Press Here, by Herve Tullet.
This was the first book by Herve Tullet that I discovered and one of my favorites, though I do like a few of his others, too. It is wonderfully interactive as it invites kids to be a part of the book through simple directions (like, Press here.) He magically anticipates a child’s reaction and the “book” responds to the actions. Even though my kids now know they aren’t really controlling the book, they still love to tell it what to do!
That is Not a Good Idea, by Mo Willems
This is a simple tale of a tricky fox and a doomed goose and a little duckling who tries to help. It’s a great one to assign each family member parts to read. (Dad’s the fox, Mom’s the duckling, I’ll be the goose!!) And it has a fun twist, of course.
Open Very Carefully: A Book With Bite, by Nick Bromley
Love Love Love this one! The kids ask for it all the time. It’s a great example of a book where the narrator interacts with the reader and there’s a layered “book on top of a book” effect. Plus, there’s crocodiles eating letters and escaping to… where’d he go again?… do you see him?… he escaped from our house somewhere. Maybe he’s gone to visit yours???
Z is for Moose, by Kelly Bingham
This is an alphabet book gone wrong – all caused by the antics of an impatient moose. Kids love seeing how the moose has wrecked each page of the book. They’ll sympathize with the intense emotions of the moose and rejoice when all is peacefully resolved at the end. (Though peaceful resolution seems hardly possibly mid-book!)
Interrupting Chicken
This tells the story of Papa Chicken telling familiar bedtime stories (e.g. Hansel and Gretel) to his little chicken. But, as the title suggests, little chicken interrupts and twists the ending of the stories. It’s great fun from beginning to end. [And, I might add that it also highlights the event of a father and child (chicken) reading a book aloud together.]
Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak
I saved the best for last. And in this case “best” means it makes kids crack up more than any of the others on the list. This is just what it says it is. It looks like a picture book from the outside. But, as it says, it has no pictures. You may have encountered a wordless picture book (e.g. The Snowman by Raymond Briggs – all pictures no words so you tell the story in your own words). This is a brand new take – a picture-less picture book. And it’s especially designed for an adult to be forced to say silly words. Kids LOVE how this makes their favorite adult look very very silly. But they love it so much that you’ll love it, too (despite the fact that you just had to say some very silly things).
FUNNY READ ALOUDs – a Reading Doctor Prescription Book Club Special. Pick any three of the above hardcover books for $40 (+tax and $3.99 shipping) – that’s a savings of 20-30%. The set of books will be gift wrapped and include a special note to your child. You can sign up for the monthly Reading Doctor Prescription program, or just sign up for the Funny Read Aloud set. (Just be sure to click that box at the bottom of the form).
