If You Give a Pig a Party (4.5 out of 5)

If You Give a Pig a Party by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond is the follow-up to If You Give a Pig a Pancake, which I already reviewed here. If you have read any of the If You Give… book series then you should already be familiar with the story format. One thing leads into another which leads into another which cycles on ~~endlessly~~ until you finish reading the story in about two and half minutes.

While there are no crazy eyebrows in this installment, what I have to give extra credit to this particular book for is a hide and seek page. This story includes two past characters in the series (mouse and moose), two future characters (cat and dog), and some additional animals that do not have their own books (maybe they are in the TV series?). If you own the other books, it is a nice little crossover. For that reason, this book in the series gets a little higher score.

PROS	CONS
Distinct and bright colors	None
Want/Ask relationship
Associations (ex. party & balloons)
Activity page (hide and seek)

Breakdown
Current Price	$8.02
Duration	2:30 – 3:00
Highest Syllable Word	3 (decorate and others)
Contractions Used	3 (she’s, she’ll, you’ll)
Page Count	28
Word Count	230

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (4 out of 5)

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond is the first in the If You Give… book series and is one of my childhood favorites. This story includes cookies, milk mustaches, haircuts, cleaning, and drawing.

I already reviewed If You Give a Pig a Pancake, the third book in the series, here. Both books are similar in that one thing leads into another, into another, into another… However, this book contains the original crazy eyebrows, so props to Felicia. (There is one crazy eyebrow in If You Give a Pig a Pancake.)

Yet, the most ridiculous part of this story is how filthy this kids’ house is which is made apparent after a ~~brownie rat~~ cookie mouse sweeps it. Apparently, this kid has lived in a 30-year abandoned house which is why none of the walls are square and there is 100 lbs of dust on the ground.

Despite this kid’s poor living conditions, the story is quite cute and is the beginning of a book series which later became a TV series (but I have not watched it so I cannot vouch for its content). Being completely biased, I think this is a classic children’s book that makes a great addition to any child’s library.

PROS	CONS
Bright and distinct colors	None
Want/Ask relationship
Associations (ex. cookie & milk)

Breakdown
Current Price	$11.49
Duration	2:30 – 3:00
Highest Syllable Word	5 (refrigerator)
Contractions Used	4 (he’s, he’ll, doesn’t, you’ll)
Page Count	28
Word Count	291

Giddy-Up Buckaroos! (4 out of 5)

Giddy-Up Buckaroos! by Shanda Trent and illustrated by Tom Knight is a fun story of two siblings’ imaginative play as cowboys who must constantly avoid being captured by the Sheriff (mom). The story has a few Spanish words sprinkled throughout which is a bonus.

We got this in the Stories For 1 Year Olds Box Set at Costco, but this is ours and our child’s favorite out of the set. Since the story has Spanish words throughout, I like to read the whole story using an enthusiastic and totally not authentic Spanish accent which my daughter really seems to enjoy.

While I do enjoy reading this book, the characters do not set very good examples for children. This brother and sister leave messes everywhere, harass a paperboy and a cat, and are constantly running away from and hiding from their mother, although that portion seems to be quite playful.

PROS	CONS
Distinctive and bright colors	Characters exhibit poor behavior
Rhyming
Bilingual

Breakdown
Retail Price:	$16.99
Duration:	2:30 – 3:00
Highest Syllable Word	4
Contractions Used	8
Page Count	24
Word Count	284

Click on the image to view on Amazon.com

If You Give a Pig a Pancake (4 out of 5)

If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond is the third in the If You Give… book series. Each book is its own, independent story. This one includes pancakes, baths, tap dancing, mailing photographs, and treehouse building.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, the first in the If You Give… book series was one of my absolute favorites growing up. I often liked to tell my own stories like this where one thing led into another, led into another, and led into another. For that reason, I believe this series of books to be excellent food for thought for any child’s imaginative play.

PROS	CONS
Distinct and bright colors	None
Want/Ask relationship
Associations (ex. pancake & syrup)

Breakdown
Retail Price	$15.95
Duration	2:30 – 3:00
Highest Syllable Word	3
Contractions Used	3
Page Count	29
Word Count	290

Subway (4 out of 5)

Subway written by Anastasia Suen and illustrated by Karen Katz is a bright and colorful summary of travelling via – no surprises here – the subway. If hurrying through turnstiles and up stairs to ride on the overcrowded subway is your kind of adventure, then this book is for you!

We got this book in our Amazon Prime Book Box back in March and we used it to prep our little one for our April trip to Chicago. It was a great introduction to traveling by subway/train and has plenty of things to point out to your child.

PROS	CONS
Distinct and bright colors	Inconsistent rhythm
Rhyming	Inconsistent meter
Action words (walk, hope, ride, step)
Direction words (down, left, right)

Breakdown
Retail Price	$6.99
Duration	1:30 – 2:00
Highest Syllable Word	2
Contractions Used	1
Page Count	22
Word Count	135