New: Zoozical by Judy Sierra

Zoozical
By Judy Sierra; illustrated by Marc Brown

When the “midwinter doldrums arrive at the zoo,” the animals cheer themselves up by putting on a musical extravaganza. Written by the winning team that brought us “Wild about Books,” this selection is perfect for reading aloud. The rhyme and rhythm move the action along in a rollicking fashion. The cheerful illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to the text. While the book is well suited to reading to a group, it is especially fun read one-on-one in a situation in which you can take the time to fully appreciate all the animals antics portrayed in the pictures.

Target Age: 3-8

999 Tadpoles, by Ken Kimura

999 Tadpoles
Ken Kimura, illustrated by Yasunari Murakami

999 tadpoles are born to mother and father frog and all is well until the tadpoles grow into frogs and their pond becomes too small for them. The giant family of frogs experiences a series of adventures as they search for a new home. The charm of this book lies in the perky illustrations and the absurd idea of 101 frogs trying to scramble out of the pond and cross the meadow single-file. Children will be thrilled with the ending in which disaster is dramatically averted. A sure-fire pick for repeated readings.

Target Age: 3-8

Toddler Read Aloud: Spots Feathers and Curly Tails by Nancy Tafuri

Spots Feathers and Curly Tails, written and illustrated by Nancy Tafuri

Nancy Tafuri's books are wonderful read alouds for toddlers. The illustrations are easy to interpret and somehow manage to be bold and soft all at once. In this selection, children are encouraged to guess farm animals based on a close-up view of an identifying feature: a pig's curly tail; a duck's bill. Children love making predictions and having their guesses confirmed on the following page. Soon enough your child will be ready to "read" this one to you.

Target age: 1 - 4