Won't You Be My Kissaroo? [Hardcover]

Joanne Ryder (Author), Melissa Sweet (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

There are lots of different kinds of kisses--from sticky breakfast kisses to playful "gotcha!" kisses to special birthday cake kisses--and this charming story celebrates them all! Now in a sweet new board book edition, this is just the thing for sharing with your favorite kissaroo.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–A little lamb's birthday dawns sunflower bright, with a special gift, a kiss, and a request from his loving parent: "Won't you be my kissaroo?" Colorfully clad animal friends are just as lucky, receiving special kisses ("A morning kiss... full of sun.... A breakfast kiss... nice and sweet.... A hello kiss... soft as rain...") from their own caring grown-ups. Sweet's large, charmingly simple watercolor, pencil, and collage pictures have an appealing primary-grade sensibility and are awash with a golden-sunlight glow and a sort of innocent awe. They combine beautifully with Ryder's easy rhyming text to invite readers to join the bear, bunny, butterfly, puppy, kitten, and funny frog in red boots who gather to surprise their woolly friend to celebrate his happy day. Finally, the sleepy-eyed young sheep is tucked into bed, and, while fireflies punctuate the night-blue sky outside his window, he receives a cozy kiss and a reprise of the question of the day: "So... Won't you be my kissaroo?/And every day, the whole day through,/we'll share new kisses.../me and you!" A feel-good choice for sharing one-on-one or with a group, and a high-quality addition to the kisses-and-hugs collection.–Kathy Krasniewicz, Perrot Library, Old Greenwich, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS. On her birthday, a young sheep wakes to a present and lots of kisses from Mom. As she strolls through the neighborhood, she sees other animal parents and their offspring sharing kisses and cuddles, too. A gentle, rhyming text describes the different types of kisses she observes, from the sticky kiss mama and baby bear share after a sweet honey breakfast to the silly, wet kisses Puppy gives his parent. There's also a sense of the natural progression of a day, from sunrise ("A morning kiss is full of sun / and wishes for the day to come") to sundown ("A bedtime kiss will tuck you tight / and keep you cozy through the night"). In addition to supporting the concepts described in the text, Sweet's cheerful watercolor-and-collage illustrations depict a simple story line in which the young sheep is treated to a surprise birthday party thrown by her animal friends. Pair this with Time for Bed (1993), Mem Fox's lovely animal tale of parent-and-baby bedtime snuggling. Lauren Peterson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015202641X
• ISBN-13: 978-0152026417
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 10 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #768,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but Hugaroo is better, November 3, 2008

By 

Chris Mathews (Portland OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Won't You Be My Kissaroo? (Hardcover)

This is a really good book (significantly better than most toddler books out there), but the sequel Won't You Be My Hugaroo is significantly better in that the story is more complex. Artwork is excellent in both books, but the story is superior in the other book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DELIGHTFUL, SWEET BOOK THAT THE KIDS LOVE., May 7, 2007

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Won't You Be My Kissaroo? (Hardcover)

This is an ideal book for mom or dad to read to their little one. The illustrations are great and quite eye catching. The book is entirely about love, love between parent and child and that is a good theme to read about with any child. The text is simple to understand and goes quite well with the illustrations. This is a great bed time story book or setting under a tree book for you and your young ones. Recommend this one highly.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will result in lots of kisses!!!, December 1, 2005

By 

westerncat "westerncat" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Won't You Be My Kissaroo? (Hardcover)

My 2 year old simply adores this book. The illustrations are glorious, with many different animals in brilliant hues. What makes this book a favorite is that most pages involve a different kind of "kiss" ("A morning kiss is full of sun and wishes for the day to come") and means you can bestow all of these different kisses on your little kissaroo. Basically, it's a GREAT excuse to give multiple kisses to your child (without he/she pulling away), and they're actually returned!