Ready, Set, Go!

I have been reading this book to my daugher, who is now 15 mos. old, since she was a baby. She always wants to read Nina Laden's books, even now when she's going through a stage of only wanting to read a certain few of her many, many books. This book has circular "cut-outs" in the middle of the page to see through and it is very easy for the babies to turn the pages themselves, especially since board book pages seem harder to pull apart and turn. The last page is "grow" featuring a flower that you can make the petals appear and disappear. My daughter loves this part, but I must say it is very delicate and easily torn...she has already wrecked it (and we're pretty careful) so were buying another book!

This book, along with Peek-A-Who are my son's two favorites. He anticipates the next page, eagarly looking to me to say the words and loves the bright, vivid pictures. At age 9 months, Nina Laden's books capture his attention-- so much so that he loves to hold this book himself and look at the cover as he babbles! A terrificly done book, with simple text to read as you "surprise" your little one with the next phrase. I highly recommend this book!

I recommend getting this book along with Nina Laden's similar book, "Peek-A-Who?" This is a big hit with the girls, who really love the rhyming and are constantly fascinated by the stem that "blooms" into a flower at the end of the book. What a great idea!

This book uses the time-tested techniques of rhyming and guessing to build vocabularies. Good for 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds, it's sturdy and visually exciting, pluses for parents who want to raise readers.