Jennifer Tarr

Writing picture books for kids and their grown ups.

Category: Colorful Illustrations

Toddler Teaches…TWO DOGS
Ian Falconer’s Two Dogs is a bit of a mystery to me. S loves it. But with the exception of having two dogs as protagonists, it defies almost everything I thought I knew about what makes books appealing to a 2-year old.

Start with the intro. It’s unique, clever, and makes no sense to S:

Over the next several pages, the story introduces Perry and Augie, their differing personalities, and their problem: their family played with them all the time as puppies, but now leave them alone all day. (Darn work and school!)

These concepts go completely over S’s head. Most days, we flip past all of the intro pages without even paraphrasing them. For S, the book begins on page 7. That’s when Perry steals Augie’s ball.

Over the next several pages, Augie asks Perry for his ball back with increasing levels of desperation.

S loves this section of the story, and will point at these pages and say “Give the ball back.” “Give it back!” S will also open the book directly to these pages and say “Read Perry book!” I think S enjoys the repetition in Augie’s requests, as well as looking at the pictures of Augie and Perry jumping around – they are very active. I also think S identifies with the song-and-dance of trying to get your toy back. It seems to be a common thing in early preschool.

S also loves the next section of the story, where Augie and Perry try to open the door to leave the house. Each time we read it, S informs me that the dogs are trying to “open the door.” This is a relatively new skill for S, which may be why it is of interest. The pictures are also quite colorful, which certainly doesn’t hurt.

After that, we mostly skip pages or paraphrase. Of the dogs’ antics outside, we focus on their playing on the playground and swimming in the pool — things that S is familiar with and likes. Their other activities are funny but go over S’s head (ex: “watering” the flowers) or are written in a manner that is too advanced for a 2 year old and never caught S’s attention.

But even though we read less than half of the book each time, S keeps asking for it.

So what can Two Dogs teach us about appealing to toddlers despite being geared toward older readers?
1. There is value in including topics that may be of interest to multiple age ranges. You never know what will pique a toddler’s interest or make a book suitable for siblings of different ages.
2. Though the book starts “slowly”, I continue to think that starting your story quickly and with short, punchy sentences is the best way to appeal to a younger reader. If I had followed S’s cues rather than my own curiosity, I would have stopped reading long before we got to the part S enjoys so much.
3. Shorter sentences and more illustrations per sentence help with complex topics. The pages we read have half the number of words per illustration of the ones we don’t. It’s been a pretty common phenomenon — S is more likely to want to read stories with shorter sentences and fewer words per picture.
4. Dogs are always a good protagonist choice, particularly when they’re engaged in fun antics like Augie and Perry.
Two Dogs By the Numbers:

Page count: 40

Word count: 423

Average word count per illustration on pages we read aloud: 6.72

Average word count per illustration on pages we don’t read aloud: 13.13

Average sentence length on pages we read aloud: 4.48

Average sentence length on pages we don’t read aloud: 6.71
March 25, 2026
Toddler Teaches…HANUKKAH PAJAMMAKAHS

Continuing our theme of “representation matters,” let’s take a look at Dara Henry and Olga and Aleksey Ivanov’s adorable Hanukkah Pajamakkahs.

The story is geared for readers ages 4 and up, and its main joke/premise goes over S’s two-year old head. Ruthie wants to wear her fun new Hanukkah pajamas for all eight nights of Hanukkah and promises her parents she will keep them spotless. She naturally proceeds to get them extremely messy, but claims she’s in the clear because streaks, drips, and splotches aren’t technically spots.

The book’s sentences are also generally too long for S’s attention span and comprehension abilities. Excluding one-word onomatopoeia sentences, the book averages 8.5 words per sentence, with nearly half of them clocking in at 9+ words per sentence. I wind up doing a fair amount of summarizing on each page, which I think makes S less likely to request an immediate re-read of the book when we finish it (there’s less repetition/consistency when I summarize, and toddlers seem to adore repetition/consistency).

Nonetheless, S is always excited to read Hanukkah Pajamakkahs when she spots it (terrible pun intended) on the shelf. Here’s why:

Hanukkah Pajamakkahs introduces its prime toddler hook quickly.

The book begins with Ruthie opening her Hanukkah pajamas, which she calls “pajamakkahs.” S finds this delightful. “Pajamakkahs” is fun to say, and the book instructs the reader to say it with excitement — both the text (Ruthie “squealed in delight”) and the layout (putting “pajamakkahs” in big, colorful font) demand that “pajamakkahs” be uttered with verve. S loves to join in and shout “pajamakkahs!”

You too would want to wear your pajamas 8 days in a row if they featured a robot lighting a menorah.

In addition to starting the story off with excitement, the pajamakkahs are relatable — like Ruthie, S has Hanukkah pajamas and loves to wear them, regardless of the time of year. Hanukkah is exciting, and Hanukkah pajamas carry that excitement forward into something mundane (bedtime).

Like the joyful challah-baking in Challah Day!, Ruthie’s excitement over pajamakkahs (and the existence of a book centering that excitement) is a prime example of meaning coming from something small — a slice-of-life kind of representation.

The book features lots of relatable Hanukkah items and activities.

S also identifies with and enjoys pointing out the other Hanukkah items in the story. Ruthie lights a menorah, makes latkes, and plays dreidel, and many of these items can be found in the background of multiple spreads. These items are exciting, and keep S turning the pages to find more of them.

Ruthie’s first stain is definitely a drip, not a spot, so I give her credit for her rules lawyering.

There is a ton going on in the illustrations, Hanukkah-related and otherwise.

As noted above, S loves to point out Hanukkah-related items in the book, and Hanukkah Pajammakahs‘ illustrations have no shortage of them to look at. They also have a ton of other things going on, which keep S engaged and interacting with the book.

The below spread is probably S’s favorite spread in the whole story. It takes place outdoors (always a favorite) and features kids playing soccer, a dog running around, flying food, and lots of ancillary items to take note of — hats, scarves, a picnic, etc. There is a lot of action and joy in this spread, which S picks up on.

By Day 4, I’m pretty convinced that Ruthie’s already got true spots on her PJs. I’m also kind of shocked the puppy isn’t trying to eat her shirt…

The book makes fun use of onomatopoeia.

Each time Ruthie gets her pajamas messy, the book uses fun onomatopoeia to describe what is happening. Latke drippings go “kersplat!,” jelly donuts go “squish!,” glitter goes “floof!,” and so on.

Like the initial use of “pajamakkahs!,” the onomatopoeia acts as a cheerleader in the middle of the story, raising our enthusiasm level as we read.

Potentially of note for anyone trying to use onomatopoeia as an element to bring in younger readers: S tends to get more excited by certain kinds of onomatopoeia than others. At age 2, words that make sense in context like “squish,” “crash,” or “whoops” tend to get a better reaction than words that convey a sound that S may not understand.

TL;DR: If you or your kids like Hanukkah, fun sounds, giant messes, or rules lawyering, check Hanukkah Pajamakkahs out. It’s a fun read!

Hanukkah Pajamakkahs By the Numbers

Pages: 31 pages of what I would consider the “main” book

Word Count: 468

Words Per Illustration: 15.6

Words Per Sentence: 7.1 (8.5 if one-word onomatopoeia sentences are removed)

February 25, 2026
Toddler Teaches…CHALLAH DAY!
Last fall, S and I began baking challah together on Friday afternoons. S loves it, and has been asking for books about challah every time we go to the library for months. S was agnostic about whether these books were actually about challah or just had a picture of challah in them — as mentioned in earlier posts, including images of favorite topics in the background of a story is often enough to capture S’s interest. (Interestingly, however, S was very particular about what the illustrations should look like. Some books were rejected at the outset for having insufficiently “challah-y” challah.)

We recently took out Charlotte Offsay and Jason Kirschner‘s adorable Challah Day! from the library because it is not just a book with pictures of very challah-y challah, but a book about making challah as a family.

S LOVED it. We read it 9 times on the day we took it home. That love has not abated. On an average day, S requests it between 1 and 5 times, often back-to-back-to-back. (“Read it again!”) It’s the kind of book that is such a runaway hit (and so well-written/illustrated) that we will wind up buying it as soon as we have to return our library copy.

Let’s look at what makes Challah Day! an early contender for favorite book of the year:

1. Challah Day! celebrates Shabbat from a toddler POV

Challah Day! shows the importance of not just representation generally, but of representing the cultural traditions that mean the most to kids. The book is a simple, joyful ode to a specific Shabbat tradition — making challah together as a family.

The whole family is working together to make the dough, with a special focus on the little girl and her baby brother, who have starring roles in the bread-making production.

While the story references other Shabbat traditions obliquely, they are not the focus of the story. They are also the exact other traditions that would be meaningful to a young child — lighting candles, drinking grape juice, and spending time with grandparents.

The book is cozy and warm and absolutely spot on for the way S experiences Shabbat — it is the day we make and eat challah (and light candles, drink grape juice, and spend time with grandparents).

I believe that this sort of representation — meeting young kids where they are — is exactly why the book has resonated so much with S.

2. It has short, punchy sentences and colorful, active illustrations

Challah Day! is a joy to read out loud. The sentences are short; the rhyme is bouncy and joyful; and the way the rhyme, punctuation, and page layout breaks things up leads to natural pauses that make it easy for S to focus on what is going on.

At an average of 4.78 words per sentence, it fits squarely into the sweet spot sentence length for S’s attention span.

Charlotte Offsay’s text is complemented perfectly by Jason Kirschner’s illustrations, which have just enough going on to hold S’s interest at all times. This spread is a particular favorite, with the whole family actively eating challah (including the dog!) and bright background colors that S loves to point out.

3. It has multiple toddler hooks

Combining S’s interests is a surefire way to make a book a repeat player. In addition to the carbohydrates discussed at length above, we have at least five more toddler hooks:
1. A baby — S loves pointing out the baby on every page
2. A dog — any addition of animals to a story is a plus, particularly when they are actively involved (here, helping braid challah, etc.)
3. Simple counting — S likes to count along and point out each of the eggs when I get to “Crack the eggs – one, two, three, four”
4. Bubbles — always a favorite; doesn’t matter that these are yeast bubbles and not soap bubbles
5. Family time / a “knock” at the door bringing grandparents over — the knock is a fun change of pace, and the grandparents are additional people for S to point out
I hope you love Challah Day! as much as we do — I have a feeling we will be reading it for a long time!

Challah Day! By the Numbers

Pages: 28 pages plus back matter

Word Count: 244

Words Per Illustration: 6.26

Words Per Sentence: 4.78
February 11, 2026
Toddler Teaches…LITTLE RED HEN
Because they are awesome, my parents held onto my favorite childhood books. Lyn Calder and Jeffrey Severn’s Little Red Hen was high on that list. I loved the Hen’s absolutely giant loaf of bread, as well as her (suddenly smaller) slice of toast.

Seriously, how much bread did the Little Red Hen eat between the prior page and this one? And why is it no longer the size of her torso?

Over the summer, my parents pulled out a number of my childhood favorites to read to S. Little Red Hen was an immediate winner. It’s got all the elements needed for toddler success: animals; bright, colorful illustrations; and short, punchy refrains. Not to mention carbohydrates.

Breaking Down Little Red Hen

Little Red Hen follows a predictable pattern, which got S actively interacting with the story as early as 19-20 months:
- First, the Hen asks “Who will help me [do whatever thing she needs help with to keep making the bread]?”
- Each time, the other animals respond in the same Rule of 3 refrain: “‘Not I,’ said Duck. ‘Not I,’ said Cat. ‘Not I,’ said Dog.”
- Hen responds in a predictable pattern that mirrors her initial ask, reinforcing the language that was already used: “Then I will [do whatever Hen’s initial request was] myself.”
- The sequence for each of Hen’s requests concludes with: “And she did.”
S loved the repetitions, and loved chiming in “did” at the conclusion of each section.

The refrains and parallel language are predictable, vocabulary building, and fun. They also use simple, declarative sentences that make it easier for young readers to understand what is happening and participate in the action.

The last few pages invert the animals’ refusals to help, continuing in a Rule of 3 pattern that ties the ending of the book to everything that came before in a satisfying “of course!” conclusion.

Who will help Hen eat the (absolutely ginormous) bread? “I will!” said Duck, Cat, and Dog. But in a continuation of the previously established pattern, Hen responds that she will eat the bread herself. And in a continuation of the refrain S loves so much, the story ends with a simple, “And she did.”

Analyzing the construction of the book, I can see why I loved Little Red Hen as a kid and why S loves it now. (Though if we’re being honest, I still really like the bread pictures, so maybe it’s more about the carbs than the exceptional construction of the story…)

Trying a Reimagining of the Story

Given S’s love of Little Red Hen, I thought it would be interesting to see S’s reaction to a version of the story geared for slightly older readers.

Thanks to Jasmine Sears for the eARC!

Jasmine Sears‘s and Amelia Mangham‘s upcoming picture book The Little Red Hen Learns How to Ask for Help cleverly reimagines the story in a light more favorable to the Hen’s unhelpful friends. In their retelling, Hen has asked — nay, demanded — each of her friends help her with a task they are unsuited to do. Dog is told to cut the wheat, Cat is told to fetch the water, and so on. It is only after Hen realizes she should be asking nicely and asking her friends for help with things they know how to do (and are not afraid of doing) that they all pitch in and bake the bread together.

S was absolutely transfixed by the illustrations in this version — they’re beautiful, bright, and almost glow from within. We made it to the end of the first half of the story (where Hen eats all the bread herself), which is the part S already knew. That was 367 words, which is on the long side for S’s attention span but doable with this many illustrations (particularly when they are brightly colored and of animals) and predictable, parallel language. The fact that S already knew the basics of the story to that point probably also helped.

S’s interest in the retelling highlights the value of reimagining stories that are familiar to young readers — the more familiar the story, the easier it is for a young reader to understand parts of the retelling, even if generally aimed at an older age group. It’s also another mark in the plus column for animals, parallel language, and brightly colored illustrations (a.k.a. toddler gold).

Little Red Hen By the Numbers:

Pages: 23

Word Count: 297

Words Per Illustration: 24.75

Words Per Sentence: 7.24

The Little Red Hen Learns to Ask for Help By the Numbers:

Pages: 36 pages of what I would consider the “main” book.

Word Count: 785

Words Per Illustration: 13.77

Words Per Sentence: 10.61
January 26, 2026