Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?

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Summary: MOTHERLY LOVE ----- TWELVE TIMES OVER
Review: .

Some readers (particularly adults) may find this recent book by the venerable Eric Carle a little bit on the repetitive side or even short of plot. However the target audience for this book (2 to 4 YO's) are expert practitioners in the art of the repeated question .... with slight variations of course.

This book will appeal to the instinctive nature of young children to want to learn by covering the same ground (with slight variations of course) by going over a topic again and again (and again!)

The success of this book, shows the value of well structured rote learning. When done in an appealing way, like Mr Carle does, it is totally natural. The dynamic links between each question, page and animal will draw children along. The reward at the end of the book is the assurance that "animal mothers love their babies just as yours loves you".

If you find yourself saying to your kids "how many times do I have to tell you" then perhaps spending some time with this book may be just as instructive to you as it is to the children.

This book compares well with "The Hungry Caterpillar" where we learnt about numbers and time and tummy aches! In the "Does a Kangaroo.." we learn the importance of the loving relationships between parents and their offspring (BOING.... BOING)

Another great book by Eric Carle. His artwork is better than ever.

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Rating:
Summary: perfect for little one
Review: I bought this book for my 2 year old son because I liked the illustrations and we've enjoyed so many of Eric Carle's other books. However this one seems to miss the mark. It's very repetitive and we both find it a bit boring. There are other books with pictures of lots of animals (eg "Brown Bear Brown Bear" or "Dear Zoo") that engage Ben (and me) far more.

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Summary: Sweet but dull
Review: I bought this book for my 2 year old son because I liked the illustrations and we've enjoyed so many of Eric Carle's other books. However this one seems to miss the mark. It's very repetitive and we both find it a bit boring. There are other books with pictures of lots of animals (eg "Brown Bear Brown Bear" or "Dear Zoo") that engage Ben (and me) far more.

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Summary: we love this book!
Review: Our daughter just turned 3 and she loves this book. We found a copy of this book at the library, brought it home and she loved it. This book encourages her to use her words. She even reads it to herself in her own little language. We are defenitely ordering this book today. It is also a great book for storytime (daycare setting). Other books that are winners in our home are "From Head to Toe", "Panda Bear, Panda Bear what do you see?","Polar Bear,Polar Bear what do you hear?", "Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see?", "Dream Snow", "The very busy spider". What we love about these books is the way the pictures are done, words, and all the animals in them. They are put together so well for children.

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Summary: Beautiful illustrations
Review: This is a very simplistic book, with virtually the same words on every page. I do not believe that an 8 year old would be interested in this book when my 2 year old barely likes it. The art work is good, but I was disappointed with it overall. It did not have anything new to offer.

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Summary: Poor grammar
Review: Though I love the concept behind the book, there is a grammatical error on every page. The correct language should be "just like you and I" (have a mother). The way every page is written implies the "you and me" are mothers.
I show my son the pictures, and describe the story in my own words, but definitely do not read this one aloud.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful illustrations
Review: We own nearly all of Eric Carle's books, and this one, though written with a sweet message (all mommies love their babies), comes across as a bit repetitive. My two year old is not captivated by the story (each page asks the same question that is answered on the next page, using different animals each time), but she loves to look at the pictures and the book has served as a great tool for teaching the names of animal babies - the last page of the book even includes the names, if you don't know them (ie, a baby horse is a foal, but what is a baby swan or kangaroo). I'd buy the book just for this information and the illustrations.