Ally's Toy Box

Reviews of toys, books, movies, gadgets and other stuff for kids





Buy it: Bear’s Loose Tooth

Bear’s Loose Tooth (By Karma Wilson) – If you have a child who is starting to lose their baby teeth, this is a fun book to read with them. Bear has a loose tooth and is worried about how he will eat if it falls out. But his friends explain that he will get a new tooth in its place. Then they each try to help pull the loose tooth out. But the tooth won’t budge. Finally, Bear wiggles the tooth with his tongue and it comes out! That night the tooth fairy leaves a plate of blueberries for Bear. In the morning, Bear and his friends enjoy the berries together – but uh-oh – Bear has another loose tooth! All of the Bear books are fun to read, with great illustrations and lively rhyming text.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!

Buy it: Dance Me, Daddy

Dance Me, Daddy (By Cindy Morgan) – If you have a little girl, you will probably tear up when you read this touching story about the love between a girl and her daddy. Each turn of the page, shows the little girl growing up from tutus, pigtails and tea parties to sleepovers with friends and homework. But through every age, the daughter and her daddy still dance together and the daughter says the same thing – “Dance me, Daddy…” Then she says that if she’s his princess than he is king of the world. Then the girl leaves home, falls in love and gets married. And on her wedding day, she goes up to her dad and says the same thing, “Dance me, Daddy…” And the last page shows the daughter visiting her parents with her husband and her own little girl. The book comes with a CD of the song “King of the World,” which tells the same story in song. The CD also features the author reading the story and an interview with the author.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!

Buy it: Toy Boat

Toy Boat (By Randall de Seve) – A little boy loves the toy boat he has made. He sleeps with the boat and takes baths with it. And every day, he and the boat go down the lake and the boy sails the boat while holding onto a string from the shore. And the boat is happy, but sometimes the boat wishes to sail free like the big boats on the lake. One day, the boy accidentally drops the string and the boat sails out into the lake by itself. The toy boat faces huge waves and bigger boats that push it around. The boat misses the boy. Then little fishing boat comes by and helps the little boat to get headed for the shore, where the boy is waiting for it. The boat and the boy are thrilled to be back together. After that, the boy keeps the boat on the string, but every once in a while lets it sail free. And the boat always comes back. This is a sweet story about growing up, learning to let go, braving new experiences and finding your way back home. It is also filled with wonderful illustrations.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!

Buy it: Knuffle Bunny Free

Knuffle Bunny Free (By Mo Willems) – In this third Knuffle Bunny book, Trixie has gotten a little older and is traveling to Holland to visit her grandparents. But soon after Trixie and her parents arrive at her grandparents’ house, Trixie realizes that she left Knuffle Bunny on the plane. Everyone tries to make Trixie feel better, but she is still sad. Then Trixie has a dream about all the places Knuffle Bunny would be visiting and the children he would be meeting along the way. She wakes up feeling better. Then on the plane ride home, Trixie finds Knuffle Bunny in the seat pocket! But when Trixie hears a baby crying behind her, she makes a big decision. She gives Knuffle Bunny away. The baby loves Knuffle Bunny and quiets down and a few weeks later Trixie gets a letter in the mail from the baby’s family. The end of this book always makes me tear up. The last pages show Trixie growing up, falling in love, starting a family and then getting a package in the mail from her old pen pal. And inside is Knuffle Bunny.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!

Buy it: Ladybug Girl

Ladybug Girl (By David Soman and Jacky Davis) – A little girl named Lulu dresses up in a red tutu, wings, boots and antennae, and proclaims that she is Ladybug Girl. Lulu’s parents and brother are busy, so Lulu will have to make her own fun. She heads out into the yard and soon discovers lots of important things that Ladybug Girl can do. She helps a line of ants by moving a rock out of their way. She puts fallen rocks back on the crumbly stone wall and makes a fort. She walks the length of a fallen tree and doesn’t fall. Lulu realizes that she’s not little when she thinks of all the amazing things she did that day.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!


Buy it: I Can Be Anything!

I Can Be Anything! (By Jerry Spinelli) – There are so many wonderful jobs in the world. This book gives a child’s point of view on the kinds of jobs he’d like to have when he grows up. He’d love to be a “dandelion blower,” “puppy-dog holder,” “puddle stomper,” “bubble gum popper” and “gift unwrapper,” to name just a few. In the end, the boy decides to be everything. The illustrations in this book are colorful and fun. Children will love reading this book and imagining what they’d like to be.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!


Buy it: Leo the Late Bloomer

Leo the Late Bloomer (By Robert Kraus) – Leo is a small tiger who can’t do anything right. He can’t read or write or speak like the other animals. Leo’s father worries about him but Leo’s mother knows that he just needs some time to bloom. It takes a while, but one day, Leo blooms! He can read, write and speak just like everyone else. And the first sentence he speaks to his parents is: “I made it!” A great story to let children know that everyone grows and learns at different speeds.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!