Boynton's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

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The thinking's not fuzzy in these board books, but the animals certainly are. Sandra Boynton's familiar furry creatures introduce simple concepts in this bright collection of four books, replete with clever line drawings. In Horns and Toes and In Between, three horned monsters teach the parts of the body in rhyme: "...and we have a fuzzy TUMMY that we all like to pat / and a little BELLY BUTTON in the middle of that." The Going to Bed Book gets a Noah's Ark of animals organized for bed: "They hang their towels on the wall / and find pajamas, big and small." Opposites is just that: cute animals "high and low / fast and slow / heavy and light / day and night." In the rhyming reader But Not the Hippopotamus, a hippo finds himself on the outs as "a cat and two rats are trying on hats. / But not the hippopotamus. / A moose and a goose together have juice. / But not the hippopotamus." Rest assured the hippo finds love at the end. (Baby to preschool) --Claire Dederer


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Humor is a necessity for toddler parents who will be reading the books their children will come to love over and over. Rarely do rhythm, rhyme, and humor come together as well as they do in the works of Sandra Boynton. Her four best-sellers come packed together in this volume, and each satisfies this age group's developmental needs. The Going to Bed Book calms the restless and will help them sleep; Horns to Toes and Opposites introduce concepts with playfulness and But Not the Hippopotamus is a silly first story about rejection. These titles have endured and succeeded with toddlers for almost two decades. 1998, Little Simon, Ages 2 to 5, $19.99. Reviewer: Susie Wilde


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