Global Babies, by the Global Fund for Children

The Global Fund for Children. Global Babies. Charlesbridge, 2007. 18 pages. $6.95, ISBN 978-1580891745

AGE LEVEL
0-12 months

GENRE
Board Book

REVIEW
This board book contains photos of babies of both genders and several races from around the world.  Infants will enjoy looking at these colorful and clear images of the faces and torsos of other infants in interesting outfits particular to countries such as South Africa, Guatemala, Greenland, Afghanistan, the U.S.A., and several others.  The backgrounds of the images of the babies are various bright colors such as red, blue, deep pink, yellow, and others.  The babies' faces show a range of expressions.  The text of the book, with only a few words on each page, is: "Wherever they live, wherever they go, whatever they wear, whatever they feel, babies everywhere, are beautiful, special, and loved."  For its simplicity and high visual interest, this is a great book for infants 0-12 months old to enjoy.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
If available, read a picture book-size edition of this book aloud at infant storytime, and pair with the following face rhyme:

          EYES, NOSE, CHEEKY CHEEKY CHIN

          (Touch baby's facial features as you sing to the 
          tune of "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah".)

          Eyes , nose, cheeky cheeky chin,
          Eyes , nose, cheeky cheeky chin,
          Eyes , nose, cheeky cheeky chin,
          Cheeky cheeky chin, nose, eyes.

So Mary Circles, So Many Squares, by Tana Hoban

Hoban, Tana. So Many Circles, So Many Squares. Greenwillow Books, 1998.  40 pages. $15.00, ISBN 0-688-15165-5

AGE LEVEL
0 -12 months

GENRE
Nonfiction (Shapes)

REVIEW
Even the youngest children will enjoy this book of photographs showing examples of geometric shapes in everyday life.  This wordless book shows mainly urban, but also a few natural scenes.  There are photographs of circular-shaped objects such as bicycle tires, buttons, and streetlights, and square-shaped objects such as street signs, luggage, and boxes.  All of the images are large, bright, clear, and colorful -- and very natural, including mud stains on a car, crumbs on a table, etc.  Children will have fun finding as many of each shape as possible in these scenes which will be familiar in most of their daily lives.  A great book for infants simply to enjoy, and for older children to start laying the foundation for developing the reading readiness skill of letter knowledge through shape recognition.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
Here are a couple songs to accompany this book during infant or toddler storytime:

          SUZY CIRCLE 

          I'm Suzy Circle.
          I'm happy as can be.
          I go round and round.
          Can you draw me?


          THE SQUARE SONG

          I am a square, a lovely square.
          I have four sides; they're all the same.
          I have four corners, four lovely corners.
          I am a square, that is my name!

Leading to Reading Web Site, by Reading is Fundamental, Inc.

Reading is Fundamental, Inc. (n.d.). Leading to Reading [Web site]. http://www.rif.org/kids/leadingtoreading/

AGE LEVEL
0 through 4 year-olds

GENRE
Web site

REVIEW
RIF’s Leading to Reading Web site is quite comprehensive, containing content appropriate for 0-2 year olds and 3-5 year olds in two distinctly labeled areas. The “Babies and Toddlers” area contains numerous stories which a narrator reads aloud while each word is highlighted in turn and background music is included.  It also contains lullabies sung with musical background, well-designed interactive games, clear demonstrations of fingerplays, and nursery rhymes read aloud. The “Preschoolers” section contains more stories, animated songs, interactive games, a drawing area, and short videos and facts about various animals. All links on the site are clearly labeled with pictures and sound to help young children navigate to the various activities. The narrators of the stories exhibit an excitement about reading, and the performers of the fingerplays are animated. Even the voices which announce the links when one mouses over them are upbeat. The Web site also includes a section where parents can learn about how to read to their children and related topics. This exemplary site is very highly recommended.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
This site could be included on a library pathfinder of reading readiness resources.

Kittens, by Fiona Watt

Watt, Fiona. Kittens (Usborne Touchy Feely Books). Illustrated by Rachel Wells. Usborne, 2002. 12 pages. $10.95, ISBN 0-7945-0099-4

AGE LEVEL
0-12 months

GENRE
Board Book

REVIEW 
Babies will love touching the fur of the kittens on this book's thick, infant-friendly pages.  Beyond the textures, however, there is actually also a subtle message about the uniqueness of each individual.  Each two-page spread starts off with a statement on the left panel about something that "most" kittens like to do, such as "Most kittens like to play" or "Most kittens like to pounce".  The illustrations on this panel show kittens engaged in the mentioned activity.  The right side of each panel, however, always includes one kitten who is not engaged in the activity, or who has tried the activity with somewhat unsuccessful results.  The text on this right panel always notes "...but not this one".  The repetitive structure of the book will be enjoyable to babies.  The only major drawback to the book is that the textures of objects such as kitten's ears, tongues, noses, and other items are not very realistic.  This will likely not detract from babies' enjoyment, however.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
As this is a larger board book, it could be read aloud during infant storytime and then passed around for each baby to enjoy individually during the post-storytime free exploration period.  A great hand rhyme to pair with this book is:

          SOFT KITTY

           (This is a good rhyme for modeling to babies how to touch gently. 
           Parents/caretakers should stroke their baby's hand as if stroking a cat.)

          Soft kitty, warm kitty,
          Little ball of fur;  
          Lazy kitty, pretty kitty,
          Purr, purr, purr.

Faces, by Shelley Rotner & Ken Kreisler

Rotner, Shelley and Kreisler, Ken. Faces. Illustrated by Rotner, Shelley. MacMillan, 1994. 32 pages. $14.95, ISBN 0-02-777887-8

AGE LEVEL
0-12 months

GENRE
Nonfiction (Face Perception)

REVIEW
Babies, and toddlers as well, will enjoy poring over the many children's faces in this book.  Young children of various ages, races, and ethnicities, as well as of both genders, are shown in full-color photographs which fill most of each page.  In roughly the first half of the book are photos of the complete faces of one or two children each, accompanied by minimal text describing their faces or explaining what these faces are doing: "friendly faces", "funny faces", "faces talking", and "faces sleeping", for example.  In the second half of the book, there are more photos of complete faces, but there are also photos of parts of faces, such as mouths, eyes,ears, and noses.  This progression from complete faces to their components is very appropriate for the book's young audience, and should reinforce their understanding of the relationship between a whole and its parts. Another positive aspect of the book is the authors' statement that faces (and by implication, people), are "All different, each special in its own way".  A great book for the youngest children to enjoy, and learn from along the way. 

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
During infant storytime, this book could be paired with the following face rhyme.

          TWO LITTLE EYES

          (Instruct parents/caretakers to touch their baby's facial features as they say 
          the rhyme.)

          Two little eyes to look around.
          Two little ears to hear each sound.
          One little nose to smell what's sweet.
          And one little mouth that likes to eat.

What's on My Head?, by Margaret Miller

Miller, Margaret. What's on My Head? Little Simon, 1998. 14 pages. $4.99, ISBN 978-1416989950

AGE LEVEL
0-12 months

GENRE
Board Book

REVIEW
In its clear and interesting images and age-appropriate sparse text, Margaret Miller's What’s on My Head? shows once again why she is considered a master of the board book format.  The book's twelve pages are composed of two-page spreads consisting of a baby with a hat or other item on his or her head on the right panel and a description of this item on the left panel, e.g., “fancy hat”, “fire hat”, “pretty bow”, etc. The placement of items such as stuffed animals and a rubber ducky on some of the children’s heads adds humor. The close-up images show detail, but not so much that they will overwhelm infants’ eyes.  The large-font text and repetitive pattern would make this book a good choice for older children who are beginning to read as well.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
A picture book version of this book could be used successfully in lapsit or toddler storytime.

Together, by Hazel Hutchins & Alice Priestley

Hutchins, Hazel. Together. Illustrated by Alice Priestley. Annick Press, 2009. 22 pages. $19.95, ISBN 978-1-55451-208-9

AGE LEVEL
0-12 months

GENRE
Picture book

REVIEW
What first grabs one about this book are its gorgeous illustrations.  Created digitally, the illustrations appear to be composed of watercolor images overlaid with sketched lines of colored pencil, a combination which makes every image appear beautifully multi-tonal.  The spare and repetitive text, consisting of a series of patterned questions and one word responses, is perfect for the youngest listeners.  Each question concerns the function of items such as buttons, shoelaces, clips, and other things which hold or fasten clothing together in some way.  The book ends with another depiction of the concept of  “together”: a hug between family members, assuring young children of the continuing love of their parents and grandparents in the midst of their growing independence in dressing themselves and in other areas of life.  The representation of a wide range of ethnicities and races in the book, as well as families of varying compositions and caregivers of varying ages, broadens even more the appeal of this highly enjoyable book.  

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
Ask children who they like to spend time with, and they can then draw a picture of themselves with this person.

The Odd Egg, by Emily Gravett

Gravett, Emily. The Odd Egg. Illustrated by Emily Gravett. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009. 32 pages. $15.99, ISBN 978-1-4169-6872-6

AGE LEVEL
0-12 months

GENRE
Picture Book

REVIEW

Duck is the only bird who hasn’t laid an egg, and thus finds one three times his size and proudly sits on it, despite the ridicule of his fellow avians.  On pages of successively increasing length (a format which will add interest for toddlers), we see the hatching of all the eggs except Duck’s.  Unperturbed, he continues to wait and knits, just as unsuspecting as the other birds of the impending dramatic arrival of his egg’s unexpected occupant.  This book, with its few words, endearingly sketched and water-colored characters, and large dose of humor, is perfect for the very youngest of listeners and viewers.  It is well-paced, and despite a conclusion which could be considered a tiny bit abrupt, is recommended.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING
This book is perfect for a baby or toddler storytime.