It’s Llama Llama day in our house on any given day of the week. That’s how much my five year old loves little Llama. May is Llama Llama month for Penguin Young Readers, and they have all kinds of goodness lined up.
There are three, yes that’s right, three books releasing this Spring from the world of Anna Dewdney. The first to release came out on May 4, and is as delightful as always. In Llama Llama Meets the Babysitter, our fuzzy friend must contend with mama going away… again! But this time there is no school, no friends, no grandparents to provide care. This time there will be a babysitter!
I love the way that Anna Dewdney’s characters explore the big emotions that kids have, emotions that as adults it can be easy to overlook in them, or diminish. In the world of Llama Llama every emotion is valid, and every emotion gets dealt with in a caring way. If we are ever to get rid of the stigma of mental health, we need our kids to grow up knowing how to feel all their feelings, and deal with all their feelings. For my family, there is no better way to do this than through the stories we love. At nine years old, my son has a lot of anxiety. These books have helped guide him through dealing with situations in everyday life that naturally induce his anxiety.
Will she know to make my snack?
And what if you do not come back?!Llama Llama, you’ll be fine.
Molly does this all the time.
This book is particularly timely. As the world opens up, parents and kids both have to deal with the outside world again. Whether going out themselves, or dealing with us being gone again, the timing is perfect for the ideas in this book.
On June 29, Llama Llama’s new interactive book will come out: be still my heart. With push and pull tabs, Llama Llama Seasons of Fun checks off three of our passions in reading: Llama Llama, seasonal tales, and tactile books. You can also get a new die-cut copy of Llama Llama Loves his Mama, that classic story retold in shortened form for little hands. We have an old scratch and sniff book, but nothing smells the way it once did. I’m excited for push and pull tabs, instead of smells!
Continuing the celebration of Llama Llama, Penguin Young Readers has announced a series of all-new partnerships, activities, and challenges to equip parents and educators with all they need to celebrate safely this year, including private play dates with The Little Gym and custom activity packs, sweepstakes, and more from Sittercity.
The Little Gym will host private Llama Llama play dates at all their locations across the country. Aimed at children ages 4 months through 12 years, right in our wheelhouse, each play date will provide a group with exclusive access to the gym where instructors will lead them through an interactive Llama Llama-themed adventure.
Sittercity will celebrate the launch of Llama Llama Meets the Babysitter with dedicated blog posts and newsletters, downloadable activity packs, and sweepstakes. Prize packs will include a three-month premium membership to Sittercity, a copy of Llama Llama Meets the Babysitter, and a variety of Llama Llama toys. Sittercity is an app that helps parents find personalized in-home childcare. I haven’t had cause to use the program, but it’s how my best friend found support for her girls on their virtual school days. They are all thoroughly delighted with their carer, and mom sings the praises of the process to get her.
Although Anna Dewdney passed away in 2016, her passion for reading aloud to children continues through the ever expanding world of Llama Llama. This celebration makes me want to assign a series of books to each month of the year, and do a whole read-aloud themed calendar with my kids.
GeekMom received a copy of Llama Llama Meets the Babysitter for review purposes.
