Posts Tagged: basic concepts

preschool / toddlers — No Comments
31
Jan 10

REVIEW: Ferdinand Uses the Potty by Jay Tucker and D.E. West

Ferdinand Uses the Potty Jay Tucker and DE WestNow that the preschooler knows that the postman brings goodies for him, I let him open up the parcel containing this book for review.

He was really excited (although he pointed out that the parcel didn’t have his name on it!) and LOVED the book cover, which was in his favourite purple :-)

He immediately clambered onto my lap and ordered Mummy to: “READ!!!”. Well, Mummy (who’s very particular about fonts) loves the handwriting-styled font the author and illustrator chose.

The race car in Ferdinand’s dream bubble scored another point with the boy and I could read through the story easily as “Ferdinand Uses the Potty” is written in a simple rhyming scheme.

Since the boy is toilet trained for the day, he can identify with the toilet, the word “pee pee” and having a tummy ache. However, the language used was slightly above his age level and also, the lack of descriptive words had him slightly puzzled…

Nevertheless, the storyline kept him hooked to the book from start to the end. For this, I think the author and illustator have down an excellent job.

At the end of the story, the boy turned to me and we had this conversation,

“What happened to the frog?”

“He went to pee.”

“Where? In the toilet? Show me…”

I showed him the page where the frog leaps up high above the toilet but it’s clear neither of us could see the frog doing the deed.

Because I’d found “The Potty Book for Boys by Allysa Satin Capucilli and Dorothy Scott useful for his potty training, perhaps the team may want to make it a bit more obvious what Ferdinand the frog is doing in the toilet?

“Ferdinand Uses the Potty” has bright and colourful illustrations with a flowing storyline – check out the book yourself hereif you’re in the process of toilet training a preschooler :-)

babies / preschool / toddlers — No Comments
22
Jul 09

REVIEW: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

goodnight-moon-margaret-wise-brownI was delighted to find this book among the shelves of the library especially as I’ve been seeing it at Borders bookshop since God knows when!

It costs a whopping RM35 I couldn’t bear to buy the book even though it’s a classic. Reading this book with my toddler, I know understand why this book, which was first published in 1947 is still a nursery favourite :-)

The book starts with a little rabbit getting ready for bed in his room. Another rabbit, his mother, sits in a rocking chair at another end of the room.

I think the little rabbit is trying to delay bedtime as long as he can because he goes about wishing “good night” to practically everything in his room!

From the moon, a red balloon, a mouse, a pair of mittens, kittens, socks, telephone, a picture of the cow jumping over the moon etc, the little rabbit is trying to think of everything he could wish good night too until his Mother says “hush!”.

Finally, the little rabbit ends his “good night” routine and falls asleep.

Reading the book together (and he demanded a second and third reading), I noted:
- the objects a toddler would be familiar with,
- the easy rhyme throughout the book and I wasn’t even tired of saying, “good night” again and again LOL,
- the brightly contrasting illustrations (by Clement Hurd) and
- the interspersing of black and white illustrations in between the coloured plates. Interesting!

“Good night Moon” definitely held my toddler’s attention from the beginning till the end. After the third reading, he could even repeat some of the lines himself.

A few days later, he even started his own “good night” routine, which went:
- Good night, TV
- Good night, computer
- Good night, player (DVD player)
- Good night, another player (satellite TV)
- Good night, scooter
- Good night, air-cond
- Good night, clock

Listening to his litany, I think our apartment needs a bit more nature because it certainly sounds like a mini electronic city in here!!!

“Good night Moon” is such an easy and delightful book with a simple storyline, I believe that you could even read it aloud to babies. The book is available in French, Spanish, Hebrew and Hmong (Vietnamese). I’m loving Ms. Margaret Wise Brown a lot :-)

Rating: ★★★★★

# Publisher: HarperFestival (August 2, 1991)
# ISBN-10: 0694003611
# ISBN-13: 978-0694003617

Buy books by Margaret Wise Brown on Amazon:

picture book / preschool / toddlers — No Comments
6
Mar 09

REVIEW: Paddington’s ABC 123 Colors and Opposites

paddingtons-abc-123-colors-opposites

Browsing through the Popular bookstore one afternoon, I was delighted to find this set of 4 books in a cute, cardboard suitcase.

I’ve never read the Paddington Bear series (until I had a child) but was immediately attracted by the bear in his big, floppy hat.

Although the suitcase was a bit scuffed and dog-eared, the hardcover books inside were intact.

Most importantly, the knowledge in the books is protected :-)

I’ve seen MANY, MANY preschool books on the ABC, 123, Colors and Opposites but Michael Bond and John Lobban present them in an interesting, fun and relevant way which makes this set one of toddler’s favourites until now!

Each book has 1-2 pages specifically dedicated to only one letter, number, colour or opposite and the illustrations are active, vivid yet simple (and detailed) enough to hold on to the toddler’s or preschooler’s interest.

Also, a simple activity for the child to reinforce what he or she has just learned is found at the end of every book.

ABC and 123- The twenty six letters of the alphabet are presented in the order of Paddington bear “spends a busy day” e.g. A – apple, B – boots, C – camera, D – ducks, E – egg, F – fence (peeping through his irate neighbour’s fence!).

My Chinese mum didn’t like “G for Ghost” at all because the Chinese really, really prefer to keep the dead away from those who are alive.

“123″ sees Paddington out on the beach, at an aquarium or doing fun stuff like holding a cluster of balloons or colouring with crayons on a giant piece of paper. Fun!!!

Colors - This is an ingenious book because the child learns about colours as Paddington goes about doing housework and redecorating his house e.g. doing laundry, covering the furniture with sheets before he paints the walls etc!

Also, I love how the concept of mixing colours is shown e.g. washing a red bedspread with a white sheet resulted in pink sheets LOL

In the end, the child gets to see the entire house in all its colourful glory (albeit gawdy) and refresh their memory by identifying the colourful paw prints and shades of the rainbow.

Opposites is another great book, which is how my son learned opposites so quickly. Again, each concept is related to a child’s world:

  • “on” and “off” a swing,
  • “big” and “small” hats,
  • “neat” and “messy” kitchens during a baking session,
  • “happy” and “sad” faces from Paddington’s drawing and
  • “straight” and “crooked” from a man’s mowing and Paddington’s mowing respectively.

For the price of RM35.90 (RM9.00 each), it’s a really valuable set, which I’d love to sell if I ever opened a children’s bookstore!

Author: Michael Bond
Illustrator: John Lobban

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