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: Mouse and Lion, by Rand Burkert and Nancy Ekholm Burkert

Mouse & Lion
By Rand Burkert and Nancy Ekholm Burkert

Even if you thought Jerry Pinkney’s Caldecott Award-winning telling of this Aesop’s fable was the definitive version, you need to make room on your shelf for this title as well. Unlike Pinkney’s wordless version, this story is told through colorful language. Like Pinkney’s version, the illustrations are stunning. In this case, the power is in the softness and the detail. Two breathtaking double-page spreads bring the splendor of the African savannah landscape to life. The book closes with the Lion and the reader reflecting on the wonders small things. A gem.

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

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

Lower Elementary: Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst

Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst; illustrated by Lane Smith

Pure fun from start to finish, this slim chapter book features a spoiled little girl, an unflappable brontosaurus and a narrator who is as salty as you please. Top that with retro illustrations, a peppy little rhyme that begs to be chanted repeatedly, trademark Lane Smith exploding typeface and three different endings, each more satisfying than the last. Set aside a half hour and grab a glass of water: once you start reading this one aloud, your kids will not let you stop.

Target Age: Grades 1-4

This review originally published in The Kutztown Book Review.

Toddler Read Aloud: Let's Count Goats by Mem Fox

Let's Count Goats by Mem Fox; illustrated by Jan Thomas

Pure silliness. The rhyme and rhythm are perfect. Silly goats, in silly situations, doing silly things, begging to be counted. The words come tripping from your tongue and the bold illustrations are even sillier than the words: one spread features little goat bi-plane pilots, eating their airplanes as they fly them. This makes a charming read aloud that children will want to hear (and look at) again and again and again.
Target age: 2-4.

Connections:
Sandra Boynton's Moo Baa La La La

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.

A Den is a Bed for a Bear, by Becky Baines

A Den is a Bed for a Bear, by Becky Baines
This engaging book presents simple facts about hibernation. The rhyming text provides straight-forward facts with few challenging vocabulary words, making this perfect for new readers. Additional details are provided in smaller type scattered around the page. The kid-friendly design features cut-out photographs of bears and their dens, arranged on the page amidst line drawings. Arrows with a hand drawn look direct captions to their corresponding photos. The overall effect is that of a scrapbook. The rhyme and rhythm are similar to those of Mary Ann Hoberman’s A House is a House for Me. This would be an excellent introduction to the concept of hibernation or paired with Hoberman’s work for an introduction to homes.
Target age: 3-6 years

Connections:
A House is a House for Me, by Mary Ann Hoberman
Old Bear, by Kevin Henkes

This review was originally published 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

What Do You Do With A Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?, by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page

The Boy loves this book. I think he asked me to reread it at least three times today. Jenkins creates fantastic collage images of animals and their various parts. The question and answer format appeals to kids, and the additional notes at the end of the book provide great details and fun facts about the featured creatures.
Target ages: 5-10 years

Connections:
Sisters and Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World, by Steve Jenkins
Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures On Earth, by Nicola Davies

Bravo Mr. William Shakespeare! by Marcia Williams

Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare! by Marcia Williams
The Girl is named after one of Shakespeare's characters. As a consequence, she is obsessed with Shakespeare. The sweet pea actually dragged the Riverside Shakespeare off the shelf a month ago and tried to read Romeo and Juliet. This book is a much better starter. We were so excited when we spotted it. The plays are told in a comic strip format, with no more than 8 pages given to each play. The main action of each scene is told in simple language beneath a corresponding panel. The characters speech bubbles spout actual text (in short snippets) from the selected play. All around the border of the ongoing comic are little characters (audience members) making comments. The plays are very well summarized and easy to follow. Our only disappointment was with the plays selected: Richard III? Really? I was thrilled to learn that this was Williams' second book of Shakespeare's plays and that Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest are included in the first collection.
Target ages: 10-13 years

Connections:
Tales from Shakespeare, by Marcia Williams
William Shakespeare and the Globe, by Aliki

What's Inside? by Giles Laroche

What's Inside? Fascinating Structures Around the World by Giles Laroche
I read this picture book to both kids together. Each page has a block of text that tells a little bit about a different structure from a different place/time in the world. The book invites you to turn the page to see "What's Inside?" The text accompanying the inside view gives information about the animals, people or artwork housed by the structure. This book is fantastic and has broad appeal. The Boy pored over the collage illustrations on each page, examining every detail. The Girl enjoyed reading the sidebars that provided more detailed information about each building. Some of the structures are the usual favorites found in other picture books about architecture (The Guggenheim Museum and The Sydney Opera House) but most of the buildings are less well known: Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, Sakyamuni Pagoda.
Target ages: 5-12 years.

Connections:
Amazing Buildings, by Philip Wilkinson
Building America, by Janice Weaver

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
This is a collection of free verse poems arranged in journal style, chronicling a boy's journey from reluctant to enthusiatic poet.
The kids and I read this in a single read aloud session. We could not put it down! We laughed, we cried and we could not wait to read more poetry!
Target age: 8-12 years.

Connections:
Hate That Cat, by Sharon Creech
A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms, selected by Paul B. Janeczko