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By Mom Unplugged, February 4, 2010 7:19 pm

Olivia the pig is in a play…does she earn the lead role of Fairy Queen? Umm, no. Much to her dismay, she is cast as Cow Number Two!

I recently agreed to review Simon and Schuster’s new Olivia book, Olivia Acts Out. When my copy arrived in the mail, we were all very excited.

Although my children and I love all the original Olivia books by Ian Falconer (we own them all!), this one is different. It is adapted by Jodie Shepherd and based on a screenplay by Pat Resnick (illustrated by Patrick Spaziante). Screenplay? It’s based on a TV show! Having no TV, I didn’t even realize that Olivia was now a show on Nickelodeon.

Although we were unaware of the television connection, I really did like the book as a book (rather than just a tie-in), and so did my children. It’s cute, it has humor, and Olivia is the same old funny, competitive, full of character piggy. There is no need to make a connection to a TV show to enjoy this book.

The format of the book is different from the original ones. Olivia Acts Out is a large board book. The cover is solid, and the pages are sturdy cardboard. This sturdiness is ideal for younger children.

The other new element that stands out are the illustrations. The book is in full color! The originals were mostly black, white, and red (red is clearly Olivia’s favorite color). Although I loved the simplicity of the original books, these illustrations are also very engaging. Olivia still likes red clothes and accessories, but multicolor makes the characters look more realistic. There is a texture to some of the drawings which should add extra interest for very young children. The cover is flocked for some fuzzy-texture enjoyment too.

Olivia Acts Out seems like a great book for younger Olivia fans. The humor is not quite as subtle as in the originals, and the colorful, textured illustrations add lots of extra interest for little ones. My kids enjoyed it.

Thank you Simon and Schuster!

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By Mom Unplugged, February 19, 2008 8:27 pm

This board book (published by Charlesbridge for the Global Fund for Children) is a very sweet and unusual “baby faces” type of book. All babies love looking at other babies. My children have always enjoyed photos of babies, especially in the baby and toddler phase. This is a baby book that features a diversity of babies from around the world: Guatemala, Thailand, Greenland, Mali, USA, India, South Africa, Fiji, Peru, Afghanistan, USA (Native American), Malawi, Spain, Iraq, Rwanda, Bhutan, and China (the cover).

The pictures are lovely close-ups of the baby faces and the babies are often depicted in traditional clothing or baby wrap which can inspire some conversations with older children about cultural differences. Younger children and babies will simply enjoy looking at the faces. My 2 year-old has loved this one for a long time.

Global Babies is a wonderful book for celebrating diversity and teaching that although the outside appearance may be different, babies all over the world are just babies.

The fact that this is a sturdy board book means that little loving hands have a harder time destroying it. A plus in my book!

Also, a portion of the proceeds of the book goes to the Global Fund for Children , “a nonprofit organization committed to advancing the dignity of young people around the world.”

A win-win for all I think!

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By Mom Unplugged, December 14, 2007 12:54 pm

I just bought the whole set of these for my almost two-year old. They were so lovely that I couldn’t wait for Christmas to bring them out!

These books are refreshingly simple. There are four in the series, one for each season. There are no words, only lovely drawings of children engaged in fun activities appropriate to the season of the book.

There is lots to see and talk about, from picking out objects and colors, to discussing seasons, weather, clothing, nature, activities and play! My daughter loves these and will sit and pore of the pages with great interest.

Another thing I really like about these books is the fact that they are sturdy board books. This is good for us, since I think ours will get a lot of love and use!

Thank you to Greenemother of The Owl and the PussyCat, where I first learned of the series. I urge you to read her thoughts on these lovely books. I am grateful for your recommendation!

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By Mom Unplugged, September 26, 2007 9:47 pm

This is such a cute book! DK books always have wonderful photographs and this one is no exception.

The text is basically a recitation of the children’s song “Old Mac Donald Had a Farm.” The adorable photos are what really make the book so enchanting. Each image features a farm scene composed of cute little felt toys.

My 20 month-old loves this book. She likes pointing to the animals and telling me what noise they make. This is a large-format board book so it is quite sturdy. An important (but often overlooked) plus for a book geared towards babies.

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By Mom Unplugged, June 13, 2007 10:42 am

This board book is not your ordinary inventory of baby cows, pigs, and ducks. As a resident of the Southwestern US, I could not resist buying this for my 17 month-old, and she loves it!

This book contains adorable photos of the following babies: prairie dog, bighorn sheep, roadrunner, skunk, red-tailed hawk, javelina, mountain lion, coyote, bobcat, and quail.

It is a sturdy board book format. Each two-page spread has a photo and a simple sentence about the animal (for example: “A baby javelina has a snout.”).

What a welcome change from all the baby farm animal books out there!