Phidal

We bought this book because my daughter had birthday money and this is what she chose. Let's be honest - the book is just a vehicle for the toys. My daughter wanted it because it came with little plastic Cars figurines. It also has a plastic mat with roads on it that can be laid out for the cars. My girl never uses that. She does, however, play with the toy cars all the time. As for the book itself: the poetry is terrible. Contrived lines that are forced to fit the rhyme scheme, and are show more really just advertisements for the new Cars movie. The pictures are gorgeous, but that's because they are cells of the different cars from the movie, pasted on a vibrant colored background. Not much of a book at all. I wouldn't recommend this, unless your child really likes the toy cars. I give it two stars, even though we have never sat down and read the book together, because my child loves those cheap toys. (By the way, I did read the book on my own, just to see what the quality was. My daughter isn't interested in sitting down and reading it with me, and I'm not forcing her to that chore.) show less

A collection of Mickey Mouse newspaper strips from early in his career, probably the 1930's, when Horace Horsecollar was his frequent partner and not Goofy. Credited to Walt Disney, but certainly ghosted, these strips are naive, energetic, implausible, dated, and a fair amount of fun to read.

Very attractive to toddlers and an excellent toy for automobile trips. There are four or five different magnetic panoramas (with some text which can be read to a child if desired) and twenty-some little animals and farm vehicles which can be moved around on the pages. The magnetic effect works quite well: the little figures won't fall out and get lost. The book is a bit heavier than most board books but the children don't seem to mind.

The Tortoise and the Hare is a classical tale that encounters a tortoise and a hare in a race they have to determine who is the better racer. This is suggested for children learning how to read as the tale is short yet compelling with its descriptive text. In addition to being great for children learning to read, the moral of the story will teach them a valuable lesson of patience that will serve them well in life.