New: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

If Pinkney’s Lion and the Mouse was a study in the warm tones of the savannah, this beautiful title is a study in the cool greens and blues of a pond at twilight. While reading the traditional lullaby the reader is also treated to a wordless story of adventure as a chipmunk is lured from his nest by a passing dandelion seed. The chipmunk finds himself sailing through the sky in a fanciful boat as day turns to night in a swirl of blues of every tone and hue. Children will linger over the illustrations as they tell the story of the chipmunk’s journey from his nest, to the sky, across the pond and home again. The illustrations are perfectly paced, alternating between dramatic, full-bleed spreads and intimate, smaller paintings set in a field of white. A classic to return to again and again and again.

Target Age: 2-6

New: The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot
By Margaret McNamara and Mark Fearing

I predict that this variant on the Three Little Pigs will be in constant circulation in our library. The connections to the original tale are cleverly executed and the rhymes are terrific. The illustrator studied NASA photographs of the planets to bring an element of realism to this wonderfully fantastical tale. A sure fire hit and new favorite!

Target Age: 3-8

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

Non-fiction: A Salamander's Life, by John Himmelman

A Salamander's Life, by John Himmelman
Himmelman is a naturalist, and A Salamander's Life shows his love for all the small things that live in the forest. Like Under the Snow this book is a wonderful selection for preschool and kindergarten. The text is clear and simple, and the illustrations are gorgeous. The illustrations pull you in to the tiny world under the leaves in a way that a photograph could not. Though the text is quite simple, this book can be enjoyed by older students for the pictures alone. I was delighted to find this book is part of a series by Himmelman.
Target Age: prek-2

Connections:
Also by Himmelman
A Dandelion's Life
An Earthworm's Life
A House Spider's Life
A Lady Bug's Life
A Luna Moth's Life
A Pill Bug's Life
A Wood Frog's Life

Nursery Rhymes

Hey Diddle Diddle illustrated by Annie Kubler
I don't know why I continue to be amazed that preschoolers love nursery rhymes. They LOVE them. And I know I should be reading more. This series from Child's Play is my current favorite format. Even though the books are board books, the preschool students still love to borrow them. Each book has a single rhyme or song spread over eight pages. I have watched countless preschoolers (and toddlers) page through and sing along. Of course they love it - they feel like they are reading to themselves! Hey Diddle Diddle is my favorite. The babies are dressed as the characters from the rhyme. Row Row Row Your Boat has a nice twist in the lyrics. I have the rest of the series on my "to-buy" list.
Target Age: 0-6 years.

Weekly Read Aloud: Meet Einstein by Mariela Kleiner

Meet Einstein by Mariela Kleiner
Monday was Einstein's birthday, so it seemed a fitting time to try this book out. I love the idea of a book that introduces Albert Einstein to small kids. The illustrations are very appealing in their simplicity. The explanations of light and gravity are also very simple, clear and informative. The photos show Einstein asking questions and exploring the world. Wonderful. Except, perhaps it is too simple. It would be quite easy for a child to come away from a reading of this book thinking that Einstein invented the lightbulb and discovered gravity. Perhaps it is true that his discoveries about light and energy would be difficult to distill for this age group, but this book might mislead. That aside, this book delighted my young listeners and they were entranced by the closing line: "Maybe someday you could be a scientist too."
Target age: prek

NOTE ADDED APRIL 18: I have recently become aware of some of the misunderstandings this book has generated among the preschoolers, and I have removed it from my library's collection. So sad, because the illustrations are very cute.

Weekly Read Aloud : Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart

Under the Snow, by Melissa Stewart
This gorgeously illustrated non-fiction selection is the perfect read aloud for this time of year. The book gives us a peek at different animals as they weather the winter: some active, some hibernating and others just slowing down. The text is detailed enough to be interesting, but still not overwhelming for young listeners. The illustrations are detailed and beautiful.
Target age: prek-2nd grade

Connections:
Dear Rebecca, Winter is Here, by Jean Craighead George
Animals in Winter, by Henrietta Bancroft

Weekly Read Aloud: Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Mouse Count, by Ellen Stoll Walsh
We are reading about mice in January and February, and Walsh's little collage mice are some of my favorites. Walsh's collage illustrations are similar to Leo Lionni's, but a bit brighter and bolder. Lionni's books are philosophical and targeted to a slightly older crowd, while Walsh's books are all about the preschool set. As the title suggests, Mouse Count is a counting book. A snake finds some sleeping mice and proceeds to drop them one by one into a jar for safekeeping. I could feel my little listeners shiver when I read the snake's just-creepy-enough delight at finding the mice: "little, warm and tasty." As this is a book for young ones, the mice trick the snake, and handily "uncount themselves" and escape before anyone is harmed. Kids love to count along and make predictions about what will happen next in this pint-size thriller.
Target age: prek

Connections
Walsh's other crowd-pleasers include
Mouse Paint and the new (2010) Balancing Act

All of Me by Molly Bang

All of Me: A book of thanks, by Molly Bang
Not since Maurice Sendak’s Mickey declared “I’m in the milk and the milk’s in me!” has there been a book that so thoroughly captured the joy and wonder of being a preschooler. Beginning with a close-up of two sturdy feet, a small child gives thanks for different parts of his (or her?) body, for the five senses, for emotions, for the whole universe, inside and out. The mixed media collage illustrations are created on brown paper bags and suggest that this is a handcrafted celebration of all things self. The endpapers contain a description of Bang’s process for writing and illustrating the book. A perfect fit for preschoolers.
Target age: Preschool-Kindergarten

This review originally appeared in the Kutztown Book Review, Fall 2010.

Museum Trip by Barbara Lehman

Museum Trip, by Barbara Lehman
During a class trip to the museum, a boy wanders away from his class and stumbles upon a little door. Inside is a display of drawings of mazes. The boy imagines himself (is he imagining?) inside the mazes. This wordless book is simply perfect. The Boy and I enjoyed tracing the path through each maze, and we both were delighted and surprised by the ending.
Target ages: 3-8 years

Connections:
The Red Book, by Barbara Lehman
You Can't Take a Balloon Into the Metropolitan Museum, by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman
Flotsam, by David Wiesner