Digger, Dozer, Dumper by Hope Vestergaard

If you have a toddler who is at all like mine, diggers are the coolest thing on the planet. We have two different housing developments going up right now by our neighborhood, and every time we walk or drive by, my two-year-old wants to stop to watch the "diggers digging." He is always bummed out when it's after 5 pm and the diggers are "sleeping." But when we can't watch the real diggers working, the next best thing is reading books about them! We seem to find a new digger or truck book check out from the library almost every week (which proves to me that there must be other kids as obsessed as mine)! We've found several winners, but my favorite, hands-down, is Digger, Dozer, Dumper by Hope Vestergaard and illustrated by David Slonim.

Rather than telling a story, "Digger, Dozer, Dumper" is actually a book of poetry with each poem showcasing a different truck. I love that the poems aren't silly like a lot of poetry for kids but instead pack a lot of information about the function and mechanics of each vehicle. Kids will learn that a garbage truck uses a hydraulic arm to lift the garbage cans, a skid-steer loader uses levers instead of a steering wheel, and a backhoe uses it's front end to push dirt and it's back end to "dig out muck."

While the poems are informational, that doesn't mean they are boring! Hope Vestergaard is a master poet and her perfect use of rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration make my word-loving heart sing. The poems personify the trucks, sparking kids' imaginations as they wonder what it would be like to actually BE a firetruck, bulldozer, or steamroller. David Slonim's illustrations add to the wonderment, with simple lines and cheerful colors. Digger, Dozer, Dumper is a joy to read and one I can happily read to my kids over and over again.

Finally, I always appreciate when authors/illustrators make the effort to reach a wider, more diverse audience, and Digger, Dozer, Dumper does that in the simplest way possible...by making some of the trucks girls! The use of feminine pronouns and eyelashes drawn on the "girl" trucks suddenly makes the book appeal to little girls as well as boys and sets this book apart from most of the digger/truck books out there. Digger, Dozer, Dumper is a must-read for any truck-loving boy or girl!

Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman

If I had to guess, I would say Seven Silly Eaters is my mom's favorite picture book. She checked it out from the library for the first time when I was about 12 or 13, and it was probably not even three weeks before a copy was on our bookshelf. I loved it then because it was funny. I love it now for the same reason my mom did, for it's accurate and endearing portrayal of family life (particularly BIG family life), with both its messy chaos and permeating love and warmth.

The story is about a family whose children take picky eating to the max. Each of the Peters children will only eat a single, very particular food item. (Not hot or cold but WARM milk, homemade applesauce, perfectly smooth oatmeal, etc.) With each additional child, Mrs. Peters grows steadily more frazzled as she valiantly struggles to meet her kids' outlandish food requests. At the climax of the story, the seven kids attempt to make their mother a birthday surprise, which at first seems to go horribly wrong, but then turns out to be the solution to the Peters family's mealtime woes.

Mary Ann Hoberman tells her story in verse, and the rhyming words and perfect rhythm makes it both fun to read and easy to memorize. The text itself is delightful, but it's Marla Frazee's illustrations that really give the story life. You learn from the text that Mrs. Peters is a loving, overly-patient mother: from the illustrations, you learn that she has wild, curly black hair, plays the cello, and stands a head taller than her husband. Mr. Peters isn't even mentioned in the text of the story, but from the pictures, you learn that he has a full blonde beard, loves to play with his kids, and definitely does his fair share around the house. You learn that Peter loves to read, Lucy is a bit of a diva, Jack is always climbing things, Mac is softhearted, Mary Lou is the laid-back one, and Fran and Flo are the trouble-makers. And the house. Everything about the house, from the beautiful lakeside view, to the old-fashioned kitchen with it's wood-burning stove and cute breakfast nook, to the upstairs loft where all seven kids sleep, makes you want to live there too. It's impossible not to fall in love with the Peters family and their crazy, happy home.

Seven Silly Eaters is one of those rare books that perfectly combines silly, kid-approved humor with a heartwarming message of family love and devotion. Check it out today. You won't regret it!

Press Here by Herve Tullet

Press Here by Hervé Tullet is pure picture-book genius. It is interactive and engaging and yet so creatively simple. The first page greets you with a dot...a single yellow dot and the instructions, "Press here and turn the page." As the reader turns each page and follows each new set of directions, the dot changes in an unexpected way. Both my preschooler and 18-month old were totally drawn in right from the start. I think it made them feel powerful, as if they were the ones controlling what was happening in the book. It was a bit magical to watch their faces light up at each page turn.

Press Here is also surprisingly educational. It is obviously great for teaching kids to follow directions but additionally introduces concepts such as patterns, right vs left, and color mixing. While it perfect for a parent-child read-aloud and discussion, it unfortunately isn't ideal for reading to large groups (unless you had a copy for each child). It is definitely a hands-on kind of book!

In summary, Press Here was a delightful change from the usual picture story book, and I was excited to learn that there are two similar interactive kids' books by Hervé Tullet: Mix it Up! and Let's Play! We will definitely be looking for these at our next trip to the library!