The Belly Button Book....Hippo's and Bee Bo's and Big Boon's Too!
Written: Feb 25 '06
Product Rating:
Pros: *Cute rhyming story *Fantastic illustrations *Great subject matter for toddlers
Cons: Not a one!
The Bottom Line: The Belly Button Book is a fun and whimsical book to read to toddlers and preschoolers. It's illustrations and subject matter make it a winner!
kamel622's Full Review: Sandra Boynton - Belly Button Book
One of my favorite ways to acquire new books is through Scholastic. Their books are high quality and while I order online and can't actually hold the book, they are good about telling a bit about each book, the number of pages and age appropriateness.
Recently I ordered quite a few and was absolutely delighted when I picked up Belly Button Book! by Sandra Boynton.
The Story & Illustrations
Right from the delightful bright green cover with red dots I knew this was going to be a captivating book. The cover also has a circular cut out and we can see the page underneath and a hippopotamus with a short shirt on.
The first page of the story has a small hippo pulling a rolling duck behind him. He is placed on the white page and is a grayish white. The text above him says:
This tiny hippopotamus has something small to say
And if we're very quiet now, she'll say it right away.
Listen!
Right next to the hippo is a small word "bee bo!"
The book goes on to explain that while we may not know what the word bee bo means or perhaps we've forgotten, that it really means "Belly Button!" This is written in very large text on a pink background page. We see a large hippo in swim trunks and glasses looking down at his button.
We learn the places hippos go, most especially Belly Button Beach and all the fun they have in the sun. Each hippo has it's belly button showing as they wear bikini's and swim trunks. Sun glasses adorn each of the hippo's eyes letting us know that the sun is out and the beach is warm.
The big hippos relax and watch waves and always love to get balloons, which the little hippo calls a "boon!" After dark on the beach they sing a belly button song.
Belly Belly Button, You're Oh So Fine.
OOO, Belly Button, I'm So Happy You're Mine.
Of course summer does come to an end and the last page of this book shows the big and little hippo, clothed in hats, coats and boots and snow coming down around them. Their faces are sad as they realize that they can no longer sing their belly button song….because their belly buttons hide in winter.
The little hippo, dressed all in red and only his face showing is still pulling his little duck who is also wearing snow gear, looks sad as he says "Bye-Bye Bee Bo!"
Most pages have just a white background and the hippos filling a good part of the page. Their clothing is bright and whimsical with things like purple flowered swim trunks or a belly shirt that says 'Navel Academy' on it. We see momma and daddy hippos with their babies or small children on each of the pages.
The text is a medium large black font that is very easily seen on each of the pages. It is an easy book to hold up and read to a group or is great for sitting on the couch and snuggling as you read.
My Feelings
This is the cutest book about a part of the body that fascinates children from the moment they realize they have a belly button on their tummy. This book does a great job of expressing the wonder that is a belly button in a cute and whimsical way.
From the first page where there is a small hippo who, in toddler speak, says Bee Bo for his belly button, this book holds a child's attention as they wonder at first what the word means and all the way through the winter wear of the last page.
My daycare children, ages 2 ½ to 5 years all listened very intently and loved the softness I used to say Bee Bo and then the loud way I said Belly Button on the page where it was written large. They all giggled as they jumped a bit in surprise.
The cute rhyming text also made it fun to see if they could complete the rhyme before I turned to each page. One page told of the hippo's going somewhere and then ended in 'each' I asked where they thought they went and immediately Dee shouted "Beach!"
The story is a cute one and one that uses an animal, drawn with very human characteristics and a body part to hold children's attention and it does it very well. The illustrations are adorable and eye catching and perfect to keep little ones giggling.
I would recommend this book for children 2 - 6 years old, each of my four daycare children has asked me to read and reread this one to them, a glowing endorsement for sure.
Nuts & Bolts
Belly Button Book! is a smaller sized 24 page board book that was published by Workman Publishing Company, Inc. in 2005.
This book was written and illustrated by Sandra Boynton. She also authored such great books as Pajama Time!, Hey Wake Up!, Snuggle Puppy! And Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs. The song that is sung at the end of this book is Belly Button (Round) from Sandra Boynton's book/CD set, Philadelphia Chicken.
The jacket price on this book is $6.95 US and $10.95 CAN
Emboldened by the enthusiastic response to Belly Button (Round)and#8212;a song from her Grammy-nominated book/CD, Philadelphia Chickens and#8212;Sandr...More at HotBookSale
Featuring a beachful of bare-bellied hippos, this quirky addition to the phenomenally successful Boynton on Board series provides enduring, giggly, re...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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