I have a shameful secret to tell you:

I stole some books from my cousin's house.

Not the first books I've stolen, these ones are particularly embarrassing because they are board books intended for children aged one through preschool.

When I say that Sandra Boynton's work is charming, I mean that I, not the intended audience, was charmed and as taken with it as the kids I read to. 'Again', kids say, after we finish the dumbest thing we have ever read. Again, they say, and we read again. 'Again', they say, and we groan, because it's the same stupid book clutched in their grubby fingers.Again.

When it comes silly books, however, Sandra Boynton is the undisputed queen. Her books are delightful and easy to read over and over and over. Her rhyming is simple, casual, and silly, and her illustrations ridiculously amusing. You don't get any sense of her trying to rhyme, the narrative flows all the way through.

Boynton has a terrific knack for knowing what appeals to small children, with the rhymes, goofy animals, and silly settings. Still, while her sensible stories have this oddball humor and lots of sassy energy, they are zany without being crazily confusing.

Yeah, so I found two of her books in my cousin's bookshelf, and I just took them. The first book I took, Barnyard Dance! features a wide variety of farm animals dancing a boisterous reel being called by a fiddlling cow. It is a great romping session of fun, and you can feel it while reading. The book is just FUN to read:

Bow to the horse
Bow to the cow
Twirl with the pig if you know how.

Stand with the donkey
Slide with the sheep
Scramble with the little chicks -
cheep cheep cheep!

And The Going to Bed Book, Um, I stole it because I couldn't resist an ark full of animals watching the sun go down and preparing for bed. After bathing and brushing their teeth and going to the gym to lift weights and excercise, they scramble into bed.

The moon is high. The sea is deep.
They rock
and rock
and rock
to sleep.

In addition to her childrens books, Boynton has designed cards and t-shirts with her famous creatures. She has also written a humorous guide for passionate chocolate-lovers, Chocolate: The Consuming Passion. She lives in Connecticut.

Um, alright, so I couldn't really find much data on the author herself, and I'm not sure the list I have below is complete. Instead, I gave you the best I could, an general review, sincere and positive. Was this content helpful to you?


amazon.com
yahoo books
http://members.dencity.com/dragonfire1/Boynton/

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