Publication Date: April 12, 2005 | Age Level: 1 and up | Series: Leslie Patricelli board books
A comically expressive tot pays tribute to the all-important Binky in a bright, playful board book sure to have instant toddler appeal.
Anyone who's spent time with a toddler knows that few crises compare with the (even temporary) loss of a favorite binky. Here, in her humorous, bold graphic style, Leslie Patricelli plays up a scenario near and dear to every toddler's heart, raising the plaintive question: can there be any peace in the house when a beloved binky is not to be found?
This item is eligible for our 4-for-3 promotion. Eligible products include select Books and Home & Garden items. Buy any 4 eligible items and get the lowest-priced item free.
Here's how (restrictions apply)
"My Grandma was a pastel artist and, for as long as I can remember, an artist is what I wanted to be too," says children's author and illustrator Leslie Patricelli. "My hobby as a kid was drawing cartoons and writing stories, and I started to consider a career in art in seventh grade. When the multiple choice career test I took resulted in a recommendation that I pursue a career in forestry, I went back and changed all my answers, so that it recommended instead that I pursue graphic design, which was the closest thing to children's book writer or cartoonist on the list."
Today, Leslie Patricelli's legions of fans are evidence that career tests are not always reliable. Her colorful trio of board books about opposites -- YUMMY YUCKY, BIG LITTLE, and QUIET LOUD -- follows a diapered protagonist as he discovers some curious contradictions, such as "ladies are big" while "ladybugs are little." Her inspiration for the series came from her son Beck who, at one year old, "was constantly putting everything into his mouth." Says the author, "I found myself saying 'Yummy!' and 'Yucky!' all the time. I began to draw a baby dramatically expressing his taste or distaste for the things he was eating. The idea of YUMMY YUCKY was born!"
Her other toddler books in the series, BINKY, BLANKIE, NO NO YES YES, BABY HAPPY BABY SAD, and her latest books -- TUBBY AND POTTY, were also based on her parenting experiences. "I am inspired by how passionate toddlers are," she says. "I love the way they are so extremely focused on things, and display such intense emotions. It is easy to see what they care about the most."
Leslie Patricelli's beloved baby character graduated to star in his first full-length picture book, THE BIRTHDAY BOX. She notes "I've watched my kids transform boxes into cars, boats, spaceships, hospital beds, dog carriers, snake houses, bass drums, forts, airplanes, sleds, and of course, robots. It's very exciting when a new box comes into our home."
Her book HIGHER! HIGHER! was selected as a Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Honor Book. "I credit my daughter, Tia, for writing this book for me," says Leslie. "I was pushing her on the swing at the park when she was two, she started shouting, 'Higher! Higher!' I noticed how the other kids were saying the same thing. We started pretending that with every push I was sending her higher into the sky until she was in space. I went home with the book almost fully formed in my head."
About her latest series, which includes, THE PATTERSON PUPPIES AND THE RAINY DAY. and THE PATTERSON PUPPIES AND THE MIDNIGHT MONSTER PARTY, Patricelli says, "Although the puppies' individual personalities are based on the personalities of my own kids, the stories for these books were inspired by incidences from my own childhood. When I was four, my friend and I decided to create an ocean in her bedroom by dumping buckets of water on the floor, just like the puppies do in THE PATTERSON PUPPIES AND THE RAINY DAY. I will never forget the feeling of being caught by our parents and torn from our imaginary world to realize that we had done something very wrong! Their was no doubt in my mind that we would succeed at making an ocean. I love how a child's imagination can carry them right out of their present situation into an imaginary world that is so real to them. This is the feeling I tried to capture in the Patterson Puppies books.
"My favorite part of writing books is the moment when a new idea comes into my head," says Leslie. "If I give it my attention, a book will start forming in my mind. At this moment, I most certainly have a smile on my face."
Leslie Patricelli lives in the mountain town of Ketchum Idaho with her husband, Jason, her son, Beck, her daughters, Tia and Tatum, two cats, Oreo and Elvin, two rabbits, Olivia and Chewy and a fluctuating population of guppies. Her husband is a drummer, music engineer, ski instructor, and her on-request editor. Her kids have become her editors, whether she requests it or not!
This review is from: Binky (Leslie Patricelli board books) (Board book)
My son loves this baby character from Leslie Patricelli's other books. In this one, the baby can't find his binky (a common scenario around our house!). He proceeds to look for his binky in all sorts of places, like his cereal (which he dumps out) and his potty. It makes my son laugh. He loves when the baby finally finds his binky in the end.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Binky (Leslie Patricelli board books) (Board book)
We started reading board books to our son when he was just a few months old. Binky was one of his first books and quickly became his favorite. We now own all of the books in the series, (Quiet Loud is our favorite next to Binky). We've bought Binky for other children and it's quickly become their favorite as well. Our son now knows the Binky story by heart, talks back to the main character and lights up whenever you mention a passage, whether or not the book itself is near. Can't recommend this book enough.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Binky (Leslie Patricelli board books) (Board book)
this is one of my daughter's favorites- she had it memorized in no time. I also like how in the end, binky is in the baby's bed. We are tying to limit my son's binky use to bedtime only and it's a good reminder that binky's are for bedtime!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
