The Nursery Collection

This is quite a nice collection of poems for young children. Titles include: Bathwater's Hot When We Went to the Park Colors All Shapes and Sizes Noisy Now as I'm sure you know, there are quite a few offerings in this genre, including the classic Mother Goose rhymes. What sets this particular selection of poems apart are the educational topics and author's wonderful word selection. She doesn't constrain her choices but includes words like caterwauling, bawling, whirling, bramble, and swooping. Here's an example from the poem "Noisy": Noisy noises! Pan lids clashing, Dog barking, plate smashing, Telephone ringing, baby bawling, Midnight cats caterwauling. This imaginative play flows over into other areas. For example, when writing about "contrasts", Ms. Hughes keeps the classic opposite hot/cold, but spices it up with wide awake/asleep, young/old, and throw away/keep. And isn't it nice not have the same old predictable fair. Five Stars ::: Sweet artwork with an old fashion appearance. Great Read-aloud. The poems offer good rhyming and a few new words, as well as lots to discuss: color, numbers, sounds, shapes, contrasts. All in all the poems are soothing, and my children like them right before bed. Pam T~

I began searching for books by this author after finding one of her titles when our twin grandchildren were 18-months old. The illustrations are bright and rich enough in color and detail to simply turn pages and talk about what is there. Now, at just over 2 years, they are happy to listen to the text, and often point out things they remember. This particular book is a wonderful collection of six of her shorter books which are available separately. We have become familiar with the family constellation and personalities: others have commented on the delightful and gentle portrayal of family and community life and I whole-heartedly agree. I always look forward to reading them. Worth the investment.

My toddler son is a book hound. He enjoys all styles of books. We read several throughout the day and at bedtime. This collection is one we came across in the library. We already had a secondhand copy of NOISY and have enjoyed others of Hughes' works. When our little one is tired but too wound up to sleep, reaching for this Hughes collection or others of her works is just the thing. The writing is precise and colourful but unobtrusive. Studying the pictures in this book is like being wrapped in a warm blanket of wonder and joy. Especially nice as the third and final book at bedtime after a couple more lively stories. It captures our son's eye and brings his overstimulated mind down to earth. The important thing about this sort of book is to slow down. The child may just want to study a few of the pictures for awhile rather than reading quickly through it. If you want to read a book in a hurry, this is not a book to choose. The text is short, but this is more importantly a picture book. Savour it. There is much to see. The paintings are full of nature and pets, sunlight, colour, parents and grandparents. People have messy hair, frumpy clothes. They play, they work, they eat, they sleep, they admire creation. Soothing.

This is my 22 month old's favorite book (she calls it "Colour Babies"), and it's still fun to read after many reading sessions. The stories and illustrations show a real slice-of-life that fascinates toddlers.

My daughter (now four) loved this book when she received it. Now my two-year old son loves it. We refer to it as "Bath water's hot" since that is the first story. The stories capture my children's interest in a soft, friendly way. Much like a warm, bed-time hug. Both children seem to associate with the characters. Best of all, you can read the stories again and again and not want to scream. Many thanks to Ms. Hughes.