Saturday, July 07, 2012

Books That Celebrate Playing

My Dad is the Best Playground. Luciana Navarro Powell. 2012. Random House. 26 pages. [Board Book]

My dad is the best playground, the most fun of all. 
He's the highest swing and a great climbing wall.
Dad is the longest tunnel I've ever crawled through.
Monkey bars, seesaw, and a bouncy trampoline, too.

These two little ones just LOVE their Dad. He does make the best playground, after all. Where big sister goes, baby soon follows, as you'll notice as you read this fun and playful new board book by Luciana Navarro Powell. The text is fun, playful, spirited, definitely matching the energy of the characters. The rhyming works for me, for the most part. I would definitely recommend this one!

Higher! Higher! Leslie Patricelli. 2010. Candlewick Press. 30 pages. [Board Book]

Higher! Higher!

How high can a father push his little girl on the swings? Read Leslie Patricelli's oh-so-delightful book Higher! Higher! and see for yourself. A little imagination goes a long, long, long way you'll see. For she goes higher and higher and higher, and she just might make it all the way to outer space! The illustrations are at the heart of this one, it is in paying attention to the illustrations that you'll find delight. The text of this one is extremely simple: just one word "Higher!" repeated again and again and again...as one little girl has a very fun time playing with her Dad. 

Faster! Faster! Leslie Patricelli. 2012. Candlewick Press. [Picture Book]

Faster! Faster!

I really LOVED Leslie Patricelli's Higher! Higher! I've loved all her baby books really. Faster! Faster! is no exception. In this playful follow-up, readers see a little girl and her Dad at the park once again. She wants a ride on his back, this time. (The swings are occupied, did you notice?!) She wants him to go faster! faster! Can Dad go faster than a dog chasing a ball? faster than a rabbit? faster than an ostrich? faster than a horse? Read for yourself and see!!! Just how long can he keep up this fast pace?! It is imaginative, fun, playful, spirited. And very, very simple!!! 

Read My Dad is the Best Playground; Higher! Higher!; and Faster! Faster!
  • If you've got little ones, energetic little ones that love to play and bounce and imagine
  • If you're looking for books that encourage play, time spent with Dad
  • If you're looking for fun books to read out loud
  • If you're a fan of Leslie Patricelli

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thank you for taking the time to review children's books, especially ones which focus on Dad. I added these to my Amazon wish list--my little one's only 5 months old, but I'm always looking to build his reading library. :)