Three Books I Recommend for Young Children

These are three books my two year old son likes, especially 'Mud is Cake', and here are three short reviews about them.

'Mud is Cake' by Pam Munoz Ryan - ISBN 0786805013

This delightful book is one of my son's favorites. It is a wonderful way to show a child many of the ways to engage in pretend play. The animals in the book are obviously stuffed animals, but they are portrayed as being alive and playing with the children. This is an over-sized book, which children love and parents find difficult to find a location for. We have several and shelve them on their sides instead. When you have several, it is a lot easier to shelve them all on one shelf sideways. The look is a lot less messy.

I rarely find a book I don't like, and this is no exception. This book is easy to read, rhymes (which children enjoy as long as you don't point out that that makes it 'poetry'), and has pictures just perfect for those 'I spy' games so many children, including my son, love to play. I'm glad i got him this book. The text on each page is so short, I was worried he would not like it, but it is exactly the opposite. He loves to have this book read to him, and I love reading it to him.

I recommend this book to parents who have children from ages newborn to early reader. This book is fun and simple, and a great addition to any child's library.

'Gallop!' by Rufus Butler Seder - ISBN 9780761147633

This book was received as a gift from my sister, a research librarian, by my two year old son for Christmas. He loves this book. It is very interactive, and he has not tired of it yet. This book has simple words in it that don't tell one story for the entire book, but describe what is happening on each page. The pictures actually move when you move the page back and forth. It's made possible by a process called scanimation. All of the images are in black and white, but that doesn't detract from the fun. This is the perfect addition to the car trip bag for your vehicle. Another plus is that it isn't oversized - it's the same size as many other board books, just a bit thicker. Be warned, though, some children want to find out what makes it work, and try to tear the pages apart to get the animal out.

I would recommend this book to all parents of young children. It's something that can be a parent - child activity, a solo entertainment article for your child, a first reading book, and even a visual treat for a newborn.

'The Bumblebee Queen' by April Pulley Sayre - ISBN 9781570913631

This nice little book is a very simple way to teach children about bumblebees and their colonies. There are two different styles of text -easier to learn facts for younger children in larger text and more complicated facts for older children in smaller text. This book would be a wonderful tool for a home schooling family with children in different grades. It would help them work on a project together, which would help build teamwork skills in both children.

The art work in this book is beautiful, and shows the bumblebee queen in her many activities. The paintings almost look life-like, and don't look cartoonish at all, and this is another reason it would be helpful in using this book on an educational level. My two year old loves this book, as it shows him the bees he is so interested in, without risking getting stung again. He's only interested in the pictures at this point, though. Later, he'll want to actually hear what they are doing, instead of just asking and pointing. And then, after that, we can go into more detail with the smaller text and it will be like a new book to him all over again. I'm really glad I got him this book.

If you have a child who is interested in bumblebees, or other insects, or if you are a home schooler, I recommend this book to you. It's well worth the search to find it, and well worth the cost, too.