The other day, I pulled out a book to read to the boys during dinner. Yes, I did a read aloud as we ate our meal together. It was the perfect time. I had my audience sitting with me at the table. NHL (7), JSL (3), and TechyDad were all listening as I cracked open the new book called Ten on the Sled by Kim Norman. Please humor me later and tell me that other people do read aloud stories at dinner as well (or maybe this is just a teacher thing)!

About Ten on the Sled:

Author Kim Norman (Crocodaddy) and illustrator Liza Woodruff have whipped up a rollicking, jolly, snow-filled adventure!

In the land of the midnight sun, all the animals are having fun speeding down the hill on Caribou’s sled. But as they go faster and faster, Seal, Hare, Walrus, and the others all fall off…until just Caribou’s left, only and lonely. Now, a reindeer likes flying-but never alone, so…

one through ten, all leap on again!

An ideal picture book for reading-and singing along with-over and over.

Ten on the Sled – Written by Kim Norman – Illustrated by Liza Woodruff – Sterling Children’s Books – On sale October 2010 – ISBN 978-1-4027-7076-0 – $14.95 – Ages 3 and up

If you are interested in purchasing the book, the widget below is a link to my Amazon Store where I receive a small percentage for the sale.

What we thought:

My boys love animals. Ten on the Sled served as a great artic animal introduction for JSL, and a review for NHL. We were watching the story of the ten which included the caribou, seal, hare, sheep, walrus, fox, squirrel, wolf, moose, and polar bear. The boys all sat there listening to the repeating rhythmic nature of the words on each page. The kids really enjoyed making predictions about what may happen next. As the story kept going, they were able to see the pattern forming and guessing which animal would end up going off the sled in a new manner. 

NHL enjoyed the book so much that he asked to take it to the couch to read again after dinner. I sat down with him and he read the story pointing out the animals and telling me what he knew about these creatures.

As I was glancing at the pictures, I was mesmerized with the details on the animals and the fun and colorful accessories that each was wearing. It isn’t every day that you see a moose wearing rainbow leg warmers, or a squirrel with a winter pirate hat on his head. Liza Woodruff captures the essence of the animal group with her illustrations and bring you onto the sled for the ride.

TechyDad noticed another item as we were reading along. He saw something in the corner of a few pages. It looks like a snowball that was slowly getting larger. Sure enough, it was a recurring item that shows what happened to each of the animals as they fell off the sled. Check it out when you read the book. Hint – it has something to do with the snowman that is seen on one of the first pages of the story.

I would definitely recommend this book for families to read together. It would make the perfect book to read when snowed inside this winter and drinking some hot chocolate while keeping warm.

So what have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Tuesday Tales and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.