Art for Baby (Board book)
Reading level: Baby-Preschool
Board book: 12 pages
Publisher: Templar; September 8, 2009

Kiwi Magazine Review:
This is just the unique board book you have been looking for. You want people to think you, the gift giver, have some class, style and appreciation for art, without being snobby. Well, here is the perfect gift for new parents who want to keep the pastels at bay and enjoy some intriguing black and white art by the likes of Damien Hirst, Gary Hume, Takashi Murakami and others. Comes with a set of prints to add to the nursery decor.

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My First Signs (Signing Smart) by Michelle Anthony and Reyna Lindert
Scholastic - June, 2009
Ages 1-3
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
Learning some basic signs with baby can make the difference in having a terrific time, or one filled with tantrums. The simple signs, if used consistently, give babies and toddlers the gift of communication before they even speak their first word. Babies will love the colors and pictures, and the signs are so simple that even a harried parent can learn them!

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Daddy, Papa, and Me (Board book) by Lesléa Newman
Carol Thompson (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Board book: 20 pages
Tricycle Press - May 5, 2009)
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
This sweet little board book takes a look at a family which has two dads and the happy style of play and love that each father has. The illustrations are simple and perfectly accompany the text.

Product Description
Daddy helps me paint the sky.
Papa helps me bake a pie.
Rhythmic text and illustrations with universal appeal show a toddler spending the day with its daddies. From hide-and-seek to dress-up, then bath time and a kiss goodnight, there’s no limit to what a loving family can do together.

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Mommy, Mama, and Me (Board book) by Lesléa Newman
Carol Thompson (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Board book: 20 pages
Tricycle Press - May 5, 2009
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
This sweet little board book takes a look at a family which has two moms and the happy style of play and love that each mother has. The illustrations are simple and perfectly accompany the text.

Product Description
Product Description
Mommy picks me up, up, up.
Mama pours juice in my cup.
Rhythmic text and illustrations with universal appeal show a toddler spending the day with its mommies. From hide-and-seek to dress-up, then bath time and a kiss goodnight, there’s no limit to what a loving family can do together.

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You and Me by Giovanni Manna and Stella Blackstone
Barefoot Books, 2000
Ages 4-7
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
The text of You and Me is so simple in concept but so brilliant in execution. The illustrations are rich, colorful and beautiful. This board book is perfect for little ones, but perhaps even more poignant as a sweet book to give to a friend of any age. Opposites do, indeed, attract.
Publisher’s Description: The imaginary games of a boy and a girl form the basis of this enchanting picture book about opposites and contrasts. As the two children play together, they picture themselves as all kinds of characters,  animals, landscapes and moods. “I’m a circle, you’re a square; I’m a tiger, you’re a bear.”

Celebrating difference, but above all celebrating relationship, You and Me is a very special picture book that will captivate pre-school audiences but is also sure to attract plenty of adult fans.

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The Potty Caddy Book and Stuff by R. J. Gordon, Sarah Bergmann (Illustrator)

Publisher: Workman Publishing Company, Inc.

Pub. Date: October 2008

Recommended for those aspiring to ditch the diapers and their parents

Cautions - lots of poo and pee talk.

Description:

Take one of the most significant landmarks in a toddler’s life—potty-training—and treat it in exactly the right way—with funny, silly humor—and the result is the perfect gift and all-around kit for the toilet-training set (and their parents).

Here’s everything needed to say good-bye to diapers forever, including a 32-page full-color book, four toddler-size “magazines” for bathroom reading—includingVanity Fairy, BQ (Babies Quarterly), Rolling Stroller, and Sports Animated, 100 toilet targets, reward stickers, a potty chart, a helpful brochure for parents (written by a pediatrician), and, best of all, a child’s very own roll of toilet paper on a refillable holder. With its happy illustrations of a proud and curious toddler (unlike most other potty training books, this one is gender-neutral), the Potty Caddy Bookanswers the questions little kids actually think about: Why does the toilet make such a loud noise when it flushes? Will I fall in? Why do I need to stop using diapers? Where does everything go? But it does it all from a toddler’s perspective, with the help of far-fetched creatures (swamp elephants, space aliens, and the Poop Police), plus songs and tips.

Kiwi Magazine Review:

Hilarious.  I never knew that sewer hippos are the reason that the toilet backs up.  Hmmm.  I am wondering if it might be worth overloading the toilet just once to see if that’s really true.  This kit is hilarious for potty-weary parents who have grown slightly humorless over cleaning up urine puddles.  My only complaint is that the author has two kids and claims extensive potty training experience (let’s just ask my mom who had 7 kids about what the term ‘extensive potty training experience’ really means).

This is definitely a gift for someone with a potty-mouth because there is plenty of pee-poo humor (naturally).  But, it actually just might motivate the little ones to sit on the potty and read some of the fun books like Vanity Fairy while giving it a go.

Toilet paper included.

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It’s Hanukkah by Santiago Cohen (Board Book)

Blue Apple Books, 2006

Recommended for ages 0-4

Cautions:  All clear

Product Description

In a palette that radiates the warmth and glow of the menorah’s candlelight, Santiago Cohen walks young readers through the pleasures and traditions of this most cherished holiday. The text, based on a Hebrew children’s song, serves as a counting book as well as a celebration of ritual and family. The traditions of Hanukkah unfold, one night at a time, until the eighth and last night, when all the candles are illuminated.

Kiwi Magazine Review

Watch each candle light on each page as Santiago Cohen simply illustrates this Hebrew children’s song. Children will delight in watching the menorah fill with gently glowing light as they learn why Hanukkah is celebrated.

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