Emma Dodd

Together (Emma Dodd's Love You Books) - Emma Dodd My first thought upon reading a page of this was " it's a greeting card; a particularly charmingly illustrated greeting card."
My second thought was "that's brilliant!" This is stuff many parents are awkward verbalizing to their children: maybe they've never heard an adult say such things to a child, or maybe they know what they want to say but can't find a way to make it into a natural conversation. Parents who want to express their love may show more have a tremendously hard time imaging a script of what to say, as well as how. This book, and the others like it, provide parents with an easy way to practice saying loving, positive things to their children. Or maybe it will serve as a reminder to those already conversant with affection, a deliberate moment to stop telling the child how to behave or what to do, but just take a moment to appreciate the closeness.
Reading aloud to my kids was a huge priority for me. I read compulsively, so no surprise, but it became a whole rich, shared experience. Going to the library once a week, the bookstore from time to time, book fairs, book sales, a special children's book-signing, they were activities we could share the way other families might share a particular sport. I tried to never skip those nightly readings, and I let them choose the books, and yes, that meant reading a lot of drivel I couldn't stand, and abandoning books that weren't working, and the seemingly endless recitation of favorites. But look at what I have now: two adults who still love reading for fun, who enjoy reminiscing about past reads, and suggesting new ones, and talking about books and talking about everything else.
Really, it's all about snuggling close and saying "I love you" over and over and over again in as many different ways as we can find.
So yes, it's a lovely greeting card, and a reminder to actually say out loud how much love you have. Every new parent needs some books like this, almost as much as they need diapers.
Library copy. show less

Young Emily summons a magical fox who helps dispel her first-day-of-school jitters, primarily by conjuring wacky substitutes for the school supplies she needs (a penguin for a pencil, an elephant for an eraser). The silly surrealist finally gets to the heart of the matter: Emily is worried about being smart enough and finding friends. Combined with simple text and bright, bold pictures, Foxy's reassuring humor has the ingredients of an instant hit among the preschool and K-2 crowd. (Foxy's show more style and message remind me of magician Daniel Lusk's act.) show less

I absolutely loved Forever. It was honestly probably one of the simplest, yet most beautiful books I’ve read all semester. This story is a book for young children Prek-K and is the perfect story for making the transition into going to school or away from home without a parent/guardian for the first time. My favorite part about it is the overall message. Essentially, the story’s meaning is that no matter where life takes you, a parent’s (or guardian/friend’s) love will always be with show more you wherever you go. It’s such a powerful message for young kids especially, but even as a college student away from my parents and getting ready for the ‘real world’ I was touched by it and really enjoyed it. I also loved that the author used polar bears to illustrate the story because it made the story unique and children love animals. Finally, I loved the illustrations. The illustrations were beautifully painted and made the story aesthetically pleasing, which just added to the overall quality of the message. Though it was simple and short, this was definitely by favorite story I’ve read because it has such a strong and powerful message that everyone can resonate with. show less

First sentence: We're counting our blessings one by one. How many will there be? Let's count together, just us two, and very soon we'll see.

Two dogs count their blessings in Emma Dodd's newest board book. The illustrated dogs--parent and pup--are SUPER, SUPER, SUPER, SUPER adorable. The text itself--written in rhyme--is serviceable. Nothing objectionable about it, perhaps a tiny bit bland, but it gets the job done. It celebrates an attitude of gratitude AND counts to ten.