1. Tumford the Terrible by Nancy Tillman.

This was a cute, rhyming story about the importance of saying “I’m Sorry.” Nancy Tillman’s name is really ringing a bell with me, but I can’t remember for the life of me if we’ve read other books by her.  It was a board book, which is nice.  I love board books that have actual stories that can encourage a baby’s attention span.  

I really liked it–4 out of 5 stars.

2. Which shoes would YOU choose by Betsy R. Rosenthal

How do you choose what shoes to wear in the rain, to the beach, or playing ball?  This very basic book initiated the discussion about appropriate shoes for activities, but it wasn’t very exciting.  Sophia liked looking at all the different shoes though–she is SO my child 😀

It was okay–3 out of 5 stars.

3. Meet the Parents by Peter Bently

Parents can be super annoying, but there are some things they’re good for–wiping noses, horsies to climb on, and tickles… among other things.  This was an adorable book that was extremely humorous, at least for me as a parent..  It didn’t just glamorize the already glamorous moments of parenthood, but gave an honest picture from the perspective of a child.

It was great–5 out of 5 stars

4. The Perfect Dress by Melissa Lagonegro

Sophiapea is REALLY into princesses, so she adored this book.  It mentioned all of the old favorite Disney Princesses, so it was pretty much a squeal-fest for Sophia. “Wook!  It’s the Mermaid!  Wook!  Jasmine!  Wook!  Snow- White!  Wook!  Belle!” I was somewhat less enthusiastic.  Not that it was bad, just nothing special about it.

It was okay–3 out of 5 stars

5. As An Oak Tree Grows by G. Brian Karas

This was one of my favorite books of the haul.  It tells the story of an oak tree through time.  Sophia had a lot of fun looking through the pictures and picking out the squirrels on each page, and it was great to be able to talk about the life cycle of trees, and the yearly spring-summer-autumn-winter cycle.  We’ve never read any of Karas’ books before, but I’m going to look up several more I found on goodreads.  It looks like they all take a nonfiction tack that is still appropriate and entertaining for the younger ages.

It was great–5 out of 5 stars

6. The Boss Baby by Maria Frazee

A new business man is in town (the baby) and he is The Boss.  He completely takes over the company (mom and dad) and revamps their schedules–turning them into work-horses until they can’t take any more and they sleep.  This was a funny little rhyming book that probably mostly went over Sophia’s head, but it was a board book, and it had a story in it.  Have I mentioned that board books with actual stories make me happy?  Fun to read, and no danger of having to pay library fees because my 11 month old son is walking Paper Destroyer.

Really liked it– 4 out of 5 stars

7. Jane Eyre by Jane and Holman Wang

I’ve been wanting to get my hands on one of these for a while.  The classics for children, and in board book form.  I really don’t think we need to go over my unholy love of board books at this stage of life with kids AGAIN, but this one surprised me.  It was a one-word-wonder.  One word on each page, but since I’ve read the actual book it was entertaining to see how much of the story could be told in about 10 words.  Charlotte Bronte could have used these guys as editors.  Just kidding, just kidding, but this was really good.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words and the pictures definitely moved the story along at least as much as the one-word-per-page did.  Intriguing, to say the least.

Really liked it–4 out of 5 stars

8. Rhyming Dust Bunnies

The title is pretty self explanatory.  Dust bunnies that rhyme.  The concept of rhyming is something I’ve been pondering over how to teach and this book was a good start.  There’s a clever little story that plays along with the rhyming, so that’s a nice bonus.

Liked it–4 out of 5 stars