Children's Corner: Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom

Review: I don't think there's at least 3 nights a week that Chicka Chicka Boom Boom isn't my 4 year old son's choice of a book to read. He was introduced to this at pre-school and received it as a gift at Christmas. He is now at the point where he can recite the book while I read it. He has his own inflections for certain parts of the book. He even likes to recite the book while we are on our way to pre-school. I crack up and think it's cool that he can do it from memory. Perhaps that's because between school and home he's probably heard it 100 times.

What I like about it is that it flows easily. Not only for me but for my 6 1/2 year old daughter if she chooses to read it with him as well. It's a cute story about all the letters of the alphabet climbing up the coconut tree but they are a little too heavy for the poor tree and they all fall down.

There is something special about this book for kids. It helps reinforce the alphabet that they are learning about in a fun way. The illustrations are marvelous and bright.

I'm sure at some point I'll tire of reading it but that's the beauty, pretty soon he'll be able to read it all on his own.

Children's Corner: Bill Martin's "Bear" Series

Review: All of Bill Martin's books in the "Bear" series have been a big hit with both of my kids. I love the ease and the pace of the books. The colors are vibrant and rich. If I read one of them, I typically end up reading all of them that night. Each book has a different theme but most of them are about respecting the animals and their natural habitat.

I love that not only are my kids learning about the animals and the sounds they make or how they move, but they are learning about respect for animals. The drawing are so life-like that my daughter was scared of the red wolf for a while and made us skip that page.

These are definitely books that can grow with your child(ren). My daughter now takes the opportunity to read them to her brother or to read a long with me. He's getting the point, where he is mimicking me as well when I read them. It's cute to see them get caught up in the rhyming patterns of all the books. This obviously makes it much easier for them to read.

I bought the hardcovers in all the books so that I can keep them for my kids and so that they may read them to their kids.

If anyone is a fan of Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar, then you should definitely check these out since they are illustrated in the same manner.

I highly recommend adding these to your shelves if you don't have them already.