2018 Mid Year Round Up: Board Books

What’s the latest and greatest and not so good in 2018 board books so far (in my humble opinion)? Read on to find out!

Did I miss a great book? Have you tried one of these titles yet? Was it a smashing success or a flop? Please share!

⭐️= favorite

👎= nope

⭐️Animal Shapes and Animal Colors by Christopher Silas Neal

My new favorite board books! Love the bold and bright images, fun wordplay and pure imagination. This would be such a fun book to read in a colors storytime or thematic unit in the primary grades. I could see us experimenting with colors afterwards, or having a fun mix and match animals prompt in the writing center.

In case if you were wondering… they make a turquoise rhortoise. 🙂

⭐️Bath! Bath! Bath! and Play! Play! Play! by Douglas Florian

More smashing storytime successes! My babies especially loved the bathtime book. These board books have it all- rhyming, repetition, everyday diversity, and cuteness galore.

 

Bedtime, Ted! by Sophy Henn

Great board book for a toddler who’s just not tired! Love the fun flaps, the repetition, and everyday diversity. Can’t wait for Ted’s next adventures this fall!

Bird and Rabbit by Olivia Cosneau

Meet a little bird and a little rabbit in this cute new Tales from Nature board book series! These read like narrative nonfiction for our youngest readers.

⭐️Black Bird, Yellow Sun by Steve Light

Love the high contrast images in this colorful flight through Black Bird’s day, from the rising of the bright yellow sun to the brilliant blue moon. And I love the little worm on every page- what a fun addition! Great for a colors or bird themed storytime.

 

Count with Little Fish and Where is Little Fish? by Lucy Cousins

Hooray for new Lucy Cousins books! Delightful for a small baby storytime group, but I think they are even better one-on-one with babies or toddlers. As usual, these books are full of bright, bold illustrations and fantastic vocabulary.

Ears, Feet, Noses and Tails by Flowerpot Press

Love this new Question and Animal series by Flowerpot Press! The photographs are so big and bright and colorful. My babies love the pictures and my toddlers love guessing who is on the next page. I like to use these when our early literacy skill is building background knowledge!

⭐️Here, George! by Sandra Boynton

George is just a lazy ol’ dog that likes to sit around all day… or does he? Who knows what our pets really do when we’re out and about? I really, really hope this gets made into an oversized board book! Fun and surprising. Boynton at her best!

Scholastic Rookie Toddler Titles

There’s a slew of new Rookie Toddler titles in town! These are so much fun in small storytime groups or one-on-one. I love the unique age-appropriate reading tips on the back of each book for parents and the extra added features (e.g “Can you go back and find the dog biscuit on each page?”)

⭐️So Light So Heavy and So Far Up by Susanne Strasser

Good math books are rare, and good math board books even more so. I love the way these stories tackle the concepts of weight and height. So Far Up is my favorite of the two. I love the repetition (“But the cake is so far up… and Bear is so far down”) and I think it would make a super fun flannel story!

 

⭐️Toesy Toes by Sarah Tsiang

Saving the best for last! I don’t have words to describe how much I love this board book. From the repetition to the diverse photographs AND names, this book just nails it. I’ve read this title multiple times this year in baby storytime and it’s been a big hit each time!