A COUPLE OF NEW FINDS FOR MY LITTLEST READING FRIENDS

Yesterday, while the boys were at football, I headed across the street to Tattered Cover and found several books for my youngest reading friends.

The first, TWEAK TWEAK, is by one of my all time favorite authors, Eve Bunting. Mama Elephant and Little Elephant are out for a stroll. Mama tells Little Elephant to tweak her tail if she wants something. It isn't long before Mama feels her baby elephant.

"Mama? What is that?"
"That is a frog."
"What is he doing?"
"He's jumping."
"Can I jump?"
"No, because you are not a frog. You are a little elephant. But you can stomp your foot and make a big sound."
"Like that, Mama?
"Just like that, my little elephant."
And on they went.

The story goes with a similar repetitive pattern, as Mama and Little Elephant encounter a variety of animals- a songbird, a frog, a crocodile, a butterfly, and a monkey. Illustrations by Sergio Ruzzier are sweet and fun and perfect for the text. This is one I can see reading aloud again and again and again.

The second book, I MUST HAVE BOBO, by Eileen Rosenthal, made me laugh out loud. At the beginning of this book, a little boy named Willy wakes up one morning to find his beloved sock monkey, Bobo, has gone missing. Willy goes on a search, and finally finds Bobo with Earl, the family cat. It seems that Earl believes he must have Bobo too. A battle ensues, with Willy and Earl taking the monkey back and forth. Finally a compromise is reached. But is it really? Another one kids are going to want to read again and again.