"Kiss the Cow" has become a favorite of my 2-year-old after a recent visit to my parent's house in VA. While there, we saw cows "up close and personal", although we did not kiss any! In this book, Annalisa is one of Mama May's many children; the most curious and most stubborn. After disobeying her mother, Annalisa milks Luella, the "magic" cow. She does not kiss her afterward, however, as is required to ensure future milk production. What happens next is a lesson in learning the consequences of your actions, without being preachy. Luella will not give milk again until Annalisa kisses her, which eventually happens after much cajoling by the children and Mama May. Phyllis Root's book "What Baby Wants" is cute, too.

"Mama May lived where the earth met the sky, and her house was as wide as the prairie. It needed to be. Mama May had so many children she couldn't count them all. Among Mama May's children was one called Annalisa. She wasn't the youngest, and she wasn't the oldest, but she was the most curious and the most stubborn..." Every morning Annalisa watched as Mama May milked their cow, Luella. First she sang her magic greeting song, and Luella gave Mama all the milk she needed for her many, many children. Then she sang her thank you song, and last, but not least, she gave Luella a kiss "right on the end of her velvety, brown nose." "Ughhh!" said Annalisa. "Imagine kissing a cow!" Annalisa watch the milking day in and day out, and wondered what it would be like. Finally she just had to find out for herself. She took her pail from the sandbox and ran down to the pasture. First she sang the greeting song, and Luella filled her pail with warm, sweet milk. Then she sang the thank you song. But when it was time to kiss the cow, Annalisa absolutely would not. The next day, when Mama May came to milk the cow, Luella was dry. No matter how much she sang and kissed, there was no milk for Mama May's children..... Phyllis Root's warm and engaging text is filled with wit and energy, and begs to be read aloud and shared. Will Hillenbrand's bright, expressive, and entertaining illustrations are filled with humor and playful, eye-catching detail. Together, word and art offer a preschool crowd-please that's sure to charm both young and old alike. With its happily-ever-after ending to set everything right once again, Kiss The Cow is a winner!

This is a delightful new addition to my children's library. The illustrations are wonderfully fresh. The language is not too lengthy or involved, yet contains some wonderful descriptive references. For example, unless you are familiar with a dairy, you probably don't know that fresh cheese squeeks between your teeth. This is a book my two toddlers want to see again and again, and I can hardly wait to share it with my kindergarten class.

The Aunt Nancy in this book is my kind of old lady -- spunky! When Old Man Trouble comes a-knockin' on her door, she doesn't let him get the best of her; no sir! She uses a little reverse psychology on him and the next thing you know, Old Man Trouble is leaving town. It is no fun causing people trouble if they appear to be enjoying it. This is one of my two most favorite children's books...My 6 and 9 year-old children love Aunt Nancy.... It is a great book for any child or child at heart!

This book is great because whenever Old Man Trouble brings trouble to Aunt Nancy, she makes something good out of it.

Aunt Nancy is a bright and clever character who outsmarts Old Man Trouble every step of the way. She is a shining example of getting lemons in life and making lemonade. One of the funniest scenes is when Old Man Trouble causes Aunt Nancy to drop a glass which shatters in all directions only to have her respond by thanking him since the glass already had a crack! When Old Man Trouble finally learns that he cannot outwit this sunny dispositioned lady, he heads off for greener pastures to cause trouble elsewhere. The wonderful illustrations and whimsical dialog clearly enhance the readers' enjoyment of each character. I look forward to revisiting the charming Aunt Nancy in her next adventure with "Cousin Lazybones."

My 2-and-a-half-year-old son asks me to read the "Poppa turned the key" book. This is one of those books that's so fun to read, you don't mind doing it a bazillion times. Your mouth gets happy as those crazy sounds come out, and the illustrations are so entertaining. You can just spend time looking at each picture and seeing the little details of the pastoral scenery, oh I love the sheep and chickens. It's quite an adventure!

The simple concepts of trying and succeding while chipping in and showing initiative are given class A treatment in this book, one of the most charming and enjoyable on our shelf, and one that our 3-and-a-half year old has loved it for a year now. The great cast of characters and the charming if decrepit old car are very appealing, and the wonderful rhymes and catchy phrases make it a winner all around. Try not to smile when your kid says: "razzleberry dazzleberry fudge delight" a dozen times a day...

Phyllis Root's books always read like music, but this one in particular is like jazz. I've just heard her read it, and the sense of rhythm is extraordinary and catching -- a book that almost sings itself. It's a perfect read-aloud for a hot summer's day!

The author and illustrator of this book do a masterful job of conveying a contemporary feminist spiritual message without becoming preachy or pedantic, thus making the story very appealing to children of all ages. The text rolls off the tongue with a poetic fluidity and the paintings are so engaging that you will find yourself reading this book to your little ones again and again.

This fabulous version of the creation story/myth has my almost three-year-old mezmerized. Big Momma, part goddess, part buddha (as admitted by the illustrator) single-handedly makes the world (although her dishes and laundry do pile up in the process). Her daily accomplishments mirror the Genesis story of creation but with a Root-endowed Southern drawl. If you are able to appreciate the gender change, this is a lovely, refreshing version of creation your child is sure to love. It is well-written and beautifully illustrated.

Aunt Nancy and Cousin Lazybones was a BIG hit with my 4-year-old and my 3-year-old! Every page kept their attention with great illustrations, instantly developed characters, and a VERY funny story full of cute little phrases. "I'd be pleased as petunias to help," said Cousin Lazybones. They love to pretend they have a "hitch in their gitalongs" like good old Cousin Lazybones did!

I also stopped after every lazy thing Cousin Lazybones did and asked my children what SHOULD he have done? They knew right away! They really enjoyed this book, and I REALLY enjoyed reading aloud to them OVER and OVER!

I love this book. It's a lot of fun to read out loud and the characters, especially the naughty bear, are very expressive and exuberant.

An incredible begining book for a first time reader. My daughter 4 yrs. old picked it up and began reading, really reading for the first time. The relationship of words and illustrations make the book easily understandable, fun to look at and easy to follow along with for first time readers. After I bought this set of books I went back and purchased them all. Highly recommend this for first time readers. A smile will show you why.

My daughter is going into kindergarten and she is already reading (I think this has a lot to do with her using the Reader Rabbit Complete Learn to Read System.) Anyway we needed some books that had:

1. limited vocabulary, especially words that can be sounded out (this makes her proud) 2. repetition (to reinforce new words she just sounded out) 3. minimum pages (let it be over before she gets bored) 4. interesting story lines

Well, "Hey, Tabby Cat" was just what we were looking for. This is a collection of 4 short books. This collection is perfect for very new readers. It fits all of the criteria above for a very reasonable price.

My daughter loves this book! She reads it over and over! What fun!

"Down by the marsh, by the sleepy, slimy marsh, one duck gets stuck in the muck, down by the deep green marsh. Help! Help! Who can help? We can! We can!" Maybe two splish, splish fish, three clomp, clomp, moose, four pleep, pleep crickets, or five plop, plop frogs can help that poor old stuck duck. And if they can't get the job done, how about six plunk, plunk skunks, seven sloosh, sloosh snails, eight slosh, slosh possums, nine slink, slink snakes, or ten zing, zing dragonflies? It looks like that duck may be stuck for good until his many friends combine forces and help him out of the muck together..... Phyllis Root's thoroughly entertaining counting book is filled with rhyme, silly wordplay, lots of energy, and wonderful sound effects that make learning numbers and practicing counting a snap for preschoolers, and her engaging, repetitious refrain lets little ones join in and "read along." Jane Chapman's busy, bright, and boldly colorful illustrations are rich in humorous detail and just add to the fun. Together this dynamic duo have authored a marvelous, interactive romp, that's sure to become a classic in the future, and a soon to be favorite in your house right now.

A fun book with bright colorful pictures. My son loves to help "read" the book's repeating sentence - HELP HELP WHO CAN HELP?. A nice happy ending as all the animals work together to help the duck.

My 2 1/2 year old loves calling out the rhyming words as we read through this book - duck, stuck, muck. Nicely illustrated. Be prepared to read this over and over.