Educational Books, Toys: Best New Books and Toys of the Year
Best New Books and Toys of the Year
Once again, the folks here at the Savvy Source are looking for ways to help you busy parents cut through all the noise out there and make great choices for your kids. This time we've thrown our savvy selves into finding the best educational (and delightful - we insist that they be both!) toys for all the kids on your list. And we've organized our choices according to the skills that educators most recommend your preschooler develop--language and literacy; math and number sense; time and space; scientific reasoning/physical world; music; visual arts; and physical activity--which, of course are the very same skills highlighted in our in-depth preschool evaluation information on our site.
Every Friday
by Dan Yaccarino
This treasure of a book uses richly colored illustrations and spare text to make its simple point especially powerfully: time spent with Dad is the best time of all. The voice of the little boy rings true as he describes his cherished Friday morning ritual with his dad, a walk through the neighborhood to a pancake feast at their favorite diner. The tone is strikingly sincere, neither saccharine nor jokey, and the total effect creates a stand-out gift book. If your little one wishes just to tell his dad that he loves to be with him, you've found your present.
The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z!
by Steve Martin and Roz Chast
Perhaps you thought there was nothing left to add to the tidy little alphabet, at least not after you'd climbed up the tree with the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom gang and scrutinized the Animalia marvels. Lucky for us, channeling the same groovy beat and the same rich details, the dynamic duo of Steve Martin and Roz Chast realized that there is a great deal more to say. And say - and show - they do, in alliterative couplets and witty New Yorker-esque cartoons. You will chuckle through it again and again and again. And your preschooler will always remember that F is for frijoles and A is for ampersand. Just wait until he asks for parsnip pizza, politely.
In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden & Frogs Wore Red Suspenders
by Jack Prelutsky
Yes, you're right. This is an audio CD, not a book. But it's the best audio CD of the year reading one of the best books of 2007, as well as one of the best books of two years ago! And it features the author (and Children's Poet Laureate) Jack Prelutsky reading all of his magnificent, funny poems from these books - which adds up to more than an hour and a half of great fun! Whether for a long car ride or a long week full of short car rides - or as accompaniment to a long "quiet time" in the room of a stubborn napper - you will simply adore this collection of readings. You'll be endlessly charmed by Prelutsky's reading of his own work, and even more so by the voice of your little one piping up with the rhymes.
Jabberwocky
by Lewis Carroll
This brilliant adaptation of Lewis Carroll's famous grown-up poem will knock the socks of both parent readers and preschooler listeners. The magic of Carroll's verse is that its nonsense words tell a compelling tale, though you find you can't retell the same tale in "sense" words when it is over. Enter Christopher Myers, who recasts the "slithy toves" and mome raths outgrabe" into a hot summer, urban street scene and the hero ("my beamish boy") and the Jabberwock into David and Goliath figures on a streetball court. The effect is pure genius. Sure, you'll have to do a lot of open-ended wondering with your preschooler about what these wild words mean, and you'll readily admit that your little one's guess is as good as any. But the fun of listening to the crazy rhythm and the joy of watching the basketball triumph on the asphalt court make this book quite special - even though we find we still can't exactly retell it in "sense" words when it's over! And that alone may be a little insight into the life of your little one, we think.
Walt Disney's Cinderella
by Cynthia Rylant
If you are a bit, ahem, conflicted about the sparkly hot pink and purple plastic stuff that has become code for the Cinderella story, permit the folks from Disney to redeem themselves here. They have revived Mary Blair's original story board illustrations from the making of the Cinderella movie and paired them with a gorgeous retelling of the tale by Cynthia Rylant, to great effect. Magical effect, even - without the twin sledgehammers of neon and glitter. The sophisticated tale is a true romance ("Who can say by what mystery two people find each other in this great wide world?"), and Blair's paintings suggest just enough to let a little one's imagination fill in the details. This one is a keeper, indeed.
Do unto Otters
by Laurie Keller
This simply fantastic book unites snappily current illustrations and layout with an age-old principle, and the end result is a timeless book your little ones will love - and learn from! As Mr. Rabbit puzzles through what it means to "do unto otters as you would have otters do unto you," the book offers a manual for making nice, covering everything from please �n thank you to the biggies like sharing, apologizing and forgiving. The perfect book to help a preschooler tackle the biggest job of all: learning to get along. Not a bad reminder for the rest of that preschooler's kin, either. (Oh, and we must make special mention of what is easily the most charmingly written copyright page of the year, perhaps of the decade.)
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity
by Mo Willems
After their smash-hit debut in the original Knuffle Bunny, Trixie and her beloved toy return here for a worthy encore. Trixie has grown up a bit, as these children of ours insist on doing -- she's already in Pre-K, and eager to show off her "one-of-a-kind" Knuffle Bunny to her classmates. But crisis looms when another little girl appears with the very same bunny. The ensuing sulks and scuffles between Trixie and Sonia earn the predictable preschool consequence: the teacher takes the bunnies away until the end of the day. But as Trixie discovers at (of course) 2:30am, she took home the wrong Knuffle Bunny!!! Mo Willems brings out the drama and humor (and, well, absurdity) of the whole situation to perfection. In the end, Trixie winds up not just with her bunny back, but also with her very first best friend (of the human variety). A charming, funny story about the wild ride of children's emotions and relationships that Willems dedicates to preschool students everywhere -- how could we not love it?
Monster Hug - Stein
by David Ezra Stein
And you thought your kid's playdates wrecked the house. When monster friends get together, just imagine the mess! These two best (friend) beasts feast and party and wrestle and tumble their way through an entire city. And after all wreaking all their happy havoc, they shuffle back to their monster homes (presumably the volcano and sea they erupt from in the beginning) with their monster parents for monster bedtime. But not before a special monster parting of the ways. It will remind you - and your very own little monster - of the very best kind of playdates you know.
Pssst!
by Adam Rex
If your little zoo-lover has soaked up all the marvelous detail of Good Night, Gorilla (you do find the balloon on every page, right?!) and still wonders what goes on in the minds of the animals, this book offers an answer. And oh, will she laugh when she realizes what the gang is going to do with all the stuff they so "innocently" ask for! On your next zoo excursion, in addition to visiting the pick-pocket gorillas, you will be leaning in to hear the surreptitious whispers of all the animals. That makes you an accomplice to a great deal of fun!
The Three Snow Bears
by Jan Brett
What is it exactly about the story of Goldilocks that so enchants the preschool set? Is it the rhythm of the story? The fun of going for a walk while breakfast cools? The difficulty of finding a chair that fits? The delight of imagining coming home to find someone sleeping in your bed? No matter - it does enchant, that's all. And this adaptation is especially lovely, casting Aloo-ki as the curious little girl and three magnificent polar bears as the porridge-makers and the ice floes of the Arctic as the fairytale forest. Wintry and wonderful, this is a tale for the ages.
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