Tuesday 24 April 2012

Day 3 - Sydney, baby books review

The twins' chirpy little voices, talking to each other, woke us all up around 5am this morning. But having collapsed exhausted into bed early last night I was recharged and ready for the day. Things just seemed to work better today; the stroller, the washing machine, the weather, me... 
I decided to push a bit more for lunch to see if we could have a better afternoon. They loved my eclectic combination of avocado, potato, pumpkin and pureed apricot. Rose prefers to hold her own spoon and to try putting it in her mouth. Mario just sits there like a baby bird with his mouth open.
We read books today. There's lots of things wrong with young baby books; here's a few of them:
  • There is nothing simple or generally recognisable to point to
  • The wording is clunky, and disjointed to read out loud
  • There are too few, or too many, words on the page
  • There is no drama, just boring descriptions
  • The endings are weak
  • The characters are 2-dimensional and predictable
Our top 3 favourite books today, voted in unanimously (that is by both Mario and Rose) for the 7-month category, were:
Eyes, nose, toes, peekaboo! a www.dk.com publication
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Twin Trouble by Peter Bently
"My favourite characters are the ones that go
on a journey, like the caterpillar," says Rose




"A book has to touch me emotionally; those twin bears
were in danger, it was heart wrenching," says Mario

5 comments:

  1. Well I'm amazed. I didn't realise how advanced these twins were. Love their reviews. So honest and to the point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes, very perceptive. Over the next few days they are helping me investigate a local cold case. A little something interesting for our walks, and our next blog...

      Delete
  2. Couldnt quite get the beat of the Wonky Donkey huh?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually we just found that one today and a fabulous NZ Old MacDonald's Farm one. Both very good!

      Delete
  3. Hi Lizzie - love the pics & love the descriptions.... I can pretty much picture all of it... I know what you mean by "people stare at twins & supermarkets" having done the same with family twins in Nelson myself... but oh so proud, even when they weren't even mine...lol

    ReplyDelete