My Very Own Space

In reading this book to my 2 and 3.5 year old, I discovered a couple of things about this book that are not easily explained. While I generally adore books with fewer words, more pictures and lots of opportunity to improvise and discuss the story with my little ones, this one didn't flow quite as well as I was expecting.The idea of drawing a line and demanding it be respected by all others is a little difficult to explain and not really something that I want practiced in my house. I do appreciate the idea of finding your own area as not to be bothered for some quiet time (I do this quite often, actually) but the kids didn't really get it as drawn. Also, the overall idea about wanting space, and then inviting people into your space was not an easy explanation. I think that the author could've helped the parents out a bit by using some language in the story to describe what the feelings were.I think that a 3/5 star rating is fair for this book from a parent's perspective, but my little ones are drawn to the illustrations and seem to enjoy looking at this book on their own quite often. I've decided that it deserves 4/5 stars based on how my children see the book.

Hardcover book with sweet illustrations printed on heavy stock paper. Little rabbit Jack just wants to read his book but there's too much going on! He draws a line around his space and informs all the other bunnies that no one can step over the line! Jack then goes on to enjoy his book and daydream about it. When he's done, he's a bit lonely until his little sister picks up the line and walks under it, then Jack invites everyone in to play. The book ends with Jack knowing he still has his own space, which is his bed.I think the story would fit with kids about 2 or 3 when they start thinking about their own space. My grandson enjoyed the book and we talked about quiet time, which I said was like having your own space to read or play by yourself, but how it's always fun to have friends. He decided that "sometimes it's OK to be quiet IF you still have friends!" hahahah A charming little book, very short sentences which is nice for a beginning reader to recognize words and start reading on their own.

I love this adorable picture book about a bunny in a busy community that's looking for just a bit of space to call his own. This bunny wants to read his favorite book but how can he with his active and noisy family and friends around? Pippa Goodheart's text is spare compared to Rebecca Crane's vibrant illustrations. There are bunnies everywhere - dancing, playing music, playing dress up and more. How is a little bunny supposed to read among all this! Text and pictures combine perfectly to tell the story. The text is simple enough for beginning readers. Children of all ages will enjoy studying the pictures to see what's going on. This is a wonderful bedtime or anytime story. I would definitely use this for a library story time as well.This book is published by Flying Eye Books, which is known for publishing only high quality books. My Very Own Space is no exception.

While the book description on the back cover mentions "Jack" at no time in the book are any of the dozens of bunnies given names. Instead our eyes are drawn to the main bunny because he is the only one engaged in reading a book... no, not this book. We do get to see a few pages and his imagination about the book he's trying to read amid a whirlwind of bunny activity. The pages are huge and covered from edge to edge with images on slightly rough pages. My reading buddy liked touching the cover of the book which is rough as well except for a few smoother shinier parts.There are probably around 100 words in total in the book and that includes the side words indicating some verbal actions from the non-reading bunnies. I found that my reading buddy did a great job of telling me the story for the pages without words at all and he really enjoyed doing that. The facial expressions and body language are so well drawn that my reading buddy had no problem identifying the various emotions the characters were feeling. We were both blown away by a circle and its qualities at one point but I'll let you discover that on your own. Oh, and the fact that the book's author may be British only matters for one single word but the context is pretty clear.This is a great book for a younger but highly verbal child who likes bunnies or who might have empathy with the idea of being in a very big family. I think it could be a good transition book between plain picture books and learning to read, too, because the text is simple and the words easy. I'm not sure how much re-readability there is because my reading buddy wanted a different story a few minutes after we read this one and hasn't asked for this one again.

My Very Own Space tells the story of a bunny who wants some space to himself so he can read his book. Sick of constant interruptions, he draws a line over which nobody can cross. He enjoys his time alone for a bit, but then realizes that he misses the joys that other people bring. So, he invites everyone back into his space, and reads his books while surrounded by friends and family. The very end of the book teaches the lesson that time alone is necessary, but you should also appreciate time with others. The message is a good one, but I felt they did not spend enough time explaining the virtues of alone time.The text is sparse, large, and easy to read. The illustrations used are cute and remind me a bit of Richard Scary's work. There are lots of great details and characters for a child to see and observe.The book is quite large, about the dimensions of a piece of letter size paper, and quite light.All in all... a fun little book.