Dear Peggy Rathmann,

10 Minutes till Bedtime – Peggy Rathmann

It’s ten minutes until bedtime, and one little boy’s pet hamster leads an ever-growing group of other hamsters on a tour of the house.  The boy’s oblivious father counts down the minutes from behind his newspaper as hamsters trash the kitchen, take a bath, put on pajamas, read a story, and get into bed–until they’re finally sent home by the sleepy little boy.

Not only is 10 Minutes till Bedtime one of the cutest books I’ve ever read, but it’s also got SO many funny little visual jokes that every page is like a fantastic seek-and-find.  It’s also nearly wordless, with just the countdown of minutes and the tiny adorable exclamations of one talkative little hamster, allowing the reader to enjoy your fantastic art all the more intently.  I couldn’t get enough of the hamsters, especially the little one who talks all the time, and the one who is sort of the hamster version of the little boy, mimicking everything he does as he readies for bed.  The whole thing was just…indescribably whimsical, and made me want to go to a pet store and snuggle all the hamsters and dress them in little striped pajamas.  OMG, SQUEE!  Five stars!!

Love,

Wanna check out this title for yourself?  Try the Indie Bound or ABC bookstore finders!

Dear Barney Saltzberg,

Good Egg is one of the cutest books I’ve seen in a while–so completely simple and spare, but so absolutely entertaining!  I loved all the pullouts and ways to make the egg move, and nothing in the book’s construction was so complicated that it got stuck or didn’t move well.  You’ve achieved a really clever, sweet, delightful book here–stuff like this is one of the reasons I believe print books will never be completely overtaken by e-books and digital media.  Five stars for this adorable title!

Oh, and by the way–Happy Easter!

Love,

Wanna check out this title for yourself?  Try the Indie Bound or ABC bookstore finders!

Dear John Schindel and Stephen Holt,

This post over on Read Roger inspired me to review your super-cute board book, Busy Bunnies!  What could be better than a bunch of adorable photos of rabbits doing all the things they do best, accompanied by equally adorable rhyming captions?  My favorite rhyming pair is “bunny shoving, bunnies loving.”  SO SWEET!  The whole series of books is adorable–my other favorite is Busy Horsies–but the bunny one is definitely the most irresistible.  My rabbit says–five stars for sweetness and durability!

Love,

Wanna check out this title for yourself?  Try the Indie Bound or ABC bookstore finders!