 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Little Boy
- By Alison McGhee
- Genre: Picture Book
Common Sense Media says
A sweet book to celebrate a new son, and his dad.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this book is a poem about the simple things that make the little boy's world so precious. New parents, or grandparents, will love reading and reflecting on the loving lines as the sweet little boy tumbles playfully through its pages. Also, the father is the prominent parent here. He measures the boy, bakes cookies for him, and ties his shoes.
What's the story?
A father thinks about the everyday moments and adventures in a little boy's life that make his world special, and considers how much the future depends on those simple things.
Is it any good?
In a format similar to her last book, the bestseller Someday, Alison Mcghee celebrates a little boy, and his dad. With the same gentleness and in the same graceful, handwritten text, she follows the child through his day as he runs exuberantly through life in his shorts and striped t-shirt, sometimes donning a red superman cap, at other times a space helmet made of an upside-down bowl. A yellow cup and a big cardboard box keep resurfacing as the games change in this world that is full of imagination and simple things.
The father also resurfaces now and then, smiling as he measures the boy or pulls the cookies out of the oven that he and his son have baked. The message is subtle, but heartwarming and solid, and it's repeated in a line that threads throughout the book. So much in life depends on the everyday moments, on the things that seem small and quiet and playful. Kids need time to become themselves, and parents need time to enjoy it all. And everyone could use a big cardboard box!
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about all the things the little boy loves: his yellow cup, animal crackers, and his starship pajamas. And what about the big cardboard box? Have you ever played with a big box? What did you pretend it was? What does it mean when the author says, "Little Boy, so much depends on" these things?
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Parent of 3 year old
April 7, 2010
AGE
Perfect for the boys exploring their world.
My 3 year old son LOVES this book! All of the Little Boy's adventures parallel my son's---so he relates. He likes me to read it at least twice each night.
What other families should know:
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Parent
January 27, 2012
AGE
great book
my son loves this book and loves pointing to the pictures and identifying what the little boy is playing with. It's a sweet book and I love reading it with him
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| Author: | Alison McGhee |
| Illustrator: | Peter H. Reynolds |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Picture Book |
| Publisher: | Atheneum |
| Publication date: | April 15, 2008 |
| Number of pages: | 40 |
| Read aloud: | 3 - 3 |
| Read alone: | 6 - 6 |
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