the original Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? book for Christmas. Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? is probably my favorite of the series. I like baby animals, so it was an immediate win there. I also like the fact that this one is all animals (no humans). Emma and Johnny both love this book, and Emma had it memorized within a day or two.
David A. Carter’s Woof! Woof! makes clever use of shapes and was an instant hit with both kids. We all like the texture of the cut-outs on the pages, and Emma enjoys guessing what each shape is going to be. I’m currently loving minimal-word-count books, because Emma memorizes them almost immediately and “reads” them to Johnny (and herself) over and over.
We borrowed Hop! Plop!, written by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Tali Klein and illustrated by Oliver Dunrea, after seeing the Infant Bibliophile’s review. Emma loves this book, and reads it several times each day. Johnny enjoys the book’s use of onomatopoeias, and I like the way these two friends find a way to play together in spite of their size difference.
Sherman the Sheep, written by Kevin Kiser and illustrated by Rowan Barnes-Murphy, is a clever tale about how, while the grass may seem greener on the other side, you’ll probably be happiest where you already are. I’m pretty sure my kids missed the message (possibly because young children seem to naturally be happy with what they have), but they enjoy the pictures of the sheep and the places the sheep go.
See more children’s book reviews from this week at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
I linked to this post in my BBAW kick-off post today :)
These all look great! We love Eric Carle books but haven't got the Baby Bear one so will look out for that and the others you've shared. :)
We are huge fans of Brown Bear, Brown Bear. My daughters' preschool teacher also reads this and they have it memorized. It's pretty cute to see them sit down with the book and "read" aloud.
There's a Brown Bear Brown Bear/Polar Bear Polar Bear board game! My neighbour got it for us, and my three-year-olds love it (although their grandfather cheats!).
I haven't seen Baby Bear Baby Bear What Do You See in years! I am definately going to have to look for it. Thank you for reminding me about that book!
Oooh new books to get from the library. Thanks for you reviews!
What a fun story theme! At the moment, my girls are enjoying "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake". Great suggestions here!
These sound like great books and I read the Brown Bear book at school to my two year olds…they LOVE it!! :)
We just love all the "Bear" books by Bill Martin Jr. too! And I love that Emma memorizes her books and then reads them – very cute! I'm interested in Hop! Plop! – sounds like it would be right up M's alley. Thanks for all the suggestions!
I'm glad you liked Hop! Plop! too. Kevin was really big on the "Boom Bop" line. He'd probably enjoy it even more now that we go to the playground every day. "Woof Woof" looks like we'd like it. We'll have to check it out sometime. We moved further from the library, so I get there less often these days.
Hey – you just HAVE to link this post to my new reading linky :) Your book suggestions are awesome – I have never heard of the last 3 books on your list. I'll make sure to keep an eye for them in the library.
I left my comment in the wrong post, however, thank you for these suggestions!
I am looking forward to getting them from our library.