"Dora the Explorer" is the "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" for this generation of tots and preschoolers.
The hit Nickelodeon cartoon features Dora, her cousin Diego and their pals who go on explorations; they ask kids at home to help them navigate by using a map and also teach kids Spanish words.
Since its debut in 2000, the Dora brand has generated over $3 billion in products, including books.
Many ... many ... many books.
On Barnes & Nobel's Web site, there are 172 separate Dora titles.
And Kevin has read many of them with his nana.
"I read to him all the time. 'Sesame Street,' Elmo, Disney. But he loooves Diego," Ms. Monteiro laughed. "He goes around the house singing, 'Heeeyy, Diego!' "
"Go, Diego, Go!," a cartoon for preschoolers, is a spin-off of "Dora." Both "Dora" and "Diego" also air on Noggin, the preschool learning channel.
Diego's special gift is talking to animals. In most episodes, Diego hears an animal's cry for help at his rainforest Animal Rescue Center. With help from viewers at home, he sets out to rescue it.
In this book, Diego's pal Baby Jaguar cries for help and Diego has to save the cub before he plunges into a waterfall.
Most of the books in the series teach tots a lesson or about a certain subject. For instance, there are "Dora's Thanksgiving," "Big Sister Dora," "Under the Sea" and "Meet the Animals."
Preschoolers might get more out of "On the go! Phonics," "Follow the Reader Level 1" "First Words Reader" or "Dora's School Day."
Most of the books are also reasonable priced — on Barnes & Nobel's Web site, they average $3.
There are also Dora books for every holiday, with about a dozen for Halloween, including "The Halloween Cat," "Dora's Halloween Adventure," "Dora's Perfect Pumpkin," "Dora's Spooky Halloween," "Dora's Costume Party" and "Monster Bash!"