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About Children’s Book Reviews @ BeTwinned

The Children Who Smelled a Rat by Allan Ahlberg, illustrated by Katharine McEwen
Photo from Amazon.com

Review by Sandra Horning

The Children Who Smelled a Rat is the fourth book in the Gaskitt series by Allan Ahlberg.

The Gaskitt family, Mr. and Mrs. Gaskitt, the twins Gus and Gloria, the baby Gary and the cat Horace, each have their own zany adventure within the book.

First, Mrs. Gaskitt finds a mysterious package in the back of her taxi, next Mr. Gaskitt loses the baby, then Horace meets a bird. Finally, Mrs. Fritter, the twins’ favorite teacher, turns into a crazy lady.

Each chapter zig-zags in and out of each adventure. The twins, Gloria and Gus, are determined to solve the mystery of their teacher gone crazy. Some triplets make a surprising appearance near the end of the story!

My seven-year old-son is having a great time slowly reading each chapter - an excellent book for children just starting to read chapter books. My son was especially fond of chapters 2 ½ and 2 ¾, each of which is only a half page long.

The spreads have lots of interesting little pictures and additional cartoon text to keep young readers interested. My three year old listens in too. Although he misses some of the humor, he gets more than would be expected, and he thoroughly enjoys studying the bright watercolor and crayon illustrations. And the crazy, twisting story easily brings on the laughs.

The book includes many examples of literary devices: chapters, a glossary, a table of contents and even footnotes referencing previous Gaskitt adventures. It’s a great introduction to reading and writing.

The Children Who Smelled a Rat is a fun read with lots of twists to keep children hooked, as well as guessing and laughing, Of course, we’ll now have to find and read the previous Gaskitt stories!

Ages 5-9

About Toy Reviews @ BeTwinned

Photo from Playhut.com

by Jane Day Rasmussen

Name: Twist ‘N Fold Big Yellow Bus
Manufacturer: Playhut
Category: Pretend Play
Manufacturer’s Suggested Age Range: 3 years and up
Our tested age range: 1 year – 4 years
Learning Components: Creative Play
Price Value (on a scale of 1 to 4 honeys):

We inherited Playhut’s Big Yellow Bus when my friend’s son outgrew it. It became an instant favorite in our house!

The bus includes a blow-up steering wheel, three side windows, a roll-up flap door, two sunroofs and a tunnel flap for crawl-through play. This toy really inspired imaginative play as we’d go around and pick up our passengers for many different destinations.

The nylon bus sets up instantly with patented EZ Twist Technology – just take it out of the bag, and it literally snaps into place. It is lightweight & portable and can be packed away as easily as it comes out. (It comes with a storage bag; getting it back in takes a little practice.)

Once open, it is plenty roomy: 50 inches tall, 36 inches long, and 25 inches wide – we’ve fit two grandmas, one child and a kitty cat in ours! The bus can be connected to other Playhut Collect ‘N Connect structures – if you have the room in your house. You can spot clean the bus if necessary and allow to air dry.

I bought this for my twin nieces because the dual-area allows for one to drive and the other to ride!

The Big Yellow Bus is a 1999 Parents’ Choice® Approved winner. It retails for about $30 and is worth the money – the toy is virtually indestructible and will provide entertainment for the whole family for a long time. Visit www.playhut.com for all of their other tent contraptions.

Safety Information (from Amazon.com)
“This product uses a spring steel loop that will quickly pop open. Caution must be used in the handling this product. Small children should never be allowed to fold or unfold this product without adult supervision. Discard if steel loop is broken or if this product is damaged. It is not fireproof. The fabric will burn if left in continuous contact with any flame source. Keep all flame and heat sources away from this product. The application of any foreign substance to this product may render the flame resistant properties ineffective. Please thoroughly read instruction sheet before using this product.”

About Children’s Book Reviews @ BeTwinned

Now & Ben by Gene Barretta
Photo from Amazon.com

Review by Sandra Horning

Now & Ben, The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin is an ideal book for the little inventor or scientist in your house. And, in my mind, all children are inventors at heart. My two sons are always “inventing” new drinks by mixing juices together or “inventing” a device to send items up and down to each other’s bunk bed.

The book begins with Ben Franklin standing in the past and then moves to a picture of Ben Franklin standing in a busy street in the present. Readers can try to pick out Ben Franklin’s inventions on this page.

The spreads that follow each have a “now” page depicting a modern device or concept and a “Ben” page depicting Ben Franklin with his invention that led to the “now”. This easily helps younger children see the connection between the now and then. Bifocals, electricity, lightning rods and odometers are just a few of the many inventions covered in the book.

Barretta’s enjoyable watercolor cartoons bring the inventions to life on each page. The playful ending spread leaves the reader to imagine how today’s inventions will look in the future. Your children are sure to get busy “inventing” after this read.

Ages 5-9

About Toy Reviews @ BeTwinned

The author’s son with his Musical Ice Cream Cart

by Jane Day Rasmussen

Name: Musical Ice Cream Cart
Manufacturer: Playskool
Category: Push Toys
Manufacturer’s Suggested Age Range: n/a
Our tested age range: 1 – 3 years
Learning Components: Cooperative Play, Role Play
Price Value:

Wasn’t this around when we were kids? Maybe that’s the reason this toy immediately caught my eye.

I bought this musical ice cream cart for our son when he was just learning to walk. He loved to practice walking as he pushed the musical ice cream cart around. The cart is very sturdy and helped a lot with his balance when he was just getting started.

He learned to make us ice cream cones and collected money (a.k.a honeys) in return, but mostly he ate the treats for himself — see picture. Even today when I took out the toy again to write this review, he is running around filling the cart with treats to give us (now he’s nearly four years old).

The toy includes two ice cream cones, two different flavored ice cream scoops, two Popsicles and two coins. There are lots of places to store the ice cream – on the moveable arms out front, inside the cart — and the top opens up to reveal a shape sorter for an educational benefit! The coins slide into the money slot on the side, because, of course, nothing is for free! Kids can press a button to play the music – which isn’t too loud, plays lots of different songs, and turns off automatically.

This toy is perfect for twins, because there is two of everything and one can push the cart while the other sells, sells, sells.

Okay, so I’m not sure where you will find this anymore; my attempts to find this anywhere online were unsuccessful, but maybe your local toy store still has some in stock. If you see this at a thrift shop or yard sale, I’d grab it for your little one. It originally cost about $25 and was worth every penny. It takes two AA batteries, which last a really long time (the original ones are still working after 2 years).

About Children’s Book Reviews @ BeTwinned

Review by Sandra Horning

The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Marla Frazee
Photo from Amazon.com

Does your child go for days eating nothing but macaroni and cheese? If so, then you can easily identify with Mrs. Peters and her seven, picky-eater children in The Seven Silly Eaters.

First born is Peter, who likes his milk not hot and not cold, but only warm. Then comes little Lucy, who only likes pink lemonade, freshly squeezed of course. And the picky eaters continue to be born through to the twins, Fran and Flo, who like eggs, one poached and the other fried. As the children keep popping out, Mrs. Peters becomes more and more overwhelmed by her children’s culinary demands.

Finally, the children resolve the chaos when they attempt to make their mother a birthday cake combining their favorite foods. The satisfying ending gives every mom hope that the chaos will some day end and suggests that while you are in the midst of the chaos, at least you should have a sense of humor about it.

The wonderful and amusing illustrations supporting the fun rhyming text perfectly depict all that goes on in a home with seven children. Parents and children alike will enjoy this entertaining tale.

Ages 4-8

About Toy Reviews @ BeTwinned

by Jane Day Rasmussen

Image from www.galttoys.com

Name: Marble Run
Manufacturer: Galt Toys
Category: Building / Construction
Manufacturer’s Suggested Age Range: 4 - 8 years
CAUTION: Not for children under 36 months. Contains small parts (glass marbles).
Our tested age range: 3 – 5 years
Learning Components: Cooperative Play, Cause and Effect
Price Value:

Endless possibilities await the young builder with this set – hours of rolling fun! We liked it so much, we got another set and gave one to my son’s preschool – now it’s a favorite in his classroom too!

The set includes 24 building pieces in primary colors that can be made into all sorts of configurations for rolling marbles. The size of the pieces makes it easy for little hands to put together (and take apart too!) It includes six marbles, but you can always get more, as we did, for added excitement. It is fun to watch the marbles maneuver through the maze and see where they’ll end up!

Multiples can work together to build one big run, or they can share the pieces and build their own.

Just make sure your kids are past the putting-everything-in-their-mouth stage, otherwise this toy would be a nightmare. [See note of caution above.] It was never really a problem with my son, so we started playing with this toy before he was three – he would watch me put together the pieces, and then he would have a blast putting the marbles in and watching them go.

The maker of this toy has other marble runs for older kids that looked pretty neat too. Check out www.galttoys.com.

About Children’s Book Reviews @ BeTwinned

review by Sandra Horning

Mama Mama by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by Laura Regan
image from Amazon.com

In honor of Mother’s Day this weekend, I couldn’t resist my favorite book celebrating moms and babies. Mama Mama is a heartwarming and gentle poem to comfort you and your baby.

Both of my sons loved this book when they were one and two.

The rhyming text on each page describes how each animal mama cares for and loves its baby. The illustrations portray realistic animals, such as a panda bear cuddling with her baby and a koala bear carrying her baby on her back.

This dear board book is a part of the “Harper Growing Tree” series. (Jean Marzollo also happens to be the author of the popular I Spy books.)

Mama Mama is a lovely tribute to all mothers and their babies.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Ages 0-2

About Toy Reviews @ BeTwinned

by Jane Day Rasmussen

Photo from www.fisher-price.com

Name: Little People® Animal Sounds Farm™
Manufacturer: Fisher-Price®
Category: Pretend Play
Manufacturer’s Suggested Age Range: 1-5 years
Our tested age range: 6 months – 3 years
Learning Components: Animal Recognition, Creative Play
Price Value/Honeys: (what are Honeys?)

A must-have in every house, the Fisher-Price Little People® Animal Sounds Farm™ does not disappoint!

We started playing with this toy when my son could sit up and grab at the animals. At first we showed him where each of the animals go to make the appropriate sounds, but he soon took over! The animals are just the right size for little hands, and the toy itself is indestructible.

It is a great toy for multiples to share because there are many things to do on the farm. The set includes: Farmer Jed ™, a cow, a sheep, a horse, a pig, a chicken, a food cart, a rooster and connectable fence pieces. It does take 3 “AA” batteries, but if you’re like us, you’ve got a stockpile of that sort of thing.

The biggest problem my twin nieces had with this toy was that they loved to carry around the animals – so my sister stocked up on extras of the girls’ favorites that she found on E-Bay. You could probably also contact Fisher-Price and see if they sell replacements, I’ve had good luck doing that with some of their other products.

While we still love this toy, it doesn’t come out much now that our son is almost 4, but when other kids come over – it always gets some play.

Fisher-Price sells lots of great farm accessories to go with this set: the Animal Sounds Stable, Baby Farm Animals, Lil’ Farmers Market and the Animal Sounds Tractor. If you like the farm, Fisher-Price also sells a ton of other Little People play things (like a house, garage, amusement park, ark, castle and zoo).

Check out www.fisher-price.com to see where you can get all the stuff you’re looking for.

About Children’s Book Reviews @ BeTwinned

Review by Sandra Horning

It’s Spring by Samantha Berger and Pamela Chanko, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
image from Amazon.com

With the daffodils blooming in my yard, It’s Spring has been on my mind all week. It’s the perfect book to celebrate spring with your little ones.

Rhyming text and darling illustrations tell the story of the robin singing to the rabbit that spring is here. The rabbit tells the deer, and the news of spring continues among the animals until they finally wake up the bears. Each animal along the way notes another sign of spring — the same signs you may have noticed in your own yard or nearby park.

This is a wonderful board book for toddlers, and it was also printed as a Hello Reader, Level 2, which means it would also be great for the beginning reader in your family. Happy Spring!

Ages 3-7

About Children’s Book Reviews @ BeTwinned

Review by Sandra Horning

The Biggest Bed in the World by Lindsay Camp, illustrated by Jonathan Langley
image from Amazon.com

Have you ever woken up with a little foot in your face or stomach? If you answered yes, The Biggest Bed in the World is a must read for you and your children.

Little Ben starts off sleeping in bed with his mom and dad, but as Ben gets bigger, Ben’s dad has trouble sleeping. A bigger bed solves the problem, that is, until Ben’s brother is born. Then they get an even bigger bed and the twins are born.

And after that triplets arrive!

As you can imagine, the bed just can’t handle the crowd. So dad makes the biggest bed in the world and still can’t sleep. Finally, all of the children are put in beds of their own. But dad still can’t sleep because the bed feels too empty.

Langley’s gentle pencil-and-watercolor illustrations bring out the warmth and humor of Camp’s text. This silly story poking fun at the realities of life with young children is sure to please children and parents of all ages.

Ages 3-7