Board Book
For Baby to Preschool
Simple, playful text and brightly colored pictures make for a fun book on the concepts of "big" and "little."
I discovered the book Big Little in our local library, and it has become one of SB's favorites. I really like the illustrations in this one. SB seems to love the cute toddler character that is featured on each page - he (or she?) has a big, round head with a little curlie q on top and is dressed only in diapers. SB also seems to like the bright, bold colors of the illustrations. He stares intently at the pictures as I read, and this was one of the few books that really captured his attention when he was around 9 months old.
On each pair of pages, the book illustrates something big on one side and something little on the opposite side. Some sample text: "Elephants are big. Mice are little" and "Boats are big. Rubber duckies are little." Some of the pairings have a silly, humorous touch. It's a fun way to teach your little one the meaning of "big" and "little." I spread my arms out wide when I say "big" and then put my fingers together for "little." I don't know if SB gets it yet, but he will someday soon, I hope!
Leslie Patricelli, the author, has created a series of books that illustrate various pairs of opposites. In addition to Big Little, there is Quiet Loud (which we just bought and SB loves), Yummy Yucky, No No Yes Yes, and Baby Happy Baby Sad. After I saw how much SB loved Big Little when we borrowed it from the library, I wanted to buy him another from the series to have as a permanent addition to our home library. After reading some reviews on Amazon, I decided on Quiet Loud, which has turned out to be a great choice. Yummy Yucky and No No Yes Yes seemed to be popular choices, but some of the Amazon comments deterred me from getting them.
Yummy Yucky illustrates things that are yummy as opposed to things that are yucky and shouldn't be eaten - e.g., "Burgers are yummy. Boogers are yucky." It also mentions things like worms and earwax being yucky. While that is pretty humorous, I was afraid that SB would take this as a hint to try those yucky things (he already tried to eat a bug once). He's very impressionable, and he loves to do things that he shouldn't because he thinks it's funny (it's amazing how early that behavior starts!). It's the same issue with No No Yes Yes. Sounds like the text is amusing, but the last thing I need is for SB to get ideas from the book on various activities that are no-no's, like drawing on the wall, eating dog food, putting toys in the toilet, etc. He simply loves to do all things that are a no-no. If you have a kid who is angelic and doesn't copy bad behavior, then I wouldn't hesitate to recommend those books, but otherwise, I would think twice. Quiet Loud seemed to be a safe option, so I got that one, and SB loves it. It shows things that are quiet (e.g., whispering, sniffles, snow) as opposed to things that are loud (e.g., screaming, sneezes, rainstorms). I use a soft voice for the quiet things and a loud voice for the loud things, and SB finds it all very amusing.
There are other books by Leslie Patricelli besides the ones on opposites, just in case you're interested. There is Binky (the tot character looks for his lost binky), Blankie (the tot character describes his relationship with his blankie), and The Birthday Box (the tot character gets a birthday gift in a big box that turns into an airplane, a sailboat, a sled, and a robot).
Retail price of Big Little: $6.99
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