We've All Got Bellybuttons!

We've All Got Bellybuttons!

by David Martin
Illustration by Randy Cecil

In David Martin's rollicking romp, playfully illustrated by Randy Cecil, little ones can follow the actions of animal babies and discover all the wonderful ways their bodies can move.
Are you an inny or an outy? Either way, you'll love this perfect read-aloud. We've got ears, and you do too. We can pull them. Can you? We've all got hands for clapping, necks for stretching, and feet for kicking. We've all got eyes that close and mouths that open (and often do). But best of all, as this colorful menagerie is happy to display, we've all got bellybuttons -- for tickle-tickle-tickling.

I have a bellybutton...do you? Help your little one locate their bellybutton, as well as their ears, hands, feet, eyes, and mouth with the cartoon animals in We've All Got Bellybuttons! The pictures are captivating in their vibrant colors. The colors do not follow nature (with blue grass, pink trees, and purple elephants), but they are beautiful nonetheless. The lack of detail in the backgrounds is not noticed or missed, because the colors still satisfy your senses. However, the interactive words and actions are the real focus; "We've got ears, and you do too. We can pull them, can you?" The sentences are very short and rhyme, so your little one can follow along. The animals chosen to represent each body part will also serve as memory aids, since they are best recognized by the body part they are rhyming about. The elephants are used for ears, the monkeys for hands, the giraffes for necks, and so on. The picture of all the animals bending over to see their belly buttons is hilarious!

Make the book interactive by pointing to your own ear, eye, and neck while reading, or lightly direct your little one's arm to the appropriate body part while repeating it. The page will end with a new rhyme so make the appropriate motion, then pause for a moment and see if your little one will imitate. Will your child still recognize an elephant if it's purple, or a zebra standing on its hind legs? Expect your little one to want to touch the different colors on the pages. You can increase the learning value of the book by naming the colors as you point to them. The same game can be played with naming the animals.

My friend Dano, who recently turned two, got a kick out this book, which he has since named 'the tickle book'. The book reads, "We've all got belly buttons, and you do to. And when they're tickle, tickle, tickled...we GIGGLE. Do you?" And oh man (!) did he giggle! Now, when he wants to play the tickle game, he drags this book over, lifts up his shirt, and says "tickle book please!"

--Audra