My older child (age 5) finally has an interest in some of my favorite picture books, ones that I’ve been hoping he’d like for years. One is Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (1941). He finally appreciates it! I think the story of Make Way for Ducklings is fantastic. The personalities assigned to the

Read Post

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

Read Post

One “cold little afternoon, in a cold little town,” Annabelle finds a way to warm her town when she finds a box full of yarn and she decides to knit sweaters for everyone and everything. Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen (Balzer + Bray, 2012) is a magical book, with a hint of intrigue

Read Post

One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by David Small (Dial Books, 2012) features a very proper boy who adopts a very proper-looking kind of animal, a penguin. With his father always distracted inside of a book or newspaper, Elliot seems to be going about it without his father understanding. For example, Elliot very politely takes

Read Post

When all the lights in Brooklyn go out one summer night in Blackout by John Rocco (Hyperion, May 2011), families are suddenly not busy, much to the delight of the young child. Without power, the family cannot work on computers, or otherwise engage in their many tasks. When their powerless home gets too hot, they

Read Post

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith (Roaring Brook, August 2011) is the story of a past generation through the eyes of a great-grandson. The young great-grandson knows Grandpa’s story because Grandpa, a gardener, has created a topiary garden with statues that remind him of the past. My son (age 4) and I loved the story of

Read Post

After reading Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, April 2011), I must admit that I had not been very familiar with the life of Jane Goodall, who is an expert on chimpanzees and anthropology and a proponent of environmental and social issues. My son (age 4) certainly had never heard of Jane

Read Post