0 Books for the first 24 months: Books on Toys

Part of the #Write31Days series in October.
This is a series of book categories for picture books in the first 24 months.
Got to know from the Arts Tales FB page that today is "Take your teddy bear to work" day. Hence moved this category for today.

Our next category is "Books about Toys"

When it comes to picture books in the first 24 months, it is great to choose things that a child can best relate to, books based on things that an essential part of the child's everyday life - Isn't toys a good choice then? A blanket buddy, a soft toy, a rattle, a teether, a pounding toy, blocks , sometimes even books as toys - it has been a integral part or else atleast a passing phase in your baby's first 2 years.

Our pick:

Knuffle Bunny : Mo Willems : The first book that comes to mind when I think about toys. It is a 3 books series that is centered around Trixie from her toddlerhood to being an older child and how she always misplaces her loved, one of a kind Knuffle Bunny. (pronounced with the "K" not being silent). The first book is probably the best suited for the first 24 months since Trixie is a toddler who can't yet speak in legible full sentences in that book and struggles to get her dad to understand that she misplaced her Knuffle Bunny. Our detailed review here.

0 O is for Olivia

The Book:
Olivia is a series by Ian Falconer and is centered around a pig named Olivia who is bubbly, enthusiast and is always up for adventure. 
Olivia is a Caldecott honor book in 2001.

This is a review of Olivia and the missing toy. 

The Bubble: 
The book begins with Olivia on a camel in Egypt in a dream and is being woken up for soccer practice. Olivia has a favourite stuffed toy which she takes along everywhere.

Olivia misplaces her toy and frantically searches the entire house for it, under every possible thing, asking her little brother , baby brother , but just doesn't  find it anywhere. She goes to sleep terribly upset. At night, she figures out that her dog has chewed the toy to bits. Though the toy is fixed back, Olivia is very angry with the dog and declares that even her bed time stories should not have dogs. Toddler anger tantrums! 
The ending is super cute to show how children forget such things so easily and Olivia is seen cuddled in bed with the toy and her dog. Toddler anger tantrum, Ta-da gone! 

Bubble Ink's verdict:
We loved the beautiful ending. The illustrations are adorable in black and white and patches of green and red. The story shows the entire Olivia family and we love how each family member has a part in the story. 

We bought ours at the flipkart.com 50% off sale a couple of months back. 
We give it 4 bubbles. 

Bubbling's verdict :
Stories about things missing are a sure bubbling hit. Have you seen my duckling , Knuffle Bunny and this one are in that category. 
She squeals and reads aloud the "dog tore the toy into bits" line. It is a bubbling-fab-four. 

0 K is for Knuffle Bunny

Part of the A to Z blogging challenge #atozchallenge

The Book:
Knuffle Bunny is a set of 3 books surrounding the bunny toy of a girl named Trixie written by Mo Willems.

Knuffle Bunny - A cautionary tale - Caldecott Honor - 2005
Knuffle Bunny Too - Caldecott Honor - 2008

This post is a review of Knuffle Bunny Free - the last in the series.

The Bubble:
The series is about a girl called Trixie whose favourite toy is her Knuffle Bunny. Trixie keeps misplacing her Knuffle Bunny in every story in the series.

In Knuffle Bunny Free - Trixie goes on a trip to her grandparents' and loses her Knuffle Bunny in the plane. She terribly misses her bunny throughout her stay - No new toy, no new places  or park visits seem to do the trick for Trixie to forget Knuffle Bunny and she is terribly upset. She then dreams of the Knuffle Bunny being on this trip with her and all the fun that they have together and the dream makes her feel a little better.
Much to her delight , Trixie finds Knuffle Bunny on her flight back - But would Trixie part with Knuffle Bunny and set it free ? For whom?

The illustrations are an absolute delight - they show the everyday scene of park visits, swing plays, coffee shops, airport in a way that a toddler can relate to them really easily.

Bubble Ink's verdict:
This is our verdict for the entire series.
We love how the series spans the growth of Trixie over the three books. The first one in the series shows Trixie ,a "not-yet" talking toddler tirelessly trying to convey to her father only to annoy him more with her babbles and the mother perfectly understanding her message by just the look on her face. The second one shows the "possessive" Trixie who can't accept another classmate having a toy similar to hers and the frustrated Trixie when she mistakenly brings her friend's Knuffle Bunny instead of hers. The third and the finale one shows the now "kind-and-sharing" Trixie learning to part with her favourite Knuffle Bunny for a younger child. Thus the name, Knuffle Bunny Free. We love the story.
A must read . So much for the toddler to relate to in the illustrations and the story line.

We give the entire series 5-bubbles.

We have 2 of the series and bought them at Flipkart.com and bookadda.com and borrowed one from Hippocampus, Bangalore.
If Bengaluru residents need a copy of this, the Lightroom Bookstore has the 2nd and 3rd in the series.

Bubbling's verdict:
Bubbling and I actually read the series in reverse order. Knuffle Bunny Free was our first read. Though I was wary about it not being age appropriate for her, it was an instant hit. It also happens to be her favourite in the series. She could relate very well to trips to visit her own grandparents in train, visits to parks and the likes.
She picture reads the pages like "Trixie crying" , "Knuffle Bunny missing", "Appa, upset "  and has also asked her own dad when he takes that upset pose - "Appa, why upset"?.
It is a bubbling-full-five for the entire series.

0 Day #10 : 30 books in 30 days : Toy story

As part of the 30 books in 30 days challenge, everyday of the challenge we will post a reading prompt to motivate you to read books.

Day #10 : 30 books in 30 days : Toy Story

Every child has a favourite toy. Today, we ll read books that revolve around toys.

Our picks:

1. Knuffle Bunny : Mo Willems : We pick the entire series. This series about a girl by name Trixie who loves her Knuffle Bunny. On the first book in this series, she misses it on her trip to the laundromat with her daddy. On the sequel, Knuffle Bunny Too, when taking to school, finds it being exchanged for a friend's Knuffle bunny look alike. On the third, Knuffle Bunny Free , she misses it on the flight to her grandparents and finally sets it free by giving it to a crying baby.

2. Elmer and the lost teddy : David McKee :  The story about Elmer, the elephant finding a lost teddy bear for a baby elephant. By letting the baby elephant keep his teddy for a day, Elmer the elephant teaches your child, the lesson of sharing his/her toys.

3. The Toy Horse : Deepa Agarwal : by CBT : The story of a tiny crooked horse that is loved by a girl. Not personally read by us, but sounds a great story.

Tell us what your child's favourite toy is and what you read as a comment here.