<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely the Best Way to Learn Your ABC's from A to Z!
Review: "Aardvark Admiring, Beavers Balooning, Cats Cleaning" I can't tell you how many times I read and sang the words as I pointed at the pictures. It's kind of sad to be packing it away, but you know, there will come a time when my girls have girls of their own and out of the box it'll come. Oh what a day that will be.
This book was every bit as entertaining for my babies as the other's by Ms. Boynton, but this one served double duty, well all of her books are educational, you know. They teach toddlers colors, animals and such, but this one all the way through to "Zebra Zigzagging" helped me teach them the ABC's, so we read it a lot more often and we were still reading it right up through the terrible twos. Did my girls learn their ABC's before they reached three. You betcha.
Sophie Cacique Gaul
Rating: 
Summary: Teach your children about "ugliness"
Review: A to Z has a big problem in my opinion. It is a very simple children's book with some very cute illustrations of animals (A to Z). Each animal is engaged in an action that also begins with the first letter of it's name (e.g. Kangaroos Kissing). There are lots of made up animals, I'm assuming to account for the rarity of animals beginning with "Q" and "X" etc. The part that I don't like is the fictitious "Uglybirds" whose action is simply "Being Ugly". The illustration that goes along with this so-called ugliness is very disturbing. The "Uglybirds" have atypical bird features that seem intentional. They are green and purple, and have messed up feathers and big bulging eyes and are very "Different" from the "normal" birds in this and other books. Upon reading this, my wife and I agreed that we would never repeat this section while reading to our daughter. Although I do intend on teaching my daughter about ugliness (Racism, Violence, contempt, etc.). I think that it is a quality that shouldn't be used to describe physical appearance. When my daughter encounters a person who is physically unusual, I hope that I have instilled in her the values to disregard what others might find "Ugly". I know that some might think that I'm overanalyzing such an innocent entry in a child's book, I think that parents need to be more careful about the messages that they are sending about ugliness.
Rating: 
Summary: Echoing the Ugly Problem Too
Review: Although I've enjoyed reading her other books to my daughter, the word UGLY also bothered me. These books are perfect for reading to infants and toddlers, and I'm not too naive or overprotective to know that she won't pick up negative volcabulary (she has already), but it seems that "ugly" is not an appropriate word to teach them at such a young age. I'd prefer to have her learn more positive words, since there is plenty of time for her to learn all the words later. After discovering this page, I haven't used this book again.
Rating:
Summary: Echoing the Ugly Problem Too
Review: Although I've enjoyed reading her other books to my daughter, the word UGLY also bothered me. These books are perfect for reading to infants and toddlers, and I'm not too naive or overprotective to know that she won't pick up negative volcabulary (she has already), but it seems that "ugly" is not an appropriate word to teach them at such a young age. I'd prefer to have her learn more positive words, since there is plenty of time for her to learn all the words later. After discovering this page, I haven't used this book again.
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: My 4-month-old daughter LOVES Sandra Boynton books. We have ten of them and they are her favorites. She loves the simple stories and the bright, vibrant pictures. I point to the words and the pictures as we go through them & she giggles almost non-stop. She even tries to help me turn the pages. (Of course, she also has tried to eat the books, but she's only four months old.)There seems to be a lot of discussion regarding the "ugly birds." As an education professional, I think it is important not to under-estimate the intelligence of children. Many will take the phrase at face-value and see it for what it is, a silly statement that sounds funny and "tickles" when you read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Using "Ugly Birds" Uniquely...
Review: My son enjoys reading this book, and it helped him learn his ABCs pretty quickly. My wife and I were worried initially about the "Ugly Birds Being Ugly" page, because we thought our son would go around poking fun at the physical appearances of others. But he didn't. Looks like we managed to teach him how to respect others. As for Sandra Boynton's book, our 5-year old smiles at the letter "U" page not because of how the birds look, but because of how the phrase sounds (onomatopoeiatically speaking, that is). When I scrunched up my face and asked him if Daddy was being ugly, he said No because I wasn't some bird drawing made by Sandra Boynton. I recommend this book not only for the entertainment value, but for the opportunity to teach children how to draw the line between fun reading, and respecting others. Afterall, I'd rather my child hears the word "ugly" from me (plus parental explanation), than from someone else in the school playground.
Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: Not one of my favorites, but it still is a good book. We enjoy all of the Sandra Boynton books.
Rating:
Summary: My son loves Sandra Boynton Books
Review: This is a great book which my son loves to read. It teaches him his ABC's plus the pictures are great. We have almost all of Sandra Boynton's book collection. Highly recommend it.
<< 1 >>
|
