Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
In the middle grade historical novel in poetry May B. by Caroline Rose (to be published January 2012 by Swartz and Wade), young Mavis Betterley, called May, has been sent away from home for the first time, assigned to be a helper for one of her rural Kansas farm neighbors for six months. Despite her
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and classically illustrated by Jules Feiffer (1961) is a book for the clever reader. The book is full of wonderful wordplay, cliché, word stereotypes, and logic puzzles for a young child (and the adult!) to chuckle over and enjoy. In the story, the young Milo is bored of school
One winter, the zoo animals have the “doldrums,” in ZooZical by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown (Knopf, August 2011). The genius idea of the small hippo and young kangaroo is to dance and sing throughout the zoo. So of course the zoo animals put on a musical performance, titled “ZooZical.” My son (age 4) and
In the colorful picture book about animals singing, What Animals Really Like by Fiona Robinson (Abrams, October 2011). The beaver choir director wants to present his latest song about what animals like to do. To his surprise, though, the lions don’t like to prowl and the cows don’t like to moo: they have something else that they really
Hogwash! by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jim McMullan (Little, Brown, June 2011) is a silly book about a farmer who wants to give the pigs a bath. With Karma Wilson’s signature rhyming style (as in Bear Snores On and The Cow Loves Cookies), she brings a silly farm to life with humor. To my son’s delight, by the end,
Mr. Duck Means Business by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Jeff Mack (Simon and Schuster, January 2011), tells the story of a very cranky duck who does not want his silent pond disturbed. When the nearby farm animals begin using his pond for their weekly swim, Duck is not happy. That is until he realizes how much he
In 999 Tadpoles by Ken Kimura and illustrated by Yasunari Murakami (North South, May 2011), the frog parents of the 999 babies soon find that there is simply not enough space in their little lake for their family, so the entire family leaves the lake in search of a new home. With the dangers of snakes and owls,
Over in the Meadow illustrated by Jill McDonald (Barefoot Books, April 2011) comes with a singalong CD (sung by Susan Reed) so of course, my son loved it! In the past, we have checked out a different version of the “Over in the Meadow” folk song. I loved this illustrated version, which is a digital collage
I’ve got to admit that I love a great large, sprawling picture book that lets a little one (or myself) sink into the artwork on each page. Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Kevin Waldron (Candlewick, November 2010), is one such book. Although there is little text in comparison to the oversized picture book pages,
Where’s Walrus? by Stephen Savage (Scholastic, February 2011) is a wordless book about a Walrus who escapes from the zoo. As the zookeeper searches for him around town, Walrus cleverly hides wherever he can find a place, blending in with the town workers and scenery. My son loved finding Walrus on each page. Although the
My favorite part of Melvin and the Boy by Lauren Castillo (Henry Hold, March 2011) is its breathtaking lovely illustrations (acetone transfer with markers and watercolor), which so gently captures a boy and the wild turtle he’s adopted as his own. The boy has always wanted a pet, and when he sees a turtle at the park, he
No Dogs Allowed by Linda Ashman and illustrated by Kristin Sorra (Sterling, August 2011) is a mostly wordless story of a small café on a street corner where there are no dogs allowed. As one very unusual day progresses, the café owner finds that he must adapt the rule to include other animals, from cats to kangaroos
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