From 10 to one, guinea pigs celebrating a birthday are eliminated one-by-one through recognizable (but minor) disasters. With a wish, however, the 10 are reunited to continue the playful celebration.
Guinea Pig Party
From morning to bedtime, cuddly animals echo young children, their feelings and appearance. Rhythmic language and soft, textured illustration add to the fun and verve of the day.
Funny Face, Sunny Face
One by one, five googly-eyed little chooky chicks come together to pull a stubborn worm but need the help of a big rooster. Energetic language and jaunty illustrations reveal the surprise.
Chooky-Doodle-Doo
A long format is ideal to introduce boats large and small and the sounds they make as they “chum-splish” and “GRRRRR BRRRR…” across the sturdy, colorful pages of this lively book.
Boats Go
A puppy meets different animals asking each if she is his mother. Each responds in the negative but names her young — calf, duckling, etc. — until the puppy and his mommy are reunited.
Are You My Mommy?
What can you see at the beach? Lift the flap to find out then make repeat the animal’s sounds in this bright, playful book sturdy enough for young hands.
Arf! Arf!
A boy in a fedora uses his pen to travel, grow, “make giants of old men/who have seen better days” (an homage to his late father, Walter Dean Myers), and visit places real and imagined. Black and white line drawings and sophisticated, poetic language effectively convey the power of art and imagination and are sure to spark conversation.
My Pen
Pearl, a bonnet-wearing pig in pink, finds a magic bone that fell from a witch’s basket. Can she and the magic bone save Pearl from the jaws of a hungry fox? Cartoon illustration and exceptional language make this a must to read aloud.
The Amazing Bone
Is it one story or four? Is it about cows, commuters, a thief, or a boy? Careful reading and re-reading is required to tell. Warning: it may take young readers to explain how this clever Caldecott-winning book works!
Black and White
Serafina Sow returns from her retirement in the Gulf of Pasta to help her three pig offspring to defeat the big bad wolf, Tempesto. Elements of the more traditional story are here (houses of brick, straw and sticks) but made fresh and funny (such as the family business of waffle-making) in this creative recasting of an old tale illustrated in the artist’s signature style.
The Three Pigs
Tacky is an odd bird, very unlike his friends and colleagues. But it is Tacky’s peculiarities that save he and his friends from hungry predators. Humor is created by offbeat illustrations of Tacky’s behavior and clever language.
Tacky the Penguin
A tenacious bird finally inspires Rocket, a small white dog with black spots, to learn to read and spell. Children will empathize with Rocket as they see the expressive illustrations and hear the straightforward telling showing the passage of seasons but Rocket’s gradual ability to read.
How Rocket Learned to Read
Ahmed must carry his secret with him as he does his chores throughout the bustling, colorful streets of Cairo. Later in the day with his family all around him, Ahmed shares his wonderful secret: he can write his name in Arabic. Mild tension will keep children guessing what it is that Ahmed carries with him and detailed realistic watercolors are sure to inspire discussion.
The Day of Ahmed’s Secret
Cheerful, childlike depictions of Maria and her much loved llama set the familiar rhyme, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, in a Peruvian village. The little white llama follows Maria to school, makes the children laugh, but with a distinctive and unique setting and characters in a familiar cadence.
Maria Had a Little Llama/Maria tenia una llamita
Little Llama Llama has a major meltdown when he tires of shopping with Mama in the shop-o-rama. But Mama Llama is smart and figures out how do end the llama drama. The rhyming text shares not only a common experience but a great deal of llama wisdom all told with good humor and rhyme.
Llama Llama Mad at Mama
Peekaboo! Lift the paws and what do you see? Boldly colored, textured, cuddly animals giving — and getting — soft kisses to the reader. Ideal for sharing one-on-one, this predictable, repetitious, and interactive book has become a modern classic.
Peekaboo Kisses
What can you “peek-a” through the die-cut window? Does it “moo”, say “boo” or could it be YOU? Turn the page and find out! A predictable format and bold illustrations are sure to engage and delight.
Peek-a Who?
A new baby creates lots of excitement and all the animals want to kiss the baby duckling! Black pages with bold white lines depict the animals with splashes of color to highlight the joy and a repeating text makes this just right to encourage young children.
I Kissed the Baby!
Twelve poems for each of the four seasons come together to provide a unique perspective of the seasons.
Sharing the Seasons: A Book of Poems
Attractive illustration combines with wide-ranging poetry to recognize and celebrate words and language.
Wonderful Words: Poems About Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening
This collection of poems by Karla Kuskin, David McCord, and Janet Wong features rhymes about mathematics, numbers, and having fun, accompanied by illustrations in a naïve style.
Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems
What do books and libraries mean to readers young or old? Fifteen poems pay tribute to just that. Poets included are generally well known and are accompanied by jaunty, playful illustrations which together are sure to please.
Jumping Off Library Shelves
The charm and sensibilities the late 19th and early 20th century are captured by illustrator Jessie Willcox Smith.
Jessie Willcox Smith Mother Goose
Real inventions come into focus in this poetry collection, some factually, others fancifully; each is sure to make readers think anew about what is often taken for granted!