my child is now proud of wearing diapers. the first line in the book is --Do you wear diapers?-- my kid laughs and says yes and pats his diaper. He doesn't relate to her dislike of diaper rash or having to sit in it when mommy doesn't have time to change it. Also this book talks about diaper pins and tape which is outdated even for cloth diaper users. So this book has had the opposite effect by no error of the writers; I didn't expect that reaction when i bought it! Really is probably a decent book for every other child in the world

MY DAUGHTER LOVES THIS BOOK. IT IS AMONG OUR FAVORITES. THE MUPPET BABY MISS PIGGY TELLS ABOUT HOW SHE USED TO WEAR DIAPERS AND DECIDED TO BE LIKE THE BIG KIDS, SO NOW SHE USES THE POTTY. WE OWN AN EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF POTTY BOOKS, AND THIS, WHILE BEING ONE OF THE LEAST COSTLY IS ONE OF THE BEST.

This is a cute book featuring the Muppets Miss Piggy. I think maybe a girl would relate to it more. My son is very aware that it is a little girl potty training in this story. It has a very cute rhyme about not wearing diapers that I have adapted for my son.

In this book, Babar and his family go to the haunted Black Castle for a picnic. But while they are there it starts to rain, so they have to go inside and wait for it to stop. As they were waiting, the children went and roamed around. While they were roaming around the castle, they ran into a ghost. At first they were scared, but the ghost told them he was a good ghost. So he went home with them, but when Babar found out that the children had a ghost there, he sent the ghost straight home. The children were sad, but they knew that they could go and visit the ghost any time.
I liked this book as a child because I always thought that stuff with ghosts, haunted houses and stuff like that were interesting. My favorite character in this book was Zepher the monkey, he was kind of funny. So if you think you are interested in this kind of story, you should read it.

The Babar series is just wonderful for beginning readers. There are many qualities that parents will like- the cultural aspects, messages about responsibility, family, and community, as well as engaging, but not-too-complex plots for youngsters. My daughter particularly likes this one- it has just enough mystery and intrigue to interest her without confusing her.

I just read this story to my four-year old daughter. It's a classic story from this author, nothing "wrong" with it, but you do need to watch out and may want to explain some parts. In the storyline, the girl elephant wanders off by herself and accepts a boatride from a stranger...then she knocks on the door of an unfamiliar house. Two male characters invite her inside and they all play together until they overhear a news alert that Babar is looking for his missing daughter, so they take her home. After reading it, I explained to my daughter that I didn't want her to wander off, accept boat rides from strangers or knock on unfamiliar doors and go inside a stranger's home. This story was written in a simpler era when concerns were a bit different than in today's world.

If you are a Babar fan, you know Pom, Flora, and Alexander quite well. In this book, Celeste is about to have a baby. Babar is hoping for a girl, so he will have equal numbers of daughters and sons. When Celeste unexpectedly gives birth under a tree, he gets his wish! The remainder of the story describes Isabella's babyhood and her personality. I enjoyed this first Isabella story, and look forward to hearing more about her in future Babar books.

Isabella brings great pleasure to the royal elephant family. Babar is a proud papa. "Celeste loved to show her off at every opportunity. Pom, Flora, and Alexander were enchanted . . . and so was everyone else."

Everyone agreed Isabella was an "amazing baby." She soon stood in her cradle and hurled her toys at her siblings. She had a hearty appetite and was "full of energy." But she could be very quiet, and would sit peacefully watching a grasshopper (her favorite insect) in the grass.

As an independent child, she began to present challenges. At her fifth birthday party, she went off alone and Babar had to scold her.

A few days later the whole family went for a walk. Isabella had already forgotten about the scolding, and went off to play hide-and-seek with herself. Soon, she was nowhere to be found. Then her great adventure began.

When it was over, cousin Arthur didn't believe a word of her story, even though it was all true. Babar scolded her, and she fell asleep on his large lap. "Our little girl is very special," he said.

This book is excellent for introducing the idea of having a new sibling in a family, and that life will be different than anyone can expect. Parents who are about to have a new offspring should get this book as one of many to help ease the transition.

I also liked the idea that children have unique personalities, and will express those personalities as easily as they breathe. I was glad to see that Isabella was made more distinctive than the other Babar children in this way, who often seem to be a little on the uninteresting side.

The other appeal of this book is how a family adapts and becomes different with each new arrival. That message is carried out in a positive and pleasant way, that is totally credible. Nicely done!

The book is good, too, for reinforcing the idea of getting help from family friends. So if you child is accidentally locked out of the house, it will seem natural to go to the friendly parents of a neighbor child to get the key you have left there. This story should make every child feel more wanted, and part of a wide support network of loving adults and family.

After you finish enjoying this story, I suggest that you ask your child to tell you more about what a family is, what each person in your family is like, and what she or he hopes for from being part of the family. You can use the Babar stories as one point of reference. One good connection here is that the Babars have lots of friends who have relationships with the children. Does your child like or not like that feature? In this way, you can help your child begin to visualize what kind of life he or she will want to build as an adult.

Appreciate the specialness of each person, animal, and plant!

This recent addition to the classic Babar series is somewhat less whimsical than the original set of books but enjoyable nonetheless. The pictures are nice and have the same spirit as the originals; my 6-year old boy likes the way that the pictures are drawn. However, the story is a bit choppier. The lessons are carefully and explicitly made: (1) be careful what you wish for as you might be surprised and (2) that life is mixed between good and bad just like succotash is mixed with beans and corn.

If you're looking for the classic Babar stories by Jean de Brunhoff, then this would be a second choice.

If you are like me, Babar stories are among your favorites. Hopefully, they are your children's favorites too. This is a new story from Laurent de Brunhoff. As much as I like the story, I must say that I like the illustrations even more. This is one of the most beautifully illustrated of all the Babar stories.

One night in Celesteville, Alexander (King Babar's and Queen Celeste's elephant son) awakens. Drawn by the bright light coming through the window, he walks out onto the terrace to look at the moon. But there is no moon. The light is caused by a beautiful red and gold bird with sparkling feathers. The bird says, "Tash! Succotash! What are you doing here so late?" Alexander replies, "I can't sleep." The bird says that he is a wizard, and asks Alexander if he wants to play parachute or swing-swing. Alexander doesn't know what either one is. He chooses swing-swing, and soon he floating in the air, swinging gently back and forth and left to right. Alexander loves it. The wizard eventually returns Alexander to the terrace and persuades him to return to sleep.

Since Alexander has had such a good time, he wants to know if the wizard will come back to play with him again. The wizard says that he may, but issues a warning. "But remember, there are good and bad wizards, and sometimes it's hard to tell friend from foe."

The very next day, the elephant family goes for a walk and Alexander spots another bird, this time a brown one, that says "Succotash!" And the adventure begins in a new direction.

The moral of this story is that life is full of right and wrong mixed together, like succotash is "lima beans cooked up with corn." Youngsters need to be on the look out.

All humans are inclined to draw patterns in their minds that may or may not be present. You have a wonderful time with a new friend, and expect that the next time will be exactly the same. But you may have met that person on the happiest day of his or her life, and the next time you see the person is the saddest. Also, because your aunt and uncle are nice, that doesn't mean someone else's aunt and uncle will be, too. I thought that this book was unusually good in helping a child establish a sense of skepticism and distinction, rather than extrapolating blindly from the last experience. If this lesson can be learned well, your child's life will be much happier and more successful.

Nice writing!

After you finish enjoying this story, I suggest that you think about where you and your child may be drawing false conclusions from incomplete or misleading evidence. For example, if you and your child went to the aquarium on a day when it was crowded and she or he was sick, perhaps you had a bad time and have avoided the aquarium since then. If so, perhaps you should try again on a not-so-crowded day when both of you feel terrific.

Look for the best and worst, and embrace the best!

All little kids are garunteed to love this book.

CAT LADY COMES TO MIND. I LIKE THIS COLORFUL BOOK . PRACTICE COUNTING AND LEARN HOW A CUTE KINDNESS CAN RESULT IN A HOUSEFUL OF PETS. ADOPTION COMES TO MIND AND CHARITY AND SYMPATHY AND A LOVE OF CATS !WHICH CAT IS YOUR FAVORITE.

This is a cleverly written, beautifully illustrated book about how a family got one cat -- that soon became a dozen cats. The small reader loves matching cats with their names and counting them.

Whimsical, imaginative and fun. Children who love cats will love the story.

Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)

My oldest son and I fell in love with this cat story 2 years ago and now share it daily with his younger brother. They love the rhyme, count the cats, and repeat the phrases. It's timeless and ageless, since every cat-household knows that the felines adopt us - usually when we don't expect it!

If you like the story of Shrek that you saw on the movie screen, I supposed you'd like this version of that story. But, if you want the original Shrek, please read the book by William Steig. You will find a different story, but you'll find the real thing.

One objection to the movie's story - supposedly the message was that it doesn't matter what you look like. But it makes fun of short people.

One other note: all of the young reviewers of this Ellen Weiss version of Shrek need to go back to school and take some spelling lessons.

After I saw the movie, Shrek, I was dying to recieve the book based on the movie. No, I did not want to read the original version because, well... picture books aren't my thing. The book followed the movie completely-- it only left out a few slight details that you hardly notice, but otherwise, the book is very much like the film. I would recommend this book to anyone who has seen the movie Shrek-- or is just a fan of Shrek! Ellen Weiss clearly knows how to transform a great movie in an excellent book. I give it two thumbs up! Yes, the movie gives the message that it doesn't matter what you look like, but they were making fun of Lord Farquaad--excuse me, the bad guy?! I mean, he injurs innocent gingerbread men! How cruel is that? Unless you're on Farquaad's side, I believe that they were not making fun of petite people-- and that's another thing, that's nice to refer to them as "short people"-- geez, that's really respectful.

of course the Movie is GREAT and I'm going to buy it. But the book has some things the movie doesn't. shrek is about a a big green Giant who wins the love of a princess and he has a talking donkey for a friend yes it does sound silly but the movie and book are GREAT. in the movie Shrek is Mike Miyres (I spalled his name wrong its the guy who playes austin powers) the Princess is camaron Diaz (I spelled her name wrong too she played at my bst friends wedding and she played merry in there is something about merry) the donkey is played my eddie Murfy (I spelled his name wrong too he played in doctor dollittle 1 and 2 and he played in bowfinger). read the book, see the movie, listen to the soundtrack and have FUN (sorry for my spalling errores)

I hopw this review helped you

I have decided to write a book review. The review is on the Chicken Run. I enjoyed the book it realy was a good book. I compared this book to another book called the pigman. I liked Chiken Run better than the pigman I have rated this book with 4 stars, reasons are the humor in the book. Another reason is the names were orininal, plus great detail.

The one thing that i don't like about the book is the British accents. Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy were a real disapointment

This book, as the movie is sure to be, Was extremely well written. and I could just picture the characters gasping in horror when they found out they were to become pies. This book is eggstremely eggstravagent!

Mine is a hardcover edition. The pictures are nice, but a bit small, you have to strain to see little birds in the nests
being fed their worms (in the Spring section). The book is basically a book about seasons, it features Babar and his family in all seasonal activities, but could as easily be Barney,Elmo, or any other character. It has no real story plot, and no drama, like the Story of Babar (my children's favorite). It's nice and educational for 2-3 year olds perhaps, but one shouldn't have to pay 10 bucks to teach about seasons.

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. Meet Babar and His Family was one of her picks.

The Babar books belong in every home with children. If you already know the series, I'm certain that you agree. If you don't know Babar and his family, you should. They represent idealized "family values" as elephants together. Their relationships with others are ideal as well, including their elephant friends, other animal friends, and the Old Lady (a human) who teaches school in Celestville, where they all live. I also like introducing children to a world where animals may have more authority than people do. That can help establish all kinds of interesting new thoughts about our relationship to the natural world.

Meet Babar and His Family has a good balance of illustrations, actions, and story development to keep your youngster's mind occupied while you read to him or her during the preschool years. Later, your child will be reading this and other Babar stories to you. Memorizing what you have read aloud and learning to follow along with the words will be part of that process of learning to read.

As the title suggests, this story is built around introducing each of the characters, helping you understand their qualities and role in the series, and showing the kinds of activities they typically do. The only aspect of the stories that is not fully developed is that Babar and his wife, Celeste, are king and queen of the elephants and rule over Celesteville. But they are wearing their crowns and are identified as king and queen, so you can expand on this theme of the later stories easily enough.

Most of the other stories in the series do not include all of these characters, so finding them all here will make it easier for your child to understand the other stories when you move on to them.

The Babar family's children are Pom, Flora, and Alexander. As is usual, they get a little too active, and one of them gets hurt (Pom, in this case) and is treated by Doctor Capoulosse. Naturally, Babar's young cousin Arthur is in the story, playing with his friend Zephir, the monkey. Cornelius, the oldest of the elephants, has tea with the Old Lady.

The story takes you through four seasons' worth of activities, including ones that the family does together (like go skating, picnicing, and listening to a concert) as well as children's activities (like a snowball fight, going to school, and taking the school bus). The Babar family likes to be together with their friends, also.

After you have enjoyed this warm family story, I suggest that you get out your calendar for the year ahead and jot down the activities that you would like to do with your family and friends. Then speak, call, go on-line, or write to make the arrangements. Spending the time you want with those you love requires a little planning and putting a priority on this activity. After all, you probably were looking forward to having a nice family life when you got married and decided to have your first child, weren't you? Stalled thinking, lazy habits, and lack of focus can keep you from enjoying this opportunity. Be like Babar and Celeste and be the royalty of your family by leading on to worthwhile activities!

Live a full and happy family life together!

This is a really terrific story. By capturing and then befriending the charming little Wully Wully, the elephants learn some good lessons about respect and kindness. After some adventures, the young elephants and the Wully Wully do what Babar couldn't - establishing peace with the Rhinos! This book has a nice blend of tension, adventure, and all sorts of little lessons to take away from it.

This is by far our favorite children's book of colors. The rhymes and illustrations are great. However, we bought the first edition in 1993 and we think it was even better. Why would the editors take out Lavender and Turquoise, Black, White and Gray? I'm glad they made a new edition, though, we waited 3 years to buy it after our 1993 edition wore out.