Children's Book Reviews
Page One of ThreeBaby Faces Stroller Book
DK, September 2000.Board Book
Ages Baby through Preschool
ISBN: 0789466589.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
DK has done it again with these fabulous stroller books.
The tiny board books feature simple stories and vivid
photographs. But the best feature of all is the strong,
elastic strap which snaps onto a stroller. Finally, a board
book that won't get lost! The Baby Faces book has a
series of babies of all colors doing different things.
Your baby will love looking at the Smiling Baby, the
Laughing Baby, the Sleeping Baby, as well as
watching adorable tots catching a ball and clapping
their hands. The Stroller Books make a wonderful
shower gift for a new mom, or a great birthday for the
tot that likes to read on the go. Highly recommended.
Bonaparte by Marsha Wilson Chall, Illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin
DK Ink, September 2000.Picture Book, 32 pages
Ages 4-8
ISBN: 078942617X.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
When a dog's boy, Jean Claude, is sent away to school which doesn't
allow dogs, what is a dog to do? If he is Bonaparte, the
star of this charming tale, he heads off to the school
himself, only to be turned away at the door. Undeterred,
Bonaparte attempts to sneak in the school disguised as
Jean Claude's mother, a janitor, and even a new student.
But, alas, each time he is found out. (The health exam
for new students turned up the fact that he had
paws and a tail, for example.) But when Jean Claude
goes missing, suddenly Bonaparte is much in demand at
the school. Putting his nose to the ground, Bonaparte searches
the French countryside, and finally finds his beloved
Jean Claude -- who had left school to find his dog! After this
incident, the school changed its motto from "No Dogs Allowed" to
"Now Dogs Allowed." Naturally, this new policy changes the
school ("Meals, agreed the Regents, had clearly
gone to the dogs"), but the changes are all for the better.
Bonaparte now spends the night at the foot of Jean Claude's
bed.
Bonaparte is a fresh and entertaining story, and Bonaparte himself is a real charmer. Wendy Anderson Halperin's detailed and lively illustrations are done in lovely pastels, with elaborate and beautiful borders. This lighthearted story of the love between a boy and his dog is sure to be a story time favorite.
Children's Book Reviews
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Return to the December-January 2001 issue of The IWJ.
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