Calling All Toddlers [Hardcover]

Francesca Simon (Author), Susan Winter (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

Rhyming verses describe activities that toddlers enjoy, such as splashing, stomping, and making faces. Full-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Simon (Where Are You?) and Winter (Henry's Baby) know what makes toddlers tick. This activity book overflows with cheerful rhymes to inspire dancing, learning, noise-making, role-playing and messes. Right from the get-go, the rhymes elicit participation: "We've been quiet all morning,/ we're bursting to clomp,/ Watch out everybody,/ 'cause we're going to STOMP!" Other pages prompt quieter responses, as in a spread of a playground scene that sends readers on a search for hidden children, or another entitled "Making Faces," in which a series of rhyming questions calls for different goofy facial expressions in response: "Who can be a ghost?/ and puff their cheeks out the most?"; still others teach colors or shapes. There's not a clunker to be found among Simon's rhymes. Her simple, timeless style recalls classic finger-play songs and playtime chants, and will tickle children getting their sea legs in the areas of language and preschool etiquette. Toddlers will easily spot themselves in Winter's gentle, realistic depictions of contemporaries acting silly, busy, naughty and nice in compositions reminiscent of Helen Oxenbury's. With an oversize square format and clean design, this is an ideal choice for sharing in any setting where preschoolers congregate. Ages 2-5.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSThis collection of short verses features illustrations of sweet-faced young children at play. While most of the activities (splashing, stomping, clapping, etc.) are age appropriate and the individual spreads are attractive, the book lacks an overall focus. Many of the rhymes are awkward and dont scan well when read aloud. On one spread, the children bend and stretch their bodies to form a variety of shapesa square, a triangle, a rectangle, a starbut the shapes are not delineated clearly enough for this audience. The last poem, Good-bye, pales in comparison to Margaret Wise Browns Goodnight Moon (HarperCollins, 1947). Good-bye kitten/Good-bye floor,/Good-bye curtains/Good-bye door./Good-bye doll/Good-bye spoon, Good-bye house/See you soon. A fair-to-middling addition.Irene Symons, Queens Borough Public Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 33 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books; First US edition (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531301206
• ISBN-13: 978-0531301203
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 10.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,011,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Francesca Simon spent her childhood on the beach in California, and then went to Yale and Oxford Universities to study medieval history and literature. She now lives in London with her family. She has written over 45 books and won the Children's Book of the Year in 2008 at the Galaxy British Book Awards for "Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a fun book to read to your toddler!, September 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Calling All Toddlers (Hardcover)

When my two year old and I sat down to read this book I thought it would be a short-lived event. But we probably read this book more than any other book she has. From finding kids hiding in a park, to making shapes with your fingers,arms and legs, to making different funny and scary faces, to ten steps on how to draw a monster, this book has something for every type of toddler. It has colors,shapes,games, and poems on throwing tantrums and losing a shoe. What a fun filled book of discovery for a child!!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book on the antics of toddlers., September 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Calling All Toddlers (Hardcover)

This is a colorful, playful book describing the antics of toddlers. My 3 daughters, ages 2 to 6, were enchanted and amused by the children and the rhymes in this book. My 6 year old could easily read it. Great for students K-1, teachers, and parents. I highly recommend this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars My 2 year old LOVES this book!, November 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Calling All Toddlers (Hardcover)

We first checked this book out of the library and soon realized we had to have it for our own collection. My two year old daughter will have me read this book to her EVERYDAY - sometimes 3, 4, and 5 times a day! She knows all the little stories by heart and will often "read" them to me. I highly recommend this book for all toddlers. It's delightful, silly and interactive. This book will be the Christmas gift of the season!