The BIG Red Book of Beginner Books

by P.D. Eastman, Joan Heilbroner, Al Perkins

Blends words and pictures that encourage children to read by themselves.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Kids, Fiction, Poetry, Classics

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Philip Dey "Phil" Eastman was an American screenwriter, children's author, and illustrator. As an author, he is known primarily as P. D. Eastman. A protégé of Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), Eastman wrote many books for children, in his own distinct style under the Dr. Seuss brand of Random House, many of which were in the Beginner Books series.

From 1936 to 1941, Eastman worked at the story department of Walt Disney Productions. From 1941 to 1943 he worked at the story department of Warner Bros. Cartoons. From 1945 to 1952 he worked in the story department of United Productions of America. He contributed to the "Private Snafu" World War II training films, wrote for the animation Mr. Magoo, and the Gerald McBoing-Boing series for UPA.

Reviews

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little stories. Only one I don't like to read to the kiddo is the bad bunny one. I personally think it sends the wrong message towards younger children and gives them an idea that if they mess up or slip up often they are "bad".

[Moses · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter and I saw this collection at Costco and I'm glad I picked it up (It was $7 or $8, jacket price is $16.99).

It's the Costco of children's books: not the ones you read as a kid, but enjoyable ones from the same authors (brands) you're familiar with, like P.D. Eastman.

My daughter (2.5) enjoys all the stories. My favorite is Sam and the Firefly and hers is either the Diggingest Dog or The Very Bad Bunny.

Yeah, I'm shamelessly adding this to Goodreads for my 2022 reading challenge. Why? It's 344 pages, and yes, I have read through every single page with my daughter in one sitting, multiple times.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children’s picture book stories by classic authors and illustrators. The fact that it’s 350 pages and only took my toddler two sittings to get through it should tell you something. ;) And I liked a lot of the messages in the stories.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review of The Big Blue Book of Beginner Books here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

I'm not intentionally jacking up my "read" numbers by starting to add children's books to my shelves here, but these two #@!$ing books have become SUCH a part of my reading (and endlessly rereading) life these days... 😅

[Margaret Chind]

[Marc Lucke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both The Big Blue Book of Beginner Books and The Big Green Book of Beginner Books occupy places of pride on our three-year-old's shelf, and this third anthology will be just as well-loved. Classic stories designed to be read over and over in a sturdy, well-bound volume; what's not to love?

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

All six stories in this collection are great beginning reader classics which are also very fun to read aloud to younger kids. The problem with this book arises if you have a negotiator for a son, in which case you may end up reading all five (344 pages) every time you sit down to read a story out of it...

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a gift to my son for Christmas. It filled with some wonderful stories, only which one that I've read before.

**I Want to be Someone New** 3 stars
I get what the author was trying to do, but I don't think it was executed very well.

**Sam and the Firefly** 5 stars
Still one of my all time favorites from when I was a kid. Sam and the Firefly want to have fun, but Firefly takes it too far and Sam has to save him.

**Stop That Ball!** 4 stars
The kid only has one ball and goes all out to save it and get it back home.

**Robert the Rose Horse** 5 stars
Robert is a horse that is allergic to roses. But he uses his allergy to save the day.

**The Digging-est Dog** 4 stars
I thought it was harsh of Sam to immediately want to send him back to the pound, but he righted everything and got to stay.

**The Very Bad Bunny** 3 stars
I feel like the family was a bit harsh on the PJ.

[Jessica Atwater · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is quite a mixed bag. Sam and the Firefly is, frankly, brilliant. For the depth of tension, real danger, moral complexity, and genuine interest, it rises far above other Beginner Books. Robert the Rose Horse is moderately clever and entertaining. Stop that Ball and I Want to Be Somebody New are middling and somewhat dull. The Very Bad Bunny and The Digging-est Dog are both mildly troubling stories where the main characters are vilified for causing trouble they don't mean to cause (like every child who will read about them). The Digging-est Dog is even a little traumatic to read, although it does have the value of invoking real emotion. All in all, it is probably a better value just to buy Sam and the Firefly, and maybe check Robert the Rose Horse out for the library once or twice.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I Want to be Somebody New! 2.5/5* "You're very fat. We do not care for you like that." :(

Sam and the Firefly: 2/5* An owl teaches a firefly to make words in the night sky but then the firefly uses that new skill to cause accidents and trouble. I liked the color scheme of the illustrations but not the firefly or his actions.

Stop That Ball! 3/5* for the illustrations but story was unbelievable in terms of the durability of the red ball. The story was long and repetitive.

Robert the Rose Horse 4/5* Had no idea it would be a police horse! Cute story.

The Digging-est Dog 3/5* The reason we checked out the anthology. Expressive illustrations, a bit unbelievable on fixing everything perfectly after digging it all up.

The Very Bad Bunny 1/5* I dislike stories like this where they spend more time illustrating and talking about what NOT to do/be like. I think it sends the wrong message.

[Glynnis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Man loves the stories, but they are definitely dated.
I hate the "I want to be someone else" story where the cool polka dot bear thing is told by his friends that that they don't like him when he's fat.
I get/appreciate the message that you should be who you are/not try to change yourself, but YEESH.

[fruitcake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the stories are better than others, but they are all good for young kids. The stories are long, but the kids don't even notice, so that's how you know that they are good. Most are told in rhyme.

[Cherish Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4☆ Would recommend)
Dr. Seuss books are great for learning, since they have such colorful pages, engaging pictures, and rhyme. Kids love them. Having so many Dr. Seuss books in 1 book makes it such a good bedtime book.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of six old picture books, including some lesser-known books by P.D. Eastman. They're all dated, of course, but they hold my kids' attention. And having them lumped together in one book makes my kids immediately want to read the next one.

[Felicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book. My 6 year old loved it

[Grace Ferraro]

I picked this book because there are 6 books in it. My favorite is "I Want to be Somebody New".

[Aoi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book I've read about a hundred times to the toddler niece. At least it's enjoyable!

[Barbara Clements · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book to read with the kids !

[Maki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to have this book as a kid.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such a surprise for me. I found it on the shelf at the house where I babysit, and they were all stories I had never read before, yet they were also familiar in that Seuss-for-Beginners way. They actually cover a range of 25 years, so the styles change somewhat.

"Sam and the Firefly" (1958) was my favorite. Great moody artwork and palette, as it takes place entirely at night. The story is quite exciting, and the boy I read it to (when trying to put him down for a nap) is always riveted and could never fall asleep during it. But he's always happy to hear it.

"Stop That Ball!" (1959) never get old...because I can never remember that I've read it already. It's a very thin story -- the ball keeps getting propelled all over town. The boy I read it to finds it exciting, but I'm ready for a nap about midway through.

"Robert the Rose Horse" (1962) is very cute, and the boy I read it to loves it. I like the story, especially getting a job at the end. However, I wish it were true that one big sneeze could cure you of allergies.

"The Digging-est Dog" (1967) is also cute, and I usually end up singing it in a country-western voice because of the way it rhymes. I don't ever set out to sing it, but that's how it always comes out.

"The Very Bad Bunny" (1984) is drawn in a style of the Seventies, but it was written in the Eighties. It's a fun story about perspective. Every one calls the bunny bad, but then a truly bad bunny cousin visits and tears their house apart, and everyone realizes the main character isn't so bad after all. This is my second favorite story, and maybe the favorite of the boy I babysit.

"I Want to Be Somebody New!" (1986) is not great. It doesn't hold a candle to one of my childhood favorites, "I Wish I Had Duck Feet" (1965), in either imagination or how the message is conveyed. Here, the funny creature is told over and over by the most goyish looking boy and girl (yellow blonde hair, handsome/angular features, empty eyeballs) that they don't like him this was or that. I was shocked to learn it was written in the 80s, because it seemed very mid-50s to me in tone and drawing, and I mean that in the worst way possible.

Still, I love this book and it is an incredible value for money and shelfspace.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally gave in and bought this one, since the library copy is always on hold. We disliked the bunny story enough to avoid reading it (really, the moral is however badly you behave there's always someone worse?). That's the minus one star. The other stories are great and my 2.5 year old is constantly pining for it whenever we have to return it back to the library. Sam and the Firefly and Big Red Ball are particular favorites.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really the bottom of the Beginner Books barrel, more to the Dick and Jane end of the spectrum than dynamic, engaging, humorous books we associate with Seuss and his contemporaries.

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jude read all

[Thebruce1314 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, a nice collection for baby.

[The Docta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Individually read them all a long time ago. Good times bringing me back.

[Holli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was cute. I started reading it while at the store and was pleasantly surprised to find Robert the Rose Horse in it. I think that's the very first Dr. Seuss book I ever read. It made me happy to be able to read it again.

[Magen]

This book is really good to use in class when the students are just learning to read. I really like all the different stories that the kids would be able to read in class. I think it is smart to get books like this with lots of different stories in it.