A New Children’s Book by Temara Moore
Title: “Bloop Bloop!” Goes the Poop
Author: Temara Moore
Illustrations: Brian David Isham
We Dream Publishing – http://www.wedreampublishing.com
Genre: Picture Book, Potty Training
I have to admit, prior to having a toddler of my own, the whole concept of potty training books was something I found ridiculous. Now, as potty training becomes a reality and my own kiddo is showing more and more interest in the toilet (and she already loves books) its making a little more sense.
So my husband and I were pretty excited to sit down with our first training tool. Temara Moore sent me a copy of “Bloop Bloop!” Goes the Poop
We didn’t get very far when trying to read the book to Ayla the first time through. She was so excited about the pictures and the cat that follows the little boy to the bathroom that she stole the book and spent about ten minutes flipping through the pages herself. I don’t have the most patient kid when it comes to story time, but I love that she shows an interest in reading on her own. She loves her books and at nearly 18 months has become a page turning pro.
The second time through was much more successful. We made it all the way through the story with many “Ooohs” from Ayla and emphatic pointing to illustrations she had now familiarized herself with. By the end of the book she was telling me “Bloop Bloop! Bloop Bloop!” I would not be surprised if she had some of the rhymes memorized a few months down the road when her annunciation improves. Thank you, Temara, for our copy of the book. It will be well loved.
Information regarding a book signing and reading from the author to follow at a later date. Be sure to follow this blog for the details!
Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 3/20/12
Unfortunately there’s nothing to report. We’ve read and read and read this week, but each time I picked up a title from the library it was quickly tossed aside by Miss Ayla. Nothing resonated with us. Day after day, she kept bringing me Librarian on the Roof! Its become the household favorite over night. Ayla is very young, so even when she is interested in something it doesn’t guarantee we will make it all the way through the story, but she will sit and flip through the pages of Stephen Gilpin’s illustrations over and over again, and come back to it hour after hour. She loves it.
Even now, as I type this, I had the book in my lap and she had Curious George (which she picked out all on her own, mind you) on the floor, and she just instituted a trade.
Although, she does have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the dust jacket. She is fascinated by it, but doesn’t want it attached to her book. Its a slow painful process teaching a toddler to treat dust jackets with care, but she’s getting the hang of it.
M.G. King and Stephen Gilpin… Well Done! Ayla and I look forward to owning any books you may write and illustrate in the future!
Read My Official Review of Librarian on the Roof
Weekly Low Down on Kids Books – better late than never
How Do You Hug A Porcupine by Laurie Isop
I love this one, and so did Ayla, but I must admit that I’m a little nervous about insinuating that the practice of hugging porcupines is acceptable at all! It reminds me of Dora the Explorer having picnics with snakes and bears. Possibly a silly concern, but that’s what pops up in my head nonetheless. We read this several times this last week.
The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle
Eric Carle is always a good read, as I’ve said in the past, I love his illustrations and so does the kiddo (who doesn’t?). This particular book is especially neat because Carle gives tribute to the idea being inspired by the kids he has visited in the past. I thought that was a nice touch.
I Am The Biggest Thing In the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
Our absolute favorite this week! We read this over and over again and plan to purchase a copy first chance we get. Its always great (even if a little shocking) when a kids book surprises even the adults in the room, every time, without fail.
How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends by Jane Yolen
We’re on a mission to collect all the Jane Yolen dinosaur books, so imagine my excitement when I came across this one at a school carnival! Of course, we both adored it, but Ayla still prefers the bedtime one best. Because she’s familiar? Or because its better? I don’t know.
Lullaby and Goodnight by Jill Ackerman
Ayla discovered this at Half Price Books and just had to have it. We bought it, brought it home, and she’s gone to bed with it every night since then. She loves the light up moon feature, and rocks back and forth to the song. If we tell her to ‘push the star’ she gets so excited, knowing it will start the song again.
The Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 2/12/12
Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book
So fun and clever, Ayla and I both enjoyed this one. As a parent, the only thing I didn’t like was that Beverly wasn’t responsible for paying her late fee dues. But overall Beverly is a fun little friend to have and I hope that one day Ayla can be a part of her very own book club.
Beverly Billingsly Can’t Catch
I saw at the library that Beverly was a reoccurring character in a series so I couldn’t resist grabbing both. Full of life lessons and the importance of doing research and practicing to achieve your goals, Alexander Stadler is quickly becoming an author I plan to keep around the house for years to come.
Memoirs of a Goldfish
If Ayla and I were forced to choose a favorite this week, this one would win. Full of fabulous illustrations, Ayla made me read this over and over. We actually skipped over other books we had in our library bag this week because we both like this so much. Fun life lesson and fabulous illustrations!
Can You See A Little Bear?
Ayla liked this one ok, but this was truly more my choice than hers. The story is sweet and the illustrations are beautifully whimsical. I highly recommend this book for bed time or nap times. Its very soothing for both parent and child.
Mice Squeak, We Speak
Tomie dePaola has been hailed as the go to picture book illustrator for years and years. I remember enjoying her work as a child, but it wasn’t until I read this to my own daughter that I realized how wonderful dePaola truly was. Ayla squealed and squealed, pointed at all the bright colors and at the end of the book demanded “more.” We may choose Memoirs of a Goldfish together, but if Ayla’s vote were THE vote, it would be Mice Squeak, We Speak every time this week.
Little Monster Friends
Title: My Friend the Monster
Author: Eleanor Taylor
Publisher:BloomsburyChildren’s Book
Genre: Children’s Picture Books
February 1st was the “practice run” and kick off for a weekly gathering at Half Price Books in Humble, a gathering of infants to six year olds for story time. An informal endeavor, I chose a handful of books to read off the cuff and my niece, age eleven, alternated reading aloud with me from her own selections. We tried to pick a little bit of something for everyone, as we had twelve kids there of all ages, both boys and girls. We read from puppet board books, several picture books, a few shiny foil books – but the greatest success was My Friend the Monster by Eleanor Taylor.
My Friend the Monster is the story of a little boy (fox, actually) who moves to a new house and discovers a monster living under his bed. The monster, a large one eyed fuzzy creature is a big old scaredy-cat, and it’s up to Louis the child fox to teach him to be brave and confident.
The pictures are detailed and remind me of something from Highlights for Kids magazine (ie: Richard Scarry). Although the kids were well behaved and sat for all the stories, this one in particular had them leaning in to see the pictures, touching my knee to get a closer look. The story kept them completely riveted and entertained, with only one interruption from a small girl who asked, “Why does the Monster only have one eye?” To which I replied, “Because he’s a monster with one eye. I’m sorry I don’t have a better explanation than that.” She just nodded her head and we continued on with the adventure of Louis and his Monster.
I had flipped through this particular book the day before when I visited the store to get a feel for which books I might choose and make sure my daughter, only 15 months, would be familiar enough to follow directions the next day. Ironically, the page I thought would give me the most trouble while reading to the kiddos was the page that was the biggest success for the entire reading. It was the page where Louis takes Monster to the park for the first time and shows everyone the way… the sentences dance in circles around various images of Louis and his monster along the path. I thought the children would get lost, not being able to see the pictures well enough; they might start to fidget or look away and forget what was happening in the story. Instead, this was the moment I found them leaning in the most, nearly crawling into the rocking chair with me to see Monster and Louis on their merry adventure.
Of course, this convinced me that I had to have this book for Ayla, so as soon as story time was over, I bought a copy. If you’re a book toting mom, I highly recommend heading to the Half Price Books nearest you and grabbing up a copy if you can get your hands on it!
Also, if you’re in the Woodlands/Humble/Atascocita/Kingwood area and you have small children during the day, feel free to come to the Humble Half Price Books at 10:30 am on Wednesdays. I’ll be reading a few books every week as long as we can keep the children sitting (mostly) on their bottoms with bookstore level voices. I hope to make many new, little friends, and hope that all our Monsters can be as pleasant as Louis’.
The Weekly Low Down on Kids Books 1/18/12
Come Back, Cat
How to love a cat: Hold him gently in your lap. But don’t panic if he bites – he’s only playing. Be careful not scare him away. Listen for his ‘motor.’ He’s telling you he loves you, too.
Nodset writes a simple and easy to understand story of trial and error as a little girl chases the cat she wants to play with and how he react. She presents a very basic and child-like dilemma: “I like you cat. Why don’t you come? Don’t you like me?” with answers the child can derive from the next step and the illustrations “Then I’ll come to you, cat.” Throughout the book, you learn to pet softly, don’t squeeze too hard and a number of useful lessons for a soon to be young pet owner. Ayla loved pointing out where the cat was on the page, and of course, my meow sounds.
The Night Pirates
I love this one! And Ayla thought it was pretty great too, which is always a plus. Reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are, Tom goes to sleep only to be bombarded by girl pirates and taken away to a treasure island via his floating house. Its pretty awesome and the illustrations are fun and colorful.
Pooh Loves
Ayla is a sucker for all things Pooh, even though I didn’t really introduce her to him. She picked out a Winnie the Pooh book on the first shopping trip to a bookstore we had together after she was walking and I allowed her to pick stuff up off the shelf. She handed it to me and was very excited to get to take it out of the store with her. Then, this Pooh book she picked out at the library all by herself as well. There’s something about Pooh, forever and always, and this one is exceptionally sweet.
The Lion and The Mouse
This is one we’re going to have try another time. It’s all pictures and no words, but it’s a picture book and not a board book. Ayla kept demanding that I read to her, but I had to kind of just tell her a story. The illustrations are based off of Aesop’s Fables and it’s been too long since I’ve read them to recite the tale. If you pick this up, be familiar with the tale so that you’re prepared to help walk your kid/baby through the book. Your kid makes you feel like a pretty crappy parent when they open a book and all you can say is “Uhhh, that’s a lion…”
Anakalian Whims 