Customer Reviews

Little Boy

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A gentle reminder to let children have unstructured time to play, this storybook is about a dad reflecting on his son the way the authors' Someday is about a mom and her daughter. Both can bring tears to your eyes.

Using short rhymes and expressive illustrations, the story follows one small boy through his day. He wakes up to the sounds of a big yellow dog and Dad singing in the shower. He spends his day climbing trees, splashing in puddles, dumping sand, rolling trucks, being measured to see how tall he is, baking cookies with Dad, kicking balls, pretending to be a pirate, saying goodbye to visiting grandparents and reading to his dog.

Like all little kids, the boy plays with his same, favorite toys throughout the day. A yellow robot splashes in a puddle, gets buried in a sandbox and measured for its height, and walks into a cardboard box town. The boy plays with the cardboard box all day too, finally falling asleep in it at night, curled up with his dog.

The point of the book is surprisingly deep: that who the boy will become as a man depends on all the seemingly insignificant, everyday activities he does as a child. "Little boy, you remind me how, so much depends on days made of now."

I have to admit when I first read this book, I found it hard to follow and awkward. I do appreciate repetition in literary styles but I did not like the flow of this book. I loved their first book "Someday" I thought it was beautifully written and the plain prose was still poignant. However I felt like this book was written to ride on the coat tails of their last success. I tried reading it to my daughter and the choppy wording turned her off right away. I have found that when purchasing books to read aloud to toddlers the language and flow of the prose is very important. Although the concept is sweet I wouldn't recommend it for reading aloud, which is important to me when choosing children's books. I highly recommend the poem its based on as an alternative.

The poem by William Carlos Williams
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.

This book I will admit through me off guard when I first read it, I thought of it as sweet but that's it. Our son who is now 3 picks this book to read almost every night. We always ask what book he always replies little boy. He points at all the pictures. This book gets sweeter and sweeter the more you read it and related it to your growing boy. A GREAT add to anyone's home library.

The illustrations and words in this book are gorgeous. I read it to my 15-month old son (I bought this for his first birthday) and he doesn't understand it yet, but I think it's delightful and a book he will enjoy as he gets a little bit older. It talks about everything this little boy loves to do, most of which mimics what my son loves to do, which makes it very personal. It's the kind of book you keep for generations to come.

The little boy in this book reminds me very much of my 4-year-old (one of my 3 boys), and I love reading it to him. Perhaps he enjoys listening because I like reading it so much, or perhaps he would love it anyway. I treasure reading this story to him. He has something to say about every page. The whimsical feel of the book gets his imagination going. He is as sweet as the book and I love to be reminded of that.

I ordered this book for my son, since I had the book "Someday" by the same author, which was so touching. I did not feel emotionally attached to this book, as I did the girls one. This was a very cute book, and my son, almost 3, enjoys it. I just think it doesn't tug at your heartstrings as the "Someday" book.

This book is really cute. My son always asks to read it. As a mom, it makes me tear up sometimes, just a sweet book about boys being boys.

The girl version, "someday" is wonderful as well.

Our little boy - 17 months old - loves the lilting prose and the lovely pictures of this book. He picks it out of his bookcase full of books nearly every night and begs for it to be read to him. The book follows one day of a little boy and uses familiar words - cup, dog, bug, truck, crackers - that he understands and responds to by pointing at the object in the illustration. And, of course, it lauds the best toy of all, the "big cardboard box"! Our little boy now repeats the word "box" each time the book mentions this amazing object.

I disagree with the reviewer who said it was difficult to read . . . just think William Carlos Williams and you will realize that this is a wonderful poem. "Little boy, so much depends on, your yellow cup, a seranade to wake you up, the sun that slants across the rug, the wings on that astonishing bug, AND your big cardboard box."

WONDERFUL!!

I purchased this title on a whim when a very dear friend of mine and his wife had their first child, a little boy. It just seemed right. I wasn't disappointed. It's a delightful story about a "little boy" and what's important to him. Of all his toys--the big cardboard box--and what parent doesn't understand that?

Charming book that the mothers and fathers of boys should read and share with their growing sons.