Quirky Animal Fun

Board books by Sandra Boynton are enormously popular with very young children, from babies to 4 and 5 year olds. What makes them so appealing? I think it's a combination of Boynton's clever cartoons of animals, each with its own personality, her short and humorous rhyming stories and the cheerful tone. Add to that the fact that the books are well-constructed with bright colors, crisp printing, and pages that don't stick together (as many do), and that adults as well as children find them amusing, and it's no wonder the Boynton on Board books are bestsellers. Below are 10 of my favorite board books by Sandra Boynton. They include 4 large-format board books. To learn more about the talented artist, read my article 10 Facts About Sandra Boynton: Her Life, Board Books and Music Albums.

1. Night-Night, Little Pookie

As you can see from my selections, I am very partial to books about Pookie. This little pink pig is my favorite of Boynton's little animals. While Night-Night, Little Pookie is a simple account of Pookie getting ready for bed, his interaction with his mother and his behavior is so typical of children and the illustrations are so much fun that it may become one of your favorite bedtime stories, as well as one of your child's favorites. (Robin Corey Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, 2009. ISBN: 9780375854095) .

2. Let's Dance, Little Pookie

Let's Dance, Little Pookie will quickly have you and your little ones up and moving as you dance along with Pookie and his mother to a Pookie-Pookie beat, ending with The Pookie Shimmy. The illustrations make it clear that Pookie and his mother are having a wonderful time together and can't help but make you and your little ones want to dance, too.(Robin Corey Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, 2008. ISBN: 9780375845192) .

3. Happy Birthday, Little Pookie

Pookie is so excited that it's his birthday that he wakes his parents up very, very early. Sent back to bed, he wakes them up again at 5:32 a.m., and this time, they all get up to celebrate. Highlights include a big pancakes with a pig face, watching the sunrise together, receiving a yellow balloon and a fuzzy frog toy and blowing out the candle's on Pookie's birthday cake. By the end of the day, Pookie's loving parents are exhausted but still happy to celebrate "...a child who is joyful and clever." (Robin Corey Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, 2010. ISBN: 9780375865398) .

4. Pajama Time!

Getting ready for bed has never been so much fun. Why? It's time to celebrate. All the animals are happy to get dressed for bed because "It's Pajama TIme!" All dressed in their pajamas, teeth brushed and ready for bed, all the animals are ready for a pajammy dance. By this time, you and your toddlers and preschoolers will be singing "Jamma jamma jamma jamma P! J!" along with the animals. Pajama Time! is a large format board book, making it a good book to share with a small group of children as well as a single child. I can see Pajama Time, complete with dancing, becoming many families' nightly ritual, making getting ready for bed something your kids want to do. (Workman Publishing Company, 2011, large format edition. ISBN: 9780761166177) .

5. Belly Button Book!

This large board book is fun to share with one or several children, from babies to 5 year olds. Just the words "belly button" tend to make young children laugh and when they appear in a story about a group of hippos, young and old, who celebrate their belly buttons with a visit to Belly Button Beach and by singing their favorite song, "Belly Belly Button, You're Oh So Fine," kids find it all hilarious. (Workman Publishing Company, 2011, large format edition. ISBN: 9780761166184) .

6. Barnyard Dance!

You and your kids, from babies to kindergarteners, will find Barnyard Dance! irresistible. You will soon find yourselves up and dancing and singing with all of the farm animals, including sheep, cows, chickens, horses, ducks, mice and more, as they stomp their feet, clap, twirl, prance, skitter and promenade with one another. Because this is a large format board book, the whole family can enjoy it together. (Workman Publishing Company, 2011, large format edition. ISBN: 9780761166160) .

7. Blue Hat, Green Hat

An elephant, a bear, a moose, and "oops," a turkey, try on clothes of different colors. However, the turkey keeps putting them on wrong - upside down and backwards; he even put socks on his wings. My goodness! Will he ever do it right? Not only is this a funny celebration of the colors red, blue, yellow and green, the repetition and visual clues will have your kids 3 to 5 "reading" it along with you while they, as well as babies and toddlers, all enjoy the humor, rhythm and rhyme. One of the reasons I like Blue Hat, Green Hat is because of the strong clear colors in it. Unfortunately, in too many children's books, the colors are muddy or washed out looking. (Little Simon, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 1995. ISBN: 9780671493202) .

8. A to Z

A to Z is an excellent first alphabet book for little ones for several reasons. The bright colored letters stand out on the white background, but it's the two-word illustrated phrases that so effectively introduce the letter sounds in an entertaining way. For example, A is "Aardvark Admiring" and H is "Hippos Hiding." Each letter features a different animal; often, their activities partially obscure the capital letter, but I think that having the phrase illustrated virtually on top of the letter helps to make the connection between the letter and the sounds it makes. With 26 letters, 26 phrases and lots of animals and action, this is a book babies to preschoolers like to enjoy again and again. (Little Simon, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 1995. ISBN: 9780671493172) .

9. Moo, Baa, La La La!

Young children love to make the sounds of various animals and that's what this book is all about. Just to mix things up and add to the fun, one group of singing animals surprises us by saying "La La La" before making their usual sounds. The book includes the sounds made by a horse, duck, sheep, rhinoceroses, dogs and cats. I recommend Moo, Baa, La La La! for babies to 3 and 4 year olds. The 30th anniversary edition has redrawn artwork and is a large format board book. (Little Simon, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division, special edition, 2012. ISBN: 9781442454101) .

10. Birthday Monsters!

Hippo is sound asleep at 6 a.m when the Birthday Monsters wake him up by knocking on his door until it comes crashing down. With party hats, presents, and balloons, they are there to celebrate Hippo's birthday. But instead of a party, they throw cereal around as if it's confetti, unwrap the gifts they've brought and keep them, raid the refrigerator, eat all of Hippo's birthday cake and leave. What a mess! But all is not lost because the Birthday Monster Cleaning Crew comes to set everything right. The monsters are funny, not scary, and kids 3 to 5 enjoy the unexpected actions of the monsters. (Workman Publishing Company, 1993. ISBN: 97801563054433) .

11. Recommended Board Books By Other Authors and Illustrators

If you are looking for holiday board books by a variety of authors and illustrators, here are some of my recommendations: Halloween Board Books, Valentine's Day Board Books, and Easter Board Books. For board books to read aloud at bedtime, see Top Ten Bedtime Board Books. You'll also find board book versions of many picture books, such as Lola at the Library, although they may have fewer pages than the picture book editions. If your child loves nursery rhymes, I recommend these Mother Goose Board Books for Little Ones.