Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Ten Tiny Toes by Todd Tarpley and illustrated by Marc Brown (Little, Brown 2012) begins with the ten tiny toes coming in to the world “a hundred times sweeter than one could suppose.” The text is sweetly rhyming: not annoying at all and full of baby-friendly metaphors and rhythm that makes it a delight to read aloud. The
Another Brother by Matthew Cordell (Feiwel and Friends, 2012) is about a young sheep who enjoys the attention of his parents, until he starts getting brothers. With lots of brothers copying his every move, he gets rather annoyed. One day, the brothers stop imitating him, and he finds he misses it. The ridiculous number of brother
Lola Reads to Leo by Anna McQuinn and illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw (Charlesbridge, 2012) is a big sister book, starting when Lola is reading with her mom before the baby is born. When baby Leo arrives, Lola gives him a book, the “perfect present.” When he is crying or hungry or messy, Lola knows just which
One Special Day by Lola Schaefer and illustrated by Jessica Meserve (Disney Hyperion, 2012) is full of metaphors to show just what Spencer is: strong as a bear, tall as a giraffe, loud as an elephant. The animals are not named but illustrated in bright and colorful paintings as Spencer plays outside and enjoys his freedom.
Sequels are always tricky. This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen (Candlewick, 2012) is a follow-up to Klassen’s highly successful I Want My Hat Back, which was about a bear searching for his hat among his forest friends … and ended with a spot of rabbit fur. I Want My Hat Back provided a
Tom Lichtenheld is on a role with the letters and numbers books this year! Zero the Hero by Joan Holub and Tom Lichtenheld (Henry Holt, 2012) is another story of writing coming to life: this time, it is the numerals that have personalities! Zero feels left out from the counting games that numbers 1, 2,
E-Mergency! by Tom Lichtenheld and Ezra Fields-Meyer (Chronicle Books, 2011) plays with letters by giving each letter a personality. When the letter E is hurt, the letters rally together to help him heal by convincing the world to stop using the letter E. The result is very amusing, and the twist at the end is
The mind-boggling question of what infinity is provides the focus of Infinity and Me by Kate Hosford and Gai Swiatkowska (Carolrhoda, 2012). As a young girl stares at the sky, she wonders about the concept. Over the next day, she asks friends, family members, and teachers what they think infinity is. Inspired by the author’s
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean and Eric Litwin (HarperCollins, 2012) is one of those sequels that may be better than the original (well, maybe; the original is fantastic too!). In this story about the cool cat, Pete loves his buttons, but they keep getting lost. With subtraction problems to
It’s a Tiger! by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Jeremy Tankard (Chronicle, 2012) is a story of a child telling a story, and somehow a tiger keeps appearing, hidden amid the branches of the jungle. The bright ink illustrations give the jungle and the tiger a friendly cartoon-like feel, and the fact that the tiger
Oh, No! by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Eric Rohmann (Schwartz & Wade, 2012) features a tiger in a jungle, and this tiger is not friendly. Animals are trying to escape him. Fleming’s story has a perfect read-aloud rhythm as the various animals (a frog, a mouse, a sloth, and a sun bear, among others)
Railroad Hank by Lisa Moser and illustrated by Benji Davies (Random House, 2012) is a story of a train engineer who wants to help his granny feel better. Hank is rather slow, however: when Missy May suggests making a yummy plate of scramble eggs, Hank takes the chickens with him, and so forth. By the
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