theo's picks

a view from 2 3/4 years


We’re Going on Bear Hunt
By Helen Oxenbury, Illustrated by Michael Rosen

A dad, four kids, and a dog go on a bear hunt, through
grass, a wild river,mud, a snowstorm, and more, until they
find the bear and he chases them silly all the way back
home. Every couple of pages is the wonderful rhyme:
“We’re going on a bear hunt, we're going to catch a big
one, what a beautiful day, we’re not scared!” There’s excitement,
humour, rhythmic pacing, and great drawings, in
full pages and in little panels.We’ve read it 342 times.

The Napping House
By Audrey Wood, Illustrated by Don Wood

The cat naps on the dog who naps on the boy who naps on
his grandma who naps on the bed...and all of a sudden a
flea bites the dog who kicks the cat who.....Well, and so it
goes. There are fabulous pictures of snoozing and piling
up high, and then the shock and the hilarity as each one is
woken up from the precious nap. There is a great repetition
of rhyme and action - a compelling mix of anticipation
and expectation. Read it at bedtime 238 times.

I Spy Little Book Rhymes
by Jean Marzollo,
Photographs by Walter Wick

There are so many I Spy books out there that Theo can
spend hours just looking at the covers in a bookstore - but
this one is nice and small, in a tough board book layout,
and perfect for pre-nap and pre-sleep or just a little quiet
time. You can always find something new in each page,
there’s a new story just waiting to be told, and new words
leaping from every corner. “What’s that? What’s he doing?”
are asked over and over. Read 3 times in a row for 100 days.

Pumpkin Soup
By Helen Cooper

What happens when a cat, a duck, and a squirrel live
together and make pumpkin soup every day, and one of
them plays the bagpipes? Well,maybe the duck wants a little
more from the old routine. And maybe the cat and the
squirrel don’t. Does somebody leave home? Does somebody
come back? Excellent paintings, a gripping and
funny story, and tangible tastes and sounds from every
page. For every kid who loves a pumpkin story 365 days of
the year.

Go, Dog, Go!
By P.D. Eastman

Imagine a world where there are only dogs, and they are all
en route to some higher calling, an adventure that we only
discover on page 60 of 64. Yes - a Dog Party, high up in a
tree! And on the way we meet big and small dogs, dogs of
all different colours; almost all the words are single syllables,
in easy, enjoyable and repeatable phrases. Every dog is
lovable, every page a treat, and we see cars, boats, &
romance - all which are targets for silliness.
128,000 pages read.

- Theo picks and his dad David Stambler writes