Merle Peek

Picture a little boy, all settled under the bedcovers, tossing and turning because he doesn't have enough room in his bed. There are nine animals in his bed! Every time he rolls over he kicks out another creature until finally he is alone and can finally get some sleep. The final illustration is delightful.
It's funny how one picture or a single phrase can untie a bag of memories from a lifetime ago. Like escaping marbles on a hard wood floor, the images come fast and furious. I remember show more reading this book to a kid I used to babysit. The repetition so crucial for this two year old was maddening at the time. show less

This is a very simple book of a song (and props to the author for bothering to include the music in the back! I hate it when they don't, and then I can't figure out how to sing the song. My edition didn't come with the CD) which those of us who listen to Wee Sing might recognize. This is a very simple "zipper" song - you can "zip" new words in and out as needed. $NAME wore his/her $COLOR $CLOTHING all day long! As such, it's bound to be popular among small children.

I have two small show more complaints about the book. First, I personally don't find it that interesting as an adult. I'm putting this right away into my giveaway pile and it'll go to my niece's kindergarten class on her birthday. (I like to give books to the class on their birthdays, I think it's better for everybody than cupcakes and candy.) Just because *I* do not like it doesn't mean much - I *know* small children like it. I haven't rated it down because of this, I just found it a little boring for me. If you're the sort of parent whose kids want books read over and over and over again, go read this book before you buy it. Make sure it won't bore YOU.

Second, I don't like that the book is written in ALL CAPS. Aside from the fact that this is harder to read, when I read to my young niece (who is 4), I put my finger under the lines as an example. I can picture many teachers using this book in the classroom, pointing out words as an example. Children young enough for books like this really need to see them written in a normal way, not in capital letters. So I took a star off for that. It's not a HUGE problem, but it's one that could've been easily remedied by typing normally. show less

LFL find. I see there's a board book edition; that would be so much easier to love that I'm rounding up my rating to three stars. It's really too simple a story for anyone who already knows their colors. *Unless* they use it as a mentor text. At least in the paperback edition suggestions for doing so, and the musical notation, are included in the back.

I was not a big fan of this book. The illustrations and the musical aspect that accompany the text are wonderful ideas, but the text itself lacks any depth. The repetition and flow of the book are choppy. With the original rhythm of “Mary wore her red dress, red dress, red dress. Mary wore her red dress all day long,” some of the following verses fall off beat. The lyrics also happen to be very hard to repeat in a song like fashion. For example, the phrases “green sneakers,” “brown show more bandanna,” and “violet ribbons,” repeated many times become tongue twisters. This may be challenging for students with speech impediments and students with typical language development, alike. The main concept of this book is to help children identify colors. show less