Nancy Tafuri

When a special baby is born in a stable, under a bright, bright star, all of the animals present sing their song to the infant, from the cooing doves to the eeping mice. Only the shy donkey holds back, until the child smiles at him. Then he sings his loud and raucous song, which makes the baby laugh...

A sweet little Nativity story from the perspective of the animals in the stable, The Donkey's Christmas Song pairs a simple text full of animal sound words, with soft illustrations done in show more watercolors, pencils and inks. I have read a few picture books now in which the Christmas story is seen through the perspective of the donkey, but those other books—Gillian McClure's The Christmas Donkey, Barbara Helen Berger's The Donkey's Dream—tend to be more involved, focusing as much on the journey to Bethlehem as on the birth at the stable. Nancy Tafuri's book seems better suited for much younger children—toddlers and younger picture book audiences—and it is for them that I would recommend it. show less

A little squirrel frantically prepares for winter in this autumnal picture-book from author/illustrator Nancy Tafuri. A series of other animals ask him to enjoy the beauty of the season, but the squirrel can't stop, always busy gathering nuts and seeds for his store. By the time evening comes, and Owl asks him to watch the moon, the squirrel is fast asleep in his nest...

Only the second picture-book I have read from Tafuri, after her charming Daddy Hugs, The Busy Little Squirrel is a book show more aimed at younger picture-book audiences, at toddlers. The text is very simple, with only a phrase per page, and the lovely artwork dominates the page. I appreciated both the visuals here, with the wonderful colors of autumn, and the way in which the simple story imparts basic knowledge about how squirrels gather food for the winter, and start to sleep more often as that season approaches. Recommended to picture-book readers seeking autumnal stories for toddlers. show less

A series of woodland creatures exchange "Just-Daddy-and-me" hugs with their fathers in this sweet picture-book, with the next father-child pair hinted at in the artwork on each two-page spread.

As someone who researches the depiction of foxes in children's books, I initially picked up Daddy Hugs because of the beautiful vulpine pair on the cover. Although disappointed to discover that the story inside didn't revolve around foxes, I nevertheless found the artwork here quite lovely. Tafuri's show more watercolor and pencil illustrations are somewhat naive in style, and look a little flat, but they have a colorful, almost folksy sensibility that I liked. I also appreciated the way in which each subsequent animal pair was hinted at in the artwork, and the fact that all of the animals and insects depicted on each page are named at the back of the book. The text here was somewhat wanting - simple and repetitive, but not in a very interesting way - but for those looking for books about children and their daddies, this might be one to consider. show less

"Have You Seen My Duckling" is an adorable and fun book for young readers. The repetition of the phrase, "have you seen my duckling" is the first thing that I enjoy about this book. It allows readers to get involved because they can read along with the teacher as the mother duck approaches different pond residents. Next, I love the illustrations. As we can tell, the duck is viewable on each page but it's just hiding behind something. I think it would be a fun task for readers to try to find show more the duckling on every page. Finally, I enjoy the simplicity of the "big idea." It is to encourage adventure. The first page says, "to the little duckling in all of us." Overall, it's a really sweet story to read with young children! show less