Customer Reviews

Animal Crackers: A Delectable Collection of Pictures, Poems, and Lullabies for the Very Young

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
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Jane Dyer's gentle watercolor paintings enhance a thoughtful selection of the best poems and nursery rhymes for young children. Collected in thematic sections ranging from alphabet and counting rhymes through the seasons, food, animals, and playtime to lullabies and night songs, the poems feature topics to tickle a young child's imagination while presenting rhythms and rhymes that encourage enthusiastic repetition through many read-aloud sessions. Loving parents, grandparents, and gift-givers of children ages 2 to 7 will delight in sharing these child-pleasing poems over and over. Most of the contents are of English heritage, but African, Danish, Brazilian, and German traditional lullabies are also included. Oversized pages allow plenty of interplay between text and art, while the book's slim (64-page) format keeps the volume manageable even in small hands. Dyer offers a broader variety than most collections for very young children, and if her art lacks the brash humor of a Rosemary Wells (My Very First Mother Goose), it offers instead a quietly satisfying world where children smile. A fun bonus: the artist has tucked in an unheralded self-portrait on page 22--and isn't that Barry Moser eating his peas with honey at the bottom of the same page?

I just received my copy of this book and can't wait to share it with my 2 year old daughter. Only problem - I purchased it for a gift and now need to buy one for her! The collection of nursery rhymes and poetry is beautifully illustrated, with oversized pages allowing maximum enjoyment for the non-reader. Definitely a must for every child's library.

Intricate details and warm tones fill the illustrations throughout this superb collection of sixty-two nursery rhymes. Dyer has incorporated a wide variety of traditional nursery rhymes such as Little Jack Horner, Humpty Dumpty, and Peter Piper along with some not so traditional, such as Grandpa Bear's Lullaby, Animal Crackers, and All Asleep. She has divided this medley of rhymes into seven unique sections, including "Nursery Rhymes," "Animals, Animals," and "Lullaby and Good Night." These divisions make it easy to find rhymes for specific occasions or themes. Each rhyme is delightfully and intricately illustrated with warm watercolors which encompass the entire page. These illustrations invite the reader to become more involved in the story. This anthology of nursery rhymes is appropriate for the emergent reader because of the familiar text throughout the story. Dyer's intricate watercolors will help young children focus on the pictures to help create meaning. This well-designed collection of rhymes will be a valuable addition to any young child's personal library.

My brother sent me this book after getting it for his own kids many years ago. All 3 of mine have enjoyed it from 1 - 6 years old. As others have indicated, there are some traditional rhymes and some more modern, but the mix is good and the illustrations are charming (to me and my kids). I have watched my oldest grow with the book and her interest in different poems change as she matures. Like all good nursery rhyme collections, it can be enjoyed for many years. Plus a nice change from Mother Goose, which can be challenging for a child in today's modern world to relate to (tired of trying to explain a tinker or the town crier?!).

We received this book just three days ago and have already read it cover to cover countless times! My nearly 2 year old son loves trying to identify the objects in the wonderful illustrations. Great for little ones with no patience for the longer stories.

This book is the magic wand to settle my three year old boy when he gets out of sorts-the rhythem of it makes him mellow
LOVE it

This is a fantastic book! Someone gave it to my daughter when she was a baby, and from the time she was about 9 months old until she was two-and-a-half, she would bring this book to us every day for us to read to her. I didn't mind reading it so often, becuase there are gorgeous illustrations. Some of the poems and lullabies were unfamiliar to me before, but they are charming. I've been giving this book as a baby gift myself for years now. You can't go wrong with this book!

This was one of our favorite books to read to and with our kids from 5 months to 5 years old. The illustrations are beautiful and stimulating and the stories/poems, etc. are mostly fun to read. I love Jane Dyer's soft, colorful, fun style of art. I love this book so much, it's become my standard gift for new parents.

I purchsed this as a baby gift. I wanted something the new parents could learn nursery rhymes from. This isn't really the book to do that as it doesn't contain very many "common" nursery rhymes. However it does have beautful pictures and made a nice gift anyway.