Sandra Boynton's Snuggle Puppy -- The *ultimate* snuggle book.
Written: Dec 09 '07
Product Rating:
Pros: Great song, cute illustrations, classic Boynton, sturdy, fun
Cons: Nada.
The Bottom Line: Do you have a favorite snuggle puppy? If so, check out Sandra Boynton's Snuggle Puppy, a love song from mommies to children everywhere.
gatorgirlie's Full Review: Sandra Boynton - Snuggle Puppy!
Who doesn't like snuggling down with a younger child -- be it an infant, toddler or preschooler? In my opinion, there's nothing better than sitting down in a comfy chair with my little boy and reading stories to him, especially stories about how much I love him.
Book Info
Snuggle Puppy (A love song) is written by Sandra Boynton and published through Workman Publishing. It's part of her "Boynton on Board" series of sturdy board books for the toddler/preschool set. This book has 24 pages and retails for $6.95 at most book stores (it is eligible for Amazon's 4 for 3 promotion, currently). As you can tell by the title, this book is essentially the words to a song which can be found on the Philadelphia Chickens CD.
The pages are high-gloss and sturdy -- we've had this for close to two years (with the past year being a real doozy as far as sturdiness-testing) and it shows very little wear. Just like with Barnyard Dance, Personal Penguin, and many others, this is classic Boynton. The illustrations are adorable, simple and fun. The pages are easy to turn, which makes it a great beginner book for the younger set. I guess it doesn't need to be said, but I love Boynton's illustrations. They're so much fun and the pages aren't as cluttered as they are in some other books (Dr. Seuss being one), so it's easy for my son to pick out objects he knows and name them. Sometimes we'll just go through the book and name things (ball, raincoat, cookies, etc) to build his vocabulary.
Oooooo, Snuggle Puppy of mine!
The cover of this book says it all -- it's a picture of a momma dog hugging her little puppy. This is a love song written by a mom to her little one, her little snuggle puppy. How could you *not* already love it? Anyway, the mom is essentially telling the child how wonderful they are and how mom loves every single thing about them. One thing I like about this is that you're *supposed* to sing it and it's really not hard to get the rhythm down. Even without hearing the song, I figured out how to sing it correctly. If I, with no musical talent (read: truly tone deaf), can do it... so can you. The book is simply fun to read -- it rhymes in places and the pitch changes from regular voice to whispering to singing loudly. The best part, though? It builds in places to kiss your little one (like you needed a reason, right?).
Some people have criticized the book as overly simplistic and repetitive, but I must remind that we're not reading for ourselves... we're reading for toddlers and preschoolers. Numerous studies have shown that repetition is crucial in just about every area of education, especially learning how to read. This is a beginner book in almost every definition -- the pictures are simple and uncluttered, the words repetitious, and there's a little bit of rhyming. In other words, it's an excellent beginner book. Is it long? Well, no. My two-year old can occasionally sit for a Dr. Seuss book (even the short ones like Green Eggs and Ham or Hop on Pop are frustratingly long for a toddler... and talk about repetition! OY!), but he's really on the level of this book and wants me to read it to him over and over (and over) again.
Overall
Do you want to sing to your child more? Do you want a book that expresses how much you love them? This is the one for you! It doesn't teach numbers, letters, colors or opposites. It doesn't talk about body parts or the potty. It doesn't expose your child to exceedingly large vocabulary words... What does it do? It teaches your child how much you love them, it shows them that (no matter what) you'll always love them. While I'm sure we mothers show our children a hundred times a day in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways, I'm sure it must be nice for your child to hear it in a song, while you snuggle and kiss them. If you're stocking up your child's library, I wouldn't recommend missing this one. If anything, it's an excuse to snuggle up with that little "snuggle puppy" of yours and sing them a song -- an opportunity that diminishes more and more as the child ages.
Go and pick it up, you and your snuggle puppy won't be disappointed!
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