Denise Fleming

If you were a fuzzy caterpillar crawling through the tall, tall grass on a sunny afternoon, what would you see?

To find out, just follow the tiny tour guide as he inches his way through the pages of this book. You'll see ants and bees and birds--hip-hopping bunnies too. You'll even hear the sounds some of them make.

Crunch, munch,
caterpillars lunch...
Crack, snap, wings flap...

Beginning as the sun is high in the sky and ending as fireflies blink and the moon rises above, this backyard tour is show more one no child will want to miss. show less

Labor Day picture book read-aloud marathon with my wife! (Book 1 of 7)

Buster's ideal doggy life is derailed by the arrival of a cat. Buster throws a little prima donna fit and needs help getting out of the trouble it gets him into. I just so cannot care. And Buster is a most unattractive pup to boot.

When I first read this with my daughter in 2004, I rated it "Indifferent" in our old book database whereas she rated it "Good." Twenty years later, I'm still indifferent, but my wife thinks it is show more good too, so I guess my grumpy butt is outvoted. show less

I had to have this book, since at age 2+ my grandson insisted that frogs say "burp" (insert realistic simulated eructation here). However, after a year his language has gained clarity and we're ready to let someone else enjoy this book. It's a great book for babies and toddlers, with a wide variety of farm and countryside animals depicted in large clear collage pictures easy to share with a group. However, the designer's insistence on placing black text on dark backgrounds makes it difficult show more for grandparents to read in less than brilliant light conditions. show less

Author/illustrator Denise Fleming uses the classic British nursery rhyme and cumulative tale, "This Is the House That Jack Built," as the basis of her new picture-book about a robin building a nest. Each of the robin's animal friends provide some of the material for the nest, from the mud mixed by the pig to the straw shared by the house, and the robin provides the labor, the eggs, and the chick-rearing...

An enjoyable book, one which, with its cumulative structure and syncopated rhymes, just show more begs to be read aloud, This Is the Nest That Robin Built is also an engaging exploration of the natural history of the nest-making done by robins and other birds. The artwork, created using collage and various print-making techniques, is colorful and appealing, with a visibly "put together" appearance that suits the story-line perfectly. Recommended to anyone looking for new presentations of an old cumulative tale, or for picture-books about birds, the nests they build, and the young they raise... show less