Tag: interactive kidlit

Don’t Wake Up The Tiger (Britta Teckentrup)

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Hello, friends! Our book today is Don’t Wake Up The Tiger by Britta Teckentrup, a delightful interactive story of a sleepy tiger and some sneaky animals.

Frog, Fox, Tortoise, Mouse, and Stork have somewhere to be with their giant bunch of balloons, but there is a big, stripey problem: Tiger has fallen asleep right in their path! They have to get around her without waking her up, but how? Frog comes up with a clever plan: they can use the balloons to, one by one, float up over the sleeping Tiger. But there are a few mishaps, and each time there is, they need the reader’s help to get them across while keeping the big cat dozing as well. But Tiger has to wake up eventually and when she does, there’s a big surprise in store…

So much fun! When interactive storybooks are done well, they are such a wonderful experience to share with baby bookworms, and we had a blast with this one. The adorable illustrations are colorful and cleverly oversized, giving a sense of scale and depth that help the animals and interactions to feel real. The interactive elements are fantastic, simple enough for the very young to understand yet fun and silly enough that it will keep them entertained. And the charming twist at the end gave us a big smile. The length was perfect for a quick read, and JJ went absolutely wild for it. This is an engaging, entertaining interactive story for big and little readers to share, and we definitely recommend it. Baby Bookworm approved!

Don’t Blink! (Tom Booth)

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Hello, friends! Our book today is Don’t Blink! by Tom Booth, a charming little tale of an epic staring contest.

A little girl sits cross-legged, staring at the reader, when a bird happens by and inquires as to what she’s doing. The girl explains that she is having a staring contest with “this kid”, pointing to the fourth wall, and the bird asks to join in. The girl welcomes the new player, and instructs the bird: “Just don’t blink!”. A fox shows up next, then an alligator, both asking to join the contest as well. Soon a whole menagerie has appeared, all holding on and trying not to blink. But all at once, they do. After a brief discussion of who the winner was, the animals depart – except for a tortoise who has been slowly making his way across the page all this time. He asks to join in the next round, and the girl and tortoise begin a rematch against the reader.

This was really cute. It’s a simple, straightforward tale that combines an adorable collection of animals, a great interactive premise, and fun dialogue-driven text with multiple voices that make it a delight to read aloud. The illustrations are darling, with the girl and each creature bright-eyed and full of character. JJ adored identifying all the animals, and loved the repetition of the “Don’t Blink” gag. The length is great for a quick read, and we really enjoyed it. Baby Bookworm approved!

A Thousand Billion Things (And Some Sheep) (Loïc Clément & Anne Montel)

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Hello, friends! Our book today is A Thousand Billion Things (And Some Sheep) by Loïc Clément & Anne Montel, a cleverly fun seek-and-find story for bookworms that enjoy a challenge.

Our story opens on a little girl who is none too fond of going to bed. You see, throughout her day there are thousands of choices to make, and it keeps things interesting. A mountain of buttered toast for breakfast, or cereal drowned in an avalanche of milk? Getting dressed in shirt, pants, dress, socks or tights, stripes or spots, blue or yellow? And don’t get her started on all the decisions involved in picking out a treat from the sweet shop. But when you lie down to bed, there’s nothing much to do but sit in the dark… and count dozens of sheep.

Who doesn’t love a good seek-and-find? And this one is indeed entertaining, combining a funny, tongue-in-cheek storyline with some amazingly detailed and whimsical illustrations, eventually coming together to create a clever and humorous twist. The art is definitely the star here, and the intricate illustrations create a stimulating (but not TOO difficult) visual puzzle while hiding some really fun Easter eggs. The length really depends on how much time you care to spend on the puzzles – for little bookworms like JJ, finding the specific items is a bit challenging, though she loved picking out familiar objects from many of the spreads – but the story on it’s own can be read to even the youngest bookworm in a sitting. And yes, there’s a answer key in the back of the book, just in case. Overall, a fun experience, especially for readers big and small to share. Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

There Are No Cats In This Book (Viviane Schwarz)

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Hello, friends! Our book today is There Are No Cats In This Book by Viviane Schwarz, the playful interactive story of three kitties with a wanderlust.

A sequel to There Are Cats In This Book, the story picks up with the amiable trio of Tiny, Moonpie and Andre, as they are packing their bags for a trip. You see, they are eager to leave the book they are in so that they may see the world. One problem though: they can’t figure out how to leave the book! They tried pushing their way out and jumping their way out, but no luck. But perhaps, with a little help from the reader and a bit of magic, they can make their dream of exploring the world a reality – and even being a surprise back home with them!

This is a fun, sweet little book that can be very engaging for little ones. The brightly-colored kitties are ripe for creating distinct voices for reading aloud, the text is fun and conversational, and the interactive elements are fantastic. We haven’t read the prequel to this one yet, but we certainly look forward to it. But for this one, the length is great, JJ loves it, and it’s a lovely, silly, and thoroughly enjoyable read for little ones. Baby Bookworm approved!

The Story Orchestra: Four Seasons In One Day (Jessica Courtney-Tickle)

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Hello friends! Our book today is The Story Orchestra: Four Seasons In One Day by Jessica Courtney-Tickle, and featuring the music (yes, music!) of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, telling the story of a little girl experiencing the change of the seasons.

When Isabelle and her puppy Pickle set out in the morning, spring has sprung. Birds are in the air, flowers are in bloom, and her little apple tree is blossoming. As the day goes on, spring brightens and fades into summer, then a brisk summer storm leads the way into the harvest colors of fall. By the time she makes her way home, snowy winter has set in and covered the world in gleaming ice. And as the seasons have passed, they’ll begin again, accompanied by the beautiful music they inspire.

This was a fantastic interactive book that combined lessons about the seasons, a lovely sample of classical music, and some drop-dead gorgeous illustrations to create a rich educational experience. Each page has a “button” that plays an excerpt from a different movement of The Four Seasons to accompany the season shown on the page, detailed in vibrant and intricate art filled with nature, people and creatures that create tons of visual interest for little ones. It also includes a brief bio of Vivaldi and glossary of classical music terms in the back. While the story is paced a bit slowly for very little bookworms, the art is so colorful and finely detailed that JJ was more than happy to examine each page even after I had finished the paragraph. This is a wonderful book that weaves together a lot of topics and learning opportunities, and we absolutely loved it! Definitely Baby Bookworm approved!