This is a wonderful set of six(6) books, and a helpful parents guide. It teaches many math concepts, including patterns, directions, numbers, shapes and more. My little boy loves the stories so much, he begs me to read them over and over. We act out the stories. I can already see improvement in his ability to express dircections, counting and recognizing patterns. I would reccomend this set of books to anyone who has small children.

Beaky is our all-time favorite kids imagination book. With a little thought we came up with how each creature would sound. From the sssssssss-of Sammy the snake to the underwater bubbly voice of the fish, my girls thought it was great fun to read Beaky EVERY night. I would suggest that every child read and be read Beaky.

Every single night I had to swap between this book and Goodnight Moon. My daughter loved this book. I made the frog have a croaky voice, snake had a hissy voice, fish had a bbbrrrbb voice, and mother sang. When she was older, she wanted to know what a bird of paradise really sounded like. So we looked it up on an on-line encyclopedia and listened. Her eyes were so big and bright. "It is beautiful Mommy, but I like your Bird of Paradise better." HA! Great pictures and a story that will capture every child's imagination.

This book recalls the lessons of the classic fairy-tale of "The Ugly Duckling." When Beaky is separated from his mother at birth, he feels totally inadequate because he can't hop or swim or slither like the other creatures of the rain-forest floor. Fortunately, he is befriended by a frog who encourages him to keep searching for his true nature. The book ends with his song of triumph "...I'm a bird, a bird of Paradise!"

This short little book contains a tale in rhyme about a polar bear who loves to eat ice cream. Bear loves eating ice cream, so much so that he even dreams about it. There aren't very many difficult words, but enough of a variety that it helps childrens' vocabulary. The pictures are bright and colorful and young children really enjoy listening to the story.

We first received this book as a present from grandma under it's previous title of Cupboard Bear. The wonderful mix of the teddy bear and his number one priority, ICE CREAM, is enchanting for children, especially ice cream lovers! The story is fun for adults to read. My three year old even has the text memorized! A must read.

Dick King Smith, the author of MartinÕs Mice, is best known for Babe the Gallant Pig, which of course was turned into a movie that is a lot better known than any of his books. The movie is one of the best childrenÕs films ever, and the book is even better. But it does have one disadvantage. The British dialect in Babe, while charming, is so thick it is difficult for many American parents and teachers to read aloud, and for American children to follow. DonÕt get me wrong. I love Babe and have read it aloud several times. But it is not easy.

What I like about MartinÕs Mice is that it has many of the same qualities that made Babe such a joy, including the gentleness, the emphasis on kindness, and the quirky, understated humor, but without the heavy dialect. There are Britishisms sprinkled throughout the book, but they are manageable with an American tongue.

In terms of plot and character, MartinÕs Mice is not quite up to the standards of Babe. But then how many books are? Like Babe, Martin is a farm animal who marches to a different drummer. HeÕs a cat who loves mice. But he loves them as pets, not as meals. The novel focuses on how he learns to love them more as friends and equals than as pets. Martin is a sweet, gentle character, but there is no denying he does not have the charm of Babe. And the novelÕs plot seems a little disjointed. The ending felt like it sprang on us out of nowhere.

Still, my six-year-old daughter and I both enjoyed the book. If you are looking for a childrenÕs book full of nice, gentle humor and kind characters, this is a good choice.

I think Martin's Mice is a realy good book, because there's a cat who hates eating mice but his mother makes him eat at least on bit of mouse. Martin thinks they are really cute and adorable and wants to have one as a pet. When he gets older his mother stops catching them food. Martin and his brother and sister have to catch their own food. Luckily the farmer's daughter starts feeding him cat food. Martin decides that he will catch a mouse for a pet, so one day he goes and catches one for a pet. He catches a lady mouse, but what he does not know is that she is going to have children, too. I also like it because it was really funny, and it put a smile on my face the whole way through.

Book Review
By Brooklyn

The book I am reading is caled Martins mice. I relly like this book. I would recammend this book to eneone who likes cats. Is your faviorite animal a cat. In this book Martins mom catches mice but Martin dose not eat mice he keeps them as pets.

I agree with the "bad manners" review. My 22 month old son really likes the pictures, but I make up the story as I go, because the one in the book would only teach him to be rude and use other people without ever thinking about their needs. The duck gets "stuck in the muck", and enlists several other animals to help him. Once the truck is out of the muck, the duck simply drives off, leaving his helpers "stuck in the muck", without any "thank you", or help to get out. I hope the author of this book isn't driving in my neighborhood!

My son absolutely loves this book and so do I!! Poor duck is always getting into trouble and dragging his friends along with him (literally)! This time his truck is stuck in the muck. All the duck books are great to read over and over again, and they have great pictures as well. ( Fix it Duck is a must have along with this ).

I purchased this book for my 3 year old nephew, but I have to admit that I enjoyed this book just as much as him! The story is clever and fun, and the illustrations are fantastic. A really great book for young children.

This is a great book for a toddler. Froggy is playing hide-n-seek with his friends and needs your help to find them. All the animals are cleverly concealed. My daughter loves to yell "BOO" each time she lifts the flap. The illustrations in this book are perfect for a little one. My 20 month old makes me read it again and again. The one drawback is that this is not a hard cover book, which is why I subtracted a star.