Llama Llama Mad at Mama

Okay, so confession time: I've been putting off doing this blog, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, by Anna Dewdney, because I wanted to have more than one thing to say.  But really, honestly, the more I thought and worried over it, there was really only that one thing I have ever really wanted to say about this book.

Even llamas don't like llama drama:

Thank you, and good night.

Fancy Nancy

I shouldn't have to do much introduction for Fancy Nancy, written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, because insofar as I can tell, it is one of the most popular children's books in the library, and frankly, it is such with good reason.  As with Press Here (ha!, said it right!), it's a wonderfully adorable little book that I like for many reasons, which I will enumerate momentarily.

But first, this is why you should always keep an eye on kids around library books, especially if they have writing utensils in their hands:

Yup, that's the first thing you see when you open up our library's copy of Fancy Nancy.  Just because these books are available to the public doesn't mean that they should look like it.

But as to why I like Fancy Nancy, it's very simple: Nancy is unreservedly in love with all things frilly and sophisticated, and this includes not only feather boas and pearls and tiaras and saying "darling" with your pinky finger raised while eating, but also: words.  Exquisite.  Iridescent.  Ecstatic.  Plume.  Chauffeur.  And speaking of "chauffeur," Nancy loves French words, because "everything in French sounds fancy."  So merci, oui, and an explanation of what R.S.V.P. is short for (Repondez s'il vous plait -- I DID NOT KNOW THIS) are what you can look forward to.  Brush up your French!

Nancy's family is quite wonderful as well, though rather plain comparatively.  When she decides that her family--woefully lacking in any sense of fancy--needs lessons, they join in wholeheartedly, and then all go out to eat in style:

Also, we find out in Bonjour, Butterfly, that Nancy is, quite possibly, one of the single most talented, epicly, wonderfully dramatic sulkers...

...of all time.

And there you have it.

Press Here

This is a children's book, called Press Here, by Here Tullet, and originally published in France under the title Un Livre.  Also, I have a habit of calling it Push Button, which is an entirely different book by author/illustrator Aliki.

I can only assume that this book isn't as popular as I think it should be because it was only first published in English two years ago, and c'mon, we've got to give it some time to gain popularity, right?  At any rate, I think it's a perfectly adorable, lovely little book that children can "interact" with, and though I've only read it to one child (Kate), I'm quite certain that it's her favorite of the books I checked out for her, since she's forever asking me to read her "the button book."

Basically, you open the book and see this:

So you press it, and when you turn the page, BAM!  TWO DOTS!  THERE ARE MAGICALLY TWO DOTS!

Rubbing the dots make them change color, tapping them makes them multiple.  But what may be Kate's favorite part is shaking and tilting the book, which makes the dots all jumbled up and then slide around the page.  Then you can line them all up, and turn the lights on and off, but then there's dark all over the page so you lift it up and blow on it to make it go away, but then you've accidentally blown too hard and most of the dots are off the page so THEN you have to tilt the book some more to get them all back in their proper place in the center of the book.

Then Kate makes me do the next part (I don't know why she won't do it herself):

Yup, that's right: they get HUMONGOBIG when you clap.  They get so big, in fact, that the yellow dot fills up the entire page, and then you have to...well, I don't want to spoil the whole thing, children's book though it is.

I'll say this, though: I don't really read the text on the page, since it's kinda stilted if you're just reading it aloud to a kid.  So instead, I modify it a little, to make it flow better.

But yeah.  If you have a child, or babysit a child, or have a cousin/niece/nephew who is a child, I do recommend this book.

(Though you may be sick of it after a dozen reads.)