My son and I found this book at the bookstore last week. It starts out:
Lola loves Tuesdays.
On Tuesdays Lola and her mommy go to the library.
This book is short and sweet, perfect for the toddler or preschooler. It’s not a board book, however, so beware if your child is rough on his or her literature 
This book, which features a little African American girl (sporting precious little pigtails) and her mama, focuses on the joys of reading and visiting the library. I know as a child that I loved going to the library. Not just because of all of the books, but also the activities.
For Lola, there’s story time, sing a longs, and then picking out a lot of books. My son enjoys a visit to the library as well, so this book has been one of his recent favorites.
The illustrations are beautiful and appealing to a child. The wording is simple and the sentences short. If you are in Great Britain, you may find this book under “Lulu Loves the Library”
I thought I would also mention that Lola’s daddy is pictured in a picture frame next to her mama’s bed. My husband asked where the dad was and after some scrutiny, I found him. After visiting the author’s website, I also founds out that there’s another book featuring Lola and her daddy called “Lola Loves Stories” (called Lulu Loves Stories in UK).
We may be picking this one up soon!
We checked this book out a few weeks back. Honestly, my son wouldn’t sit through it. It’s not a board book and we’ve really just started getting into paper books. So I wouldn’t recommend it for the younger crowd. Maybe 5 and up.
It’s really sweet though. The premise of the story is a little boy expressing his fears of living as an immigrant from Ghana in America. Using two short stories from their homeland about wisdom, the older sister assures her brother that everything will be alright.
The short stories are supposed to be real fables told in Ghana. The illustrations are colorful (pastel in nature), but not quite in a way that caught the eye of my three year old. It’s a good story and a nice lesson for kids who may be , for whatever reason, a stranger in a strange land Whether that strange land is a new school or a new country.
Yet another selection from my son’s library. Book! is a sweet little book from a toddler’s point of view about how much he loves his (what else?) book. With a blanket, stuffed elephant, and curious cat in tow, he explains in simple, easy to read sentences how much he loves his book.
I like this book for a infant or toddler because it’s a board book and the sentences rhyme. It’s a quick read, as well.
The toddler is a little African American boy with kinky hair. His mom also makes the occasional appearance to read him and tuck him in. She’s also sporting kinky hair.
Here’s the author’s website, if anyone is interested.
Here’s yet another great childrens’ book with positive characters who sport kinky curly hair. My son and I have this book in our rotation. Not only does it have a cute little girl with natural hair, but it also explains a very vital part of most people’s lives: budgets. The little girl in the story is shopping with her mother. The girl is, like most children, entranced by every toy and colorful cereal she sees in the store…in this case it’s dinosaur related items. The mother explains each time that these toys, balloons, and cereal are not on the list and instead purchases necessaties such as bread. In the end, the little girl gets a one dollar item that they can afford.
The book is very well suited for toddlers. It’s also a board book which, for me, is a big plus with the 3 and younger crowd. With its simple, rhyming sentences, this book is quite a treat and full of colorful, eyecatching images.
This is a wonderful children’s book that I found and read at work. The illustrations are so cute and there is beautiful natural hair, both on the main character (the toddler) and others (mom and dad). I am going to be purchasing this to read for my son. It’s a board book and perfect for those toddlers/babies that like a fast paced book.
The premise of the story is the toddler getting into all sorts of typical toddler situations and the parent admonishing with lines such as “Go back to bed, baby, please, baby, please”. You may find your child chanting along with that line, as it is a constant on each page.
It’s a book written by Spike Lee and, his wife,Tonya Lee Lewis. They also wrote another book called “Please Puppy Please”. I’ve not read this book yet, but it’s about the adventures two young children have with their new pet puppy. Again, there’s a lot of “Please Puppy Please” on each page as the pup gets into silly situations.
The cover looks adorable!
Favorite line from the book: “One nap of her hair is the only perfect circle in nature”
A little background on this book for you:
Meant to be an empowering book for children about nappy hair, this book has been the subject of much controversy. You can read about the story here.
Overall, this book had a positive message. The illustrations are lovely and colorful, I love the little girl’s hair and how wild it is. None of the other characters in the book have straight hair. The book is written in a call and response mode, from the perspective of the little girl’s uncle (and the family responds).
I love the descriptions and comparisons of the hair that are made.
There was nothing about this book that I just outright did not like. There were, however, things I just wasn’t sure about. I wasn’t sure about the language the book uses, or rather, the lack of correct English. I understand it was being told from the uncle’s perspective, but I’m big on childrens’ books using proper English. A friend of mine at work found this very offensive.
Though I don’t find it offensive exactly, I can see how it can turn some parents off. I do think it’s important for kids to realize that not all books are going to be reflections of how we, as individuals, should talk and act, but that’s a whole other post (on a different blog, even).
I think the main purpose of the language was to emphasize the Call and Response tone of the book.
From Wikipedia:
Call and response is a form of “spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements (‘calls’) are punctuated by expressions (‘responses’) from the listener”, as stated by Smitherman.[1]
In African cultures, call and response is a pervasive pattern of democratic participation — in public gatherings, in the discussion of civic affairs, in religious rituals, as well as in vocal and instrumental musical expression (see call and response in music). It is this tradition that African bondsmen and women have transmitted over the years in various forms of expression — in religious observance; public gatherings; even in children’s rhymes; and, most notably, in black music in its multiple forms: gospel, blues, rhythm and blues, jazz and jazz extensions, and hip-hop.[citation needed]
And then there are a few people who are just plain offended by the term “nappy” so right off the bat, they’d hate this book.
Anyway, another thing some people might not like is a part where the uncle launches into a story about how the angels went to God to ask him not to give the little girl nappy hair, asking God why He was being so “mean” , “ornery” and “willful”. That just kind of rubbed me the wrong way, but I didn’t just hate it.
Otherwise, I liked this book and found it refreshing.
