Giggly and Wiggly

Elmo and the Sesame Street crew are put to good use in this cheerful little board book about the many faces of feeling. In just fourteen pages of rhyming text, Naomi Kleinberg gives toddlers words for being giggly, wiggly, and bashful — expanding emotional vocabulary at exactly the right developmental moment. The die-cut handle is a thoughtful touch that makes the book easy for small hands to carry independently, and David Dees's illustrations keep the familiar characters front and center. There are no content concerns here whatsoever — this is about as wholesome as a book gets. The honest caveat is simply that it is tiny: fourteen pages goes fast, and children who have outgrown Sesame Street or who are not already fans may engage less. For its intended audience of toddlers and their caregivers, it is a sweet, practical read.