“Tuck Me In!” by Dean Hacohen and Sherry Scharschmidt

Age: birth to 2 years old

Genre: picture book

This book starts with a simple line: “It’s time for bed. Who needs to be tucked in?” This is followed with a different animal on each page and a half-page blanket that the reader flips over the animal to tuck it in. The book ends with asking if the reader needs to be tucked in. There is not much to this book. There is no theme that unites the animals chosen unless it’s that they are mostly difficult to make up sounds for (What does the hedgehog say? How about the moose?). I like that it provides a variety of animals, and my son (who is 1.5 years old) seems to enjoy “tucking in” the animals. But overall, not too exciting of a book to read. No story, no characters, no anything, really. More of a game than a story.

Bibliographic Information:

Hacohen, Dean & Sherry Scharschmidt. Tuck Me In!  Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2010.

Tuck Me In! on BarnesandNoble.com

“You Are My Baby: Farm” by Lorena Siminovich

Age: birth to 2 years old

Genre: board book

This book is advertised as “two books in one” because it has a little book inside a bigger book. (It’s a little hard to explain, so see the picture here). The illustrations are very cute and cover many of the usual farm animals, so the reader gets an opportunity to teach animal noises as well as names. Though the book is designed to let the adult turn the big page and the child turn the small page, my son (who is 1.5 years old) turns the little pages before I’m done with the big one, so the animals don’t usually match up like they are supposed to. The only way for us to enjoy it “correctly” is if I do all the page turning. We enjoy reading the book together either way. My main complaint with this book is its shoddy construction. Because of the little/big book format, the binding is compromised. I have used packing tape up and down the spine, but it’s still falling apart. We haven’t even had it for more than a few months, so this is just poor quality. Board books need to hold up to young hands and vigorous page turning, and this is the first one we’ve had a major problem with. I recommend getting a different farm book instead.

Bibliographic Information:

Siminovich, Lorean. You Are My Baby: Farm.  San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2013.

You Are MyBaby: Farm on BarnesandNoble.com

“City Cat, Country Cat” by Patricia Cleveland-Peck with illustrations by Gilly Marklew

Here's my review of another cat book that caught my eye. Remember ratings are out of a possible 4 paws.

“City Cat, Country Cat” by Patricia Cleveland-Peck with illustrations by Gilly Marklew

Age: 3 and up

Genre: Fiction, Picture book

Freckle the cat lives in the country on a farm with a boy named David. Charlie the cat lives in the city with a girl named Sarah. Both cats enjoy eating, sleeping, and playing with their owners (when they feel like it). Both cats disappear, sometimes for days, but always come back. Where do they go? We soon find out. Freckle and Charlie have something else in common, which the owners are surprised to discover in the story’s end. Though the text is a little long at times, this story is overall one young readers will enjoy. It’s a quiet story with not a lot of action, but much like a cat’s day, full of everyday joys. I think readers who like cats will have fun following the lives of Freckle and Charlie. Recommended for ages 3 and up. This book is currently out of print, so look for it in your local library.

Cleveland-Peck, Patricia. City Cat, Country Cat. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1992.