Customer Reviews

I Like It When . . .

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Now known as Paz and Big Penguin (from the early morning television shorts), these unnamed penguins appear in bright primary colors and discuss what they like about their day.

I like it when you hold my hand.
... let me help.
... we eat new things.

Three and a Half Stars. Attractive book that small fry are bound to like. The fact that the big and small penguins have no names or obvious gender is nice and allows for a caregiver to say 'look, that's me and that is you'.

My daughter has had her copy of I LIKE IT WHEN..., by Mary Murphy, for nearly two years. Even thought it is geared toward babies and toddlers, my 3 year old still finds this book very enjoyable and very comforting. It is still a good book to fall asleep to.

I LIKE IT WHEN...is a series of interactions between a young penguin and an adult caregiver. With no names or defining details, the penguin pair can be mother/child, father/child, grandparent/grandchild, older sibling/new baby. The only requirement for the type of relationship displayed is love. Beginning with " I like it when you hold my hand" and "I like it when you read me stories," continuing on to "I like it when you hug me tight," and "I like it when we dance around," and ending with a big "I love you," I LIKE IT WHEN...models simple intimacies so important to a growing child. The illustrations are simple, cute, and colorful, and the message is reassuring, endearing, simple, and clear.

Even though we both have I LIKE IT WHEN...memorized, my daughter still wants me to read it to her page by page, so that we can act out each interaction. Each page demonstrates a very special one-on-one communication between adult and child; something that all kids find fundamentally necessary in their young lives. This book basically just makes my daughter feel happy and loved. And that makes me happy, too.

My daughter has loved this book since she was 13 months old. She knows "peekaboo," "dance," "hug" and "kiss." When we read the book she does all of those things after I read the line. "I like it when we play peekaboo." *puts hands over eyes then flings them off saying "peeka!"*

We love penguins at our house, which is why someone sent us this book. It's adorable, and we read it every day.

My daughter is 16 months old and asks for this book every night. I enjoy reading it because I can act out each page, e.g. "I like it when you tickle me." She loves that. I've even caught her "reading" it to herself because the story is so simple and memorable.

Other reviews have highlighted the story and interactions of the penguin characters, which are really well done. I would also like to point out that the illustrations and color are quite captivating in this book. Simple drawings but expressive--- and the use of 2 pages at a time makes the book feel bigger than the usual board book.
We are also fans of "I make a cake."

Wonderful, sweet book. Our one-year old loves it and will interact with us as we read it just like the penguins in the story (hold hands, dance, tickle, etc.). One of her favorites.

This book is wonderful on so many counts. The story is lovely and warm, deceptively simple and so engaging. It focuses on the loving interaction between the little penguin and the grown up as they go through the day to bedtime. The book is open ended--there is no gender identified for the child or the adult penguin, and the adult could be any loving caregiver. As for the illustrations, I love the bright colors and strong but simple images (in the same ball park as Lucy Cousins' illustrations as in her Maisy books or "Za-Za's Baby Brother"). When I read this with my children, we love to act out the lines, for example, "I like it when you hold my hand." This book is particularly nice as a bedtime story. "I Like It When..." is such a gem--I give it as a gift all the time because I know it will be enjoyed by any young child and their caregivers, and it is rare for someone to already have it. I can't recommend it highly enough.

This book is very simple and colourful in bold primary colours. The love that the two penguins (a parent and child) have for each other is lovely. My kids have loved this book and I have given it as a gift a number of times and always get great reviews back from my friends for having given their child such a lovely book. There are other books by Mary Murphy but this one is her best. Whenever I read it, I am reminded of the simplicity and joy of being a parent.

My son (then 1 y/o and now 7 y/o) recieved this book as a gift. He fell in love with it and we read it 2, 3, and 4 times in a row every single day for years. At some point, we wore the creases out and had to hunt down another one. He still to this day will follow my prompt of " I like it when" and i'll hear from the other room... " you hold my hand" and we laugh and laugh. I now have a 20 month old and he loves hearing us play with the story verbally through the house. So guess what he's getting for christmas?!?! I am also going to purchase "I Kissed the Baby" for him. Something about the way Mary Murphy writes these books is so mezmerizing to my children. Its not a Mary Murphy book, but it reminds us of her writing, "What A Mess" by Stephen Krensky.

Trust me, your child will LOVE "I Like It When...", i know we all do and have for nearly 6 years now.

We've had this book pretty much since the boy was born, and it was a joyous day when he started acting it out back to me! He would wiggle for "...when you dance with me", and start giggling before i even read, "...when you tickle me", knowing what was coming. The ending is very sweet. Our younger baby is starting to enjoy it now too.

Highly recommend!