Teeny Tiny Tingly Tales

Rating:
Summary: "Little Bit Scary, Not Lot Bit Scary"
Review: "Little bit scary, not lot bit scary." That is how my son describes this book. He is three years and three months old, which is just within the author's targeted age bracket. I first encountered this book at our neighborhood library. I had a touch of trepidation that my son would find the book scary. When I first read it to him, he told me that it is a "little bit scary. Let's read it again!" He loves it!

This book has three different short tales with interesting illustrations. "Mean Doctor Wango Tango" has many unfortunate pets. This is bound to spawn many questions: "Why is Doctor Wango Tango mean?" "Why is the cat mean?" "Why won't the dog grow?" "What are pebbles?" "What sound does the wind make?"

The second story, "It", had me a bit nervous. At first I wasn't sure how my son would take to the various "body parts". He loves the idea of the "little bit scary" situation, which, in the end, becomes quite normal. My son won't let me turn to the first page of this story until I read the title aloud, "It." This story too is a source of many questions and comments: "What is a jig?" "The hands clap!"

The third story is my son's favorite. I think the rhymes are, for the most part, the most fluent. (Only a few awkward transitions.) This is also a fun one, because the subject is a hairy toe! Now, if it were a toe of a human, the story would just be sick. But instead, it is the toe of a "Something"! When the something is asking for the return of his hairy toe, the letters spill across the pages in a delightful "hairy text". My son is always asking to read the "hairy words" with me.

Overall, we loved this book so much that we had to purchase our own copy. This may not be ideal for all three year olds. The parents should be the judges of that. But don't underestimate the capacity of your little ones to take in a delightful, unreal fantasy.

Rating:
Summary: "Little Bit Scary, Not Lot Bit Scary"
Review: If I could give this a negative rating I would! Although I consider myself open-minded this book is inappropriate for the targeted age. It's illustrations are borderline obscene with sexual innuendos, while the story contains words above the intended reading level's audience. The stories are intended to be "tongue-in-cheek" but end up being just plain scary and innappropriate for preschoolers. There are plenty of other rhying books aavailable for children of this age, don't waste your time on this one.

Rating:
Summary: Teeny, tiny tingly tales
Review: If I could give this a negative rating I would! Although I consider myself open-minded this book is inappropriate for the targeted age. It's illustrations are borderline obscene with sexual innuendos, while the story contains words above the intended reading level's audience. The stories are intended to be "tongue-in-cheek" but end up being just plain scary and innappropriate for preschoolers. There are plenty of other rhying books aavailable for children of this age, don't waste your time on this one.