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I couldn't believe my son's daycare provider when she told me that this was his absolute favorite book. When I bought it for him, I thought it would just be another fun one to read. But, this book really, REALLY teaches kids the sounds animals make. My son wasn't really saying a whole lot of words yet, but when I would read this book, all I would have to say was the first part of the sentence "The cow says..." and he would entusiastically say "MOOOOOOOO". It is now to the point where I don't even need the book. I just say "The sheep says...", and he will say "BAAAA". This is such a cool tool to use to teach animal sounds to little toddlers. I highly recommend it to any parent whose child is just beginning to speak.

I am an American, first-time Mom, living overseas and am building a collection of kid's books, in English, for my 7 1/2 month old son. By chance, while on a trip to NY when my son was only 5 months old, I purchased this book. As sort of joke I immediately began reading this and other books to him thinking he was too young to respond. Boy was I surprised! If he even sees the cover from afar he grunts for me to read it to him! As soon as I finish he continues this over & over again! There are other books that he enjoys (Goonight Moon,Time to Sleep, Chicka Chicka ABC), however, none compare to his love for Moo Bah LaLaLa! As soon as those 3 words come out of my mouth he quiets. I am absolutely amazed and recommend this title to all new parents.

When I was pregnant this was the first baby gift I received. I read it to myself (in my adult, monotone voice)and thought, "What the?"
Well, after my baby arrived I read it to her and now, 2 years later, I still read it to her and she says the words with me with the greatest animation a 2 year old can give. It is a very funny book to a small child and in turn becomes a funny book for the parent watching them get so much pleasure out of it. I recommend this one to anyone with a child under two. In fact, if I could only have 1 book for my child in her first 2 years, this would be it hands down! La..la..laaaa!

My two year old girl literally "bows" to the horse and "bows" to the cow and then she twirls and it goes on and on. She interacts with this book every time we read it. It's so upbeat and fun. We first took it out of the library and it broke my heart to have to return it. So I came here and ordered her her very own copy. I can't wait for her baby brother to engage in this book soon too.

I've been a fan of Sandra Boynton since the late 1970s. I was delighted to discover that she has written this extensive array of wonderful children's books. My son (now 14 months old - we've been reading this one for about 7 months) loves this one in particular. The cut-out front is fun to stick little fingers through, and the illustrations and rhythm of the text are fun to read and to listen to. He sometimes gets up and dances! He will pull this book out from among a pile of others when asked what he wants to read. You have to see the animals to appreciate Sandra Boynton's genius - the look on the face of the hen being 'swung by [her] partner' is hilarious.

We've been reading (singing) this book to our son since he was 6 months old. It's one of his favorites still at 15 months old. When Grandma comes over it's the first book he wants her to read...every single time. And she's more than happy to oblige since it's so much fun to read. It's such a great book---with cute illustrations and rhyming, you'll find yourself singing it out loud in no time.

This is by far my favorite and my 21 month old daughter's favorite. The illustrations are amazing in their detail. I've been reading it to my daughter since she was about 8 months old, and I'm still finding fun "treasures" in the pictures - such as the people appearing in the window of the neighbor's house, the photo on the bedside table. There are so many others, but I don't want to give it away as the fun is in discovering. There is so much to this book with few words - my daughter gets different things out of it at different stages of her development. As an infant she liked the rhythmic "Goodnight Gorilla...Goodnight...Elephant, etc." and the bright colors. As she started learning animals, she loved pointing out the zoo animals. Later she was enthralled by finding the banana on every page. Lately she has been interested inthe different items in each of their cages. She was so excited the evening she realized the doll in the armadillo's cage was "Baby Ernie!". You won't be disappointed.

I bought this book for my newborn son because I liked the colors. Now he is 17 months old. I've glued the book together once, and it will soon be time to buy a replacement. He loves this book. He has enetered a truck phase, only happy with books that at least have pictures of trucks, but this book is an exception. If he sees it, he wants to read it. I don't know when kids start to pick up story lines, but he knows this story and thinks it's pretty funny. His favorite picture is when the zookeeper's wife discovers the gorilla in her bed (ha,ha). A visual delight, sure to be loved by all toddlers.

The creators of children's picture books that seek to enchant the viewer always run the risk of sometimes becoming TOO sweet. A book that's dripping with sweetie-pie sentiments is always in danger of disgusting the discerning (and purchasing) parent. "Good Night, Gorilla", on the other hand, balances deftly between sweet and smart, becoming both at once. In a simple story, a night watchman at a zoo bids goodnight to each of his animals as a sneaky gorilla unlocks them one by one. The unwitting watchman goes home (animals in tow) and it's up to his wife to put them all to bed again. If I was a better writer I'd be able to tell you just how cute this book is. It's SO cute! But not stupid in the least. Rathmann has filled this story with clever little subplots that kids will enjoy following. A small mouse with a banana lugs the heavy object from picture to picture. Rathmann even goes so far as to wrap a picture on the back of the book's cover around and into the inner fold where the tiny mouse stands by, patiently. The book also emotes deadpan beautifully. In one scene the watchman's wife says goodnight to her husband and the page goes black. Next we hear each animal in the room (that crept in unbeknownst to her) saying goodnight back. The two page spread that follows is just a single pair of wide open eyes in the black dark room. The deadpan wit will not be lost on either kids or their adult parents. If you'd like a book that you can read fifty times over without getting nauseated or bored, find yerself a copy of "Good Night, Gorilla", and count yourself lucky for having discovered it.

The classic childrens story of a new toy - The Velveteen Rabbit, and a little boys love for it. Also it was the story of toys and how they become real; when the boy truly loves them. Without giving away too much of the story, I do sense a sadness to the story whenever I read it. Perhaps its in the writing. Yet, nonetheless, there is a classic story here thats been told and retold many times, and this is one of the times that its told well and honestly. Highly reccomened to children and adults.

This is my all-time favorite children's book! A little boy receives a stuffed rabbit for Christmas, and they love each other until one day...This book is so true and honest in its emotion, you will not be able to read it without shedding tears. It deserves much more than 5 stars. Read it aloud with your child...share the beauty and the love.

Most youngsters have a favorite toy, which may be why they have always loved The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real.

Today small eyes and ears will respond just as eagerly to the
reassuring story of a stuffed rabbit miraculously transformed by love.
First published in 1922, this classic tale loses none of its power in today's brightly illustrated abridged version which is more accessible for a younger audience. Ages 3 and up.

I'm of the firm belief that a good story is a good story, no matter how old you are! This beautiful picture book is Max Lucado at his best - he tells the story with a perfect economy of words and the illustrations are perfect.

The main character, Punchinello, lives in a world where the wooden people wear "stickers" which are Stars or Grey Dots, depending on what others think of you! Poor Punchinello tries hard to gain others' approval, but keeps missing out and keeps getting grey dots, which means that he is definitely looked down upon in this make-believe society of wooden people.

Finally, our friend meets a wooden girl who has no stickers! When people try to put stars on her, they don't stick! And the grey dots don't stick either! She explains to our main character that this is because she goes to visit Eli, the master woodcarver, who made them all. She doesn't card about the opinions of others. She suggests that Punchinello go visit Eli as well.

When Punchinello goes to visit Eli, he learns an important lesson about the specialness of each created person just because you belong to God! The scenes in Eli's workshop are especially touching.

My 17-year-old just read this book and LOVED it. We also watched the video and didn't think it was as good as the book.

Please check out my other reviews of Christian books and music!

There aren't many books that deliver a positive message to children - I love you no matter what, just because you're you, and it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks! It is never too early to teach this message to our children. If they do not hear positive and reinforcing words from their parents they will hear negative and degrading words from others. I took this book to work to show my coworkers after it was given to my daughter, and my supervisor said, with tears in her eyes, "any little girl who grows up hearing that message is going to do all right in this world." Buy this book for your child, your grandchild, read it to your Sunday School class, and often. The illustrations are also beautiful!

This book is an awesome tale with a message for young children. This book teaches children to love themselves just as they are, no matter what anyone else says. This book is good for the heart and soul. It even helped me to learn a lesson or two. This is one book I would recommend to all parents for their children.

For those cave dwellers amongst you who've finally crept out of your hermit-like existences to gain a little knowledge about the wide world of children's picture books, the name "Eric Carle" will be unknown to you. For everyone else in the universe, however, Mr. Carle is undoubtedly one of the best known illustrators of the Western world. The father of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and the more recent "Slowly Slowly Slowly Said the Sloth", his earlier work, "Brown Bear", is a sweet simple storyline that remains timeless.

In this story, different animal characters, cut cleverly from a dazzling array of colored papers, tell the viewer what it is that they see. The cat sees a dog, the dog sees a sheep, the sheep sees a goldfish, etc. Now when I said this story was timeless, I wasn't kidding. Honestly, I'm having a great deal of difficulty finding ANYTHING about this story that's going to date it in one or two hundred years down the road. Originally published in 1967, the book is particularly impressive because of the shot of children it cuts to towards the end. Suddenly the viewer is observing kids of a myriad of races and skin tones. In 1967. And these are not your white-kids-painted-brown type pictures either. And they're not all just black or white! There's the most surprising thing of all, to my mind. In an age when illustrators were having a devil of a time remembering to even include black kids in the occasional book, here we have a book that is including everything from Asian to Native American children, front and center.

On a completely unrelated side-note, the mother in this book bears a striking resemblance to a LOT of very hip mommies these days. From her dark rimmed Harry Potteresque glasses to her well coiffed hair, this is a mother on the go.

To be perfectly blunt, I'm not an Eric Carle fan. He bores me, and I have distinct memories of finding "The Hungry Caterpillar" annoying as a child. But at the same time I'm having a lot of difficulty finding anything at all wrong with this book. It's not the most exciting picture book on the market today. It will not grab you, necessarily. It doesn't demand the spotlight or find itself in intellectual discussions about the nature of animal representation for the pre-adolescent set. It's just a good book with a nice plot and pretty pictures that teach kids about colors and animals. And doggone it, that's good enough for me.

My son (2 years old)received this board book as a gift yesterday, and it is already his new favorite book.

The illustrations are extremely vivid and well illustrative of each animal and colour (except the goldfish, which doesn't quite look like a normal goldfish)

He loves to "peep" at the next page to see which animal is coming next (as he can't read as yet), and then loudly announce it as if he's reading. Of course he knows the words by heart already.

As we were driving today we passed a dog, and he proudly said "I see a white dog, looking at me!"

I never thought such a simple book and concept could be so educational.

All three of my children LOVE this book...(Sam 6, Allison 3, and Cole 1). We have two copies in the house because they get read so much. The pictures are bright and beautiful and each of the children have learned colors, animals, and the fundamentals of rhyming from this excellent book. I also suggest "White Bear White Bear What do you Hear"...

My son is 18 months old and LOVES books. He seems to have an insatiable desire for books. I was disappointed by the "busy" illustrations and awkward reading. This is the only book we own that doesn't hold his interest at all.

One of my all-time favorites for children aged four months to 2 1/2 years! The youngest will enjoy the enthusiastic alliterative rhyming and the bright colors; toddlers (and adults!) will also enjoy the clever pictorial links between each page (preparations for fireworks are shown in the corner of one page; delightfully exploding berries on the next).

I don't know whether this book is more fun for the reader or the listener ("Raspberry/Jazzberry/ Razzamatazzberry/ Berryband/Merryband/Jamming in Berryland"), but it will fast become a favorite for you and a child! An enchanting tale, beautifully told: A perfect gift!

This is a wonderful little book. My 7-month old loves it. I started reading to him from birth. The hardcover pages make it a perfect size for little hands. He looks forward to our reading Jamberry. The author was so creative and the rhyming is wonderful. It's a fun book to read outloud to my son! I also recommend Sheep in a Jeep and Sweet Dreams, Ted. They, along with Jamberry, are his favorites! Pick yours up today as a gift or for your own little baby or toddler.

Young kids like the book for the bright colors and the holes. As an overweight adult I feel conflicted about the book's message that while overeating will make you sick it will also turn you into a something better.

Oh my goodness! I love this book sooo much! It's one of my most favorite books of all time! I've loved and read this book since as long as I can remember. Eric Carle is one of my and I'm sure a lot of other people's all time favorite authors. His books are all so bright and fun. I like how this book has fictional and factual information. For instance, it tells how the caterpillar starts out in an egg, then eats, geting fat, then spins itself a cacoon, turning into a butterfly. The fictional part is that it says how it eats through all of this junkfood such as: cake, pie, ice cream, a lollipop, ect. That part right there is what makes it so fun. It's not every day that you hear about a caterpillar eating all of those kinds of things. I think that the pages are set up so cool. There's holes punched through all of the things that he eats so that it really gives you the feelig that he really ate through it. This book makes children excited about reading because it's so much fun. I think that this is one of the best books out there that you can find. Find out for yourself how great it is by reading it with your children.

Story Synopsis:
- A caterpillar eats his way through different foods until he is full and weaves a cocoon transforming into a beautiful butterfly. Charming colorful illustrations of foods along with the fat caterpillar and catchy little holes in the foods where the caterpillar "had his snack" make this book a hit with young children.

Review:
- Eric Carle's classic, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" has charmed millions over the years with it's simple memorable story, striking illustrations and the gimmicky holes on each of its' pages. To date, more than 12 million copies of this book have been sold in its original, full-sized edition, and mini editions. This beloved tale of science and gluttony has also been translated into 20 languages and counting. Die-cut pages (each page has a hole where the "caterpillar" ate through the food item) illustrate what the caterpillar ate on successive days. Strikingly bold, colorful pictures and a simple text in large, clear type tell the story of a hungry little caterpillar's culinary progress through an amazing variety and quantity of foods. Full at last, he weaves a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep, to emerge a few weeks later as a wonderfully transformed and beautiful butterfly! The final, double-page picture of the butterfly is a joyous explosion of color, a vibrant affirmation of the wonder and beauty of Nature. This story is a hit every time. Carle's bright colors and clever die-cut artwork never cease to entertain even the youngest child, and there is surely nothing in nature closer to magic than the emergence of a butterfly. This is a beautiful, educational and fun book.

Literary Features For Young Readers:
- Simple words appropriate to pre-readers, younger children and ELLs (English Language Learners).
- The predictability of the words and their tie-in with the illustrations makes the book easy for pre-readers to understand.
- The rhythm of the prose makes the book memorable and fun book to read for little people.
- Strikingly bold, colorful pictures tell the story of the hungry little caterpillar in complement with the simple words.
- Eric Carle's art gimmick (i.e. the die-cut holes through the food illustrations on each page) gives small children (and the occasional adult like me!) an extra bit of fun and enjoyment
- The moral lessons of the story are simple and universal: "Don't judge a person by the way they look" and "real beauty is more than skin-deep."

Teaching Tie-ins:
- Counting skills (Foods accumulate progressively)
- The days of the week.
- Nutrition (The best food for the caterpillar is the leaf, not the candy, cake, etc. or why we can't eat chocolate and candy all day long)
- Intro to science and biology:
It is a fun book with its' "holes" that have been eaten through the pages, and become a preschoolers introduction to science/biology when the little caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly.
- Shapes (foods)

Possible Projects:
- Food or nutrition mobiles and other related projects.
- Art collages in the style or Eric Carle using torn tissue and other media.
- Simple life cycle science projects (posters are life cycle mobiles)
- Caterpillar art activity: creating caterpillars out of an egg cartoons.
- As a preschool and kindergarten teacher, I had classes perform simple plays for young children based upon this book.
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I highly recommend this charming little book for younger children and ELLs (English Language Learners).

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan

Third in the series (as they were originally written), "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is one of my favorite books in the Narnia series. Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia (Peter and Susan are now too old to come back) and they bring an unwelcome (and unwilling) guest. Eustace, their cousin, plays a bratty child who can't think of anything but leaving Narnia, until he undergoes a remarkable change (you'll have to read to find out!). The three children join King Caspian at the beginning of an ocean voyage to explore the seas to the East of Narnia, and experience an exciting series of dangers and marvels. This book has many similarities to the adventures of Ulysses in "The Odyssey" by Homer, under different circumstances. And once again, Reepicheep proves to be the fearlessly brave mouse whose actions give him much greater credit than his size.

After reading the very first line, "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it," I realized that I had made a huge mistake beginning "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" half an hour before bedtime. More exciting and adventure-packed than the two preceeding books (in the original ordering, of course), "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian", it is hard to put down.

The main characters that readers will recognize are King Caspian, Edmund, Lucy, and Reepicheep. Sadly, Peter and Susan have since become too old to reenter Narnia; but the story does amazingly well even without them. Here, Eustace, who will reappear in "The Silver Chair", is introduced for the first time. They are an interesting bunch, all providing something essential to the story, especially Reepicheep (whose character and personal history are developed further) and Eustace (who experiences a wonderful kind of redemption).

The Dawn Treader is a ship King Caspian built in order to fulfil an oath made on his coronation day to find the seven lords and friends of his father that his uncle Miraz had sent to explore the Eastern Seas. Every two chapters or so, the Dawn Treader stops at an island, where its crew and passengers have a small adventure-within-the-larger-adventure, discover the fate of each of the seven lords, and learn good moral lessons. For instance, one island, called the Dark Island, is a place where dreams come true. It may sound wonderful, until you realize that the dreams that come true are not the pleasant daydreams, but the nightmares. After the last island, the passengers even reach, or very nearly reach, the End of the World.

Though I compared this book to Homer's "Odyssey" in the title of this review, I must add that it can also be likened to John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress". This voyage is not guided by fate and devoid of reason, but is blessed by Aslan (who symbolizes Jesus) and is full of meaning and purpose. It does not merely represent the passage through life, but the passage through life _as a Christian_. That may be why one reviewer complained that this novel is overly preachy. Yet we readers are human, after all, and in need of being preached to now and then. Another thing that may surprise readers is the chivalry with which Lucy, the only girl on the ship, is treated by the men. Though it not "politically correct," as Eustace himself points out at the beginning, it has a certain rightness to it.

Remembering how the March girls in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" played at being good in imitation of the character Christian in "The Pilgrim's Progress", only to realize that their game was really a way of life, I can say that it would be wonderful if children today could apply the allegories in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" in the same way. Parents, take note: it is easier to ask a child, "What would Edmund tell you about forgiving someone who has done wrong, like Eustace?" than to launch into a weary sermon about forgiveness that they may not remember anyway. There are more archetypes in this book, and in all stories about Narnia, than C.S. Lewis himself must have realized: and children can only benefit from knowing them as they grow up.

This story is about Eudmund, Lucy, their cousin Eustace, Caspain, and their journey to find the 7 Lords that Miraz banished from Narnia. They go across The Great Western Sea, past the Silver Sea, and to what they think is Aslan's contry and the End of the world. They also meet two stars. this is the 5th Narnia book and one of the best.

My son loves all books. The only time he will sit still is when I read to him. The rest of the time, he is on the move (even when he's eating). When I got him this book, he absolutely lit up! I had never seen a book elicit the kind of joy and amazement that this book does. So, it is defintely the favorite one in our house. I've read it to him hundreds of times, but he still giggles when I lift the first flap to expose Baby's eyes. He bends down to kiss every baby on every page. (Some of the pages are starting to stick together from all his wet kisses!) Some of the flaps are wearing down a bit from his uncoordinated hands trying to lift the flaps. But, I won't mind spending the extra $$ for a new one if I need to. The look on his face when I read him this book gets me every time!!

This is a nice sturdy book with colorful drawings of babies with some part of their body hidden. Each page asks, "Where is baby's ...?" Toddlers delight in lifting the flaps to find the hidden pictures. The pictures are bright and cute with eye-catching fabric and wallpaper patterns. A very attractive book, and perfect for that stage when toddlers become fascinated with their belly buttons! My 17 month old has really enjoyed this book. It can be very helpful in getting kids to name body parts, and it's fun for both the baby and the parents to read. Highly recommended.

"Where is Baby's Belly Button" is a perfect book for toddlers as long as you don't allow them to destroy the pages. My 7 and 8 year old love "Drum, Chavi, Drum!" and read it to my toddler. For hours the three of them entertain themselves with this bilingual rhythmic book. My twelve-year-old girl adores, "A Step From Heaven." I highly recommend these three books.

"Where is Baby's Belly Button" has adorable illustrations. A must buy!