When duck gets lost in the tall weeds a little monkey calls, "I can help."  But, that kind little monkey lands on a broken branch and starts falling. Enter giraffe who says calls, "I can help!" And so it goes. One helper after another ends up needing help until this circular tale returns to the little duck. Children are going to love chiming in with the "I can help," refrain and the author has not left out the thank you’s after each rescue. An old-fashioned book with the kind of repetition that children love. The art is upbeat and exactly right for this delightful little book. They say 3-6, we think some older twos will like it and older preschoolers and first graders will like "reading" it after they have heard it a few times.

Age: Toddlers, Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Tilly and her friends are getting ready for bed, but Tiptoe, the bunny is not sleepy. It is a special world that Polly Dunbar has created, in a series featuring Tiptoe, and his friends. There's Hector, a pig who dances the wiggly woo, Doodle the Alligator, Pru the stylish Chicken, Trumpty, the Elephant who gives them all a ride, and a girl named Tilly. Told with great simplicity, Tilly gets everyone ready for bed but when she gets into her own bed she wonders who will tuck her in. A sweet little bedtime toddler size tale.

Age: Toddlers. Award Year: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

There are no real surprises behind the lift the flap pages, yet this is an interesting little book that shows a small cutout image of an animal on the flap. When you lift the flap you see a larger version of the same animal. This will be fun to share with toddlers, especially if you add some sound effects as you talk about the little pig and the …peek-a-boo…big pig!

Age: Toddlers. Award Year: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

A fabric book with a cottony ball sitting in a wagon that is attached with a ribbon. You can put the ball into, behind, through, and under the many spots provided in this little book.  Baby will have fun finding the ball in all the hiding places. Good for peek-a-boo discoveries as you turn the colorful fabric pages. This is safe enough for baby to explore after you have 'read' from front to back.  

Age: Infants, Toddlers. Award Year: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Hard Hat Harry and his little dump truck go through all sorts of work. Told in verse with bright lively illustration all on sturdy stock for active page turners, this is a good choice for older toddlers and young preschoolers who love trucks. 

Age: Toddlers, Preschool. Award Year: 2009.

Unlike so many counting books, this one really focuses on the beginning of counting from 1 to 3 and introducing the concept by touching the objects pictured. Designed for the youngest counters, this is printed on cardboard and is small in scale for little hands. This one to one relationship is different from the kind of rote counting that little children often do without understanding the meaning behind the words. As the book suggests at the end, there is no substitute for counting real things and while you’re at it…keep the number of things you count with beginners under five items.

Age: Toddlers, Preschool. Award Year: 2009.

A cute set of board books about babies and their parents. Each book shows animal pairs and ends with baby and Mommy or Daddy. Not much story here, but the art is charming and the concepts are warm and fuzzy. The box is designed so that you can put photos of the little one’s parents on each side of the box…a little extra touch. 1 & up.

 

Age: Infants, Toddlers. Award Year: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

An oblong cardboard book with thick pages that allow a color disk to slide from one side of the page to another, coloring the two objects pictures. So on the red page it slides from a strawberry to a ladybug. This is novelty book that does not include orange, brown or black. That said, this is a fun book for developing color awareness, knowing and naming and sheer fun in making something happen. 9 months & up.

Age: Infants, Toddlers. Award Year: 2009.

A color concept book with only four colors and an interesting novelty format. Each color is introduced on a page of its own with a pocket that holds a color card. Look at the image, name the object and color.  Now, pull the card out and when you have all the cards they can be fitted together in a puzzle. There are just four colors but this is a playful idea for toddlers.  No guarantee that the cards will not get lost, but the book will still work without them.

Age: Toddlers, Preschool. Award Year: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

A colorful knowing and naming food book for toddlers. Each two page spread focuses on a single color, with a large photo of a child holding or eating something of that color and four other photos of that color food on the facing page. Printed on sturdy cardboard stock, the photographs feature a multicultural cast of kids and food that is pretty easy to identify. Though litchis and guava may be a stretch, the concepts are basic and ideal for language development.

Age: Toddlers. Award Year: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.