Today's read... You Stole My Name Too by Dennis McGregor

I'm heading into the realm of poetry with today's read. It was released a couple of weeks ago and is the companion to the author's first book, You Stole My Name .  I didn't read this first one, but it appears it pointed out shared names between animals with subtle humor (bull — bullfrog). In today's read, the author now shows how some plants share the names with animals. I'm expecting amazing illustrations and enjoyable poetry to go with it. And I'm curious to see how all of this fits together.

So, off we go!

YOU STOLE MY NAME TOO

by Dennis McGregor

Blue Star Press

Picture Book

32 pages

ages 4 to 8

The second addition to Dennis McGregor's fun picture book series features vibrant, hand-painted illustrations and curious questions like "why does the crab apple share its name with the crab?"

You Stole My Name Too features another amazing collection of illustrations that takes you and your child on a colorful journey through nature's most fascinating plants and animals and their namesakes.

The fun pairs of flora and fauna that are featured in this sequel
• Chick and Chickpea
• Cat and Catnip
• Dog and Dogwood
• Hedgehog and Hedgehog Cactus
• And many more!

A beautiful "children's coffee-table-art book" for all ages, You Stole My Name Too is a clever, creative follow-up to You Stole My Name , a perfect book series for parents and children to read and enjoy together.

GOODREADS    /     AMAZON     /    B&N

MY TIDBITS

Subtle humor melds with poetry, animals, and botanic goodness in this beautifully illustrated book.

These pages take a peek at names shared between animals and plants. It's a large book, allowing for viewing space, and with these gorgeous illustrations, that's a plus. One side of the two-page spread holds a poem, written in large font. These are whimsical, most flow well, and each introduces an animal as well as a plant, which holds a similar name. The text is age appropriate and does work well for a read-aloud. The illustrations are on the other side. The animal and a section of the plant are depicted. That's it. The background stays white, which works extremely well since it allows the animals and plants to remain at the focus of attention. And these are beautifully done.

While gazing at the illustrations already makes this an enjoyable read, the unique plants offer a bit of educational goodness. Some are recognizable, but most are more unfamiliar. There's something to be learned for both young readers and older ones. The poetry holds cute twists and fun, but its the name sharing which makes it fun. While some poems explain a bit about the name or plants, others don't...which is to bad, since a little bit more information would have been nice. It's a lovely poetic read, which can be visited and enjoyed time and time again.