It’s always fun to have the opportunity to read an upcoming picture book before it’s released.
Little Squirrel by Britta Teckentrup, published by Orca Book Publishers, is a sweet baby & young toddler board book for ages 0-2 that will be widely available October 6, 2020.
Since I’m going to be a first-time grandma in February, I’m reading quite a few baby board books right now. I want my new grandson or granddaughter to have a very well stocked home library from day one!
Little Squirrel is such a charming board book for wee ones. I don’t think it’s just good, I happen to think it’s pretty terrific! (Check out my recent post about how to choose the best board books for babies.)
I’ve only read the digital NetGalley copy of Little Squirrel, but I definitely plan to buy my own hard copy when it’s released in October!
What do I especially like about this baby board book?
(Keep in mind, that I always read books through my reading teacher lens.)
There is just the right amount of text.
I’ve seen far too many baby board books with way too much text for the short attention span of the baby/early toddler set.
It’s actually really difficult to write a book with fewer words and do it well. But Britta Teckentrup gets the word count absolutely right in Little Squirrel.
Yet within such a concise word count, she has still been able to tell a very age appropriate and engaging story with a beginning, middle and end. I love that!
The story is written in descriptive, complete sentences.
I like short text for this age group, BUT I’m still a big fan of the use of complete sentences in board books over ones that simply label isolated objects.
Board books should help expand a baby’s receptive vocabulary and complete sentences are so much more enriching than labels.
Do you know anyone who walks around speaking only in labels or lists–apple, chair, house, flower, pencil, dog? Yikes!
Babies need to hear rich vocabulary spoken within the context of real and complex sentences…just not too many at one time in a board book.
Again, author/illustrator Britta Teckentrup gets it just right in Little Squirrel.
The illustrations are vibrant, and somehow still warm and cozy!
The colorful, eye-catching illustrations are reminiscent of Eric Carle’s bold collage style and they do a wonderful job to convey the bright colors of autumn. I think her animal illustrations are especially adorable.
The story contains themes of autumn, woodland forest animals, food gathering, change of seasons, a loving family.
There’s lots of opportunity to talk with baby about what is happening in this sweet story. Again, talking helps develop baby’s language.
What you should know about my book reviews:
I won’t give a negative book review.
If I read a galley copy of a book and I don’t like it, I simply won’t review it. My philosophy is that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
I decided a long time ago that I would only write reviews for books that I actually like because I recognize that there is no book that speaks to everyone.
So if I do choose to write a book review, it’s going to be a positive one. I give my honest opinion, but I also try to give the specific reasons why I like a book. I know others might disagree with me. That’s okay, opinions are like that.
Little Squirrel is the second book in the All Natural Series (Orca Book Publishers):
Little Owl (All Natural Book 1)
Little Squirrel (All Natural Book 2)
Little Duck (All Natural Book 3)
Little Fox (All Natural Book 4)
A Note From the Publisher
