In the latest installments, beaver brothers Ace and Bub confront moles who are attempting to bury the island in mud. In their next adventure, the dynamic duo returns peace to the island when issues arise between the bunnies and birds. The comic book format enhances the over-the-top but good-natured silliness and fun.
The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Mud-Slinging Moles
Annie, a preschooler, and her caring older brother Simon share everyday activities in four adventures in each of the brief chapters. Together Simon and Annie explore nature, Annie nurses Simon’s sneeze, learn a bit about cats and dogs, and solve the mystery of the missing chestnuts. Line drawings depict the warm sibling relationship.
Annie and Simon: The Sneeze and Other Stories
When young Amelia’s dad gets an extra week of vacation from work, they go on a special family vacation — roaming — all recorded in Amelia Bedelia’s faithfully kept journal. Her literalist tendencies are humorous and portend the housekeeper she grows into in later books.
Amelia Bedelia: Road Trip!
Alvin Ho, a fearful but appealing boy, has a new set of worries. His mom is going to have a baby — and Alvin has all of the symptoms! To add to his worries, his dad is away helping earthquake victims in Haiti. The happy resolution includes the arrival of Alvin’s new baby sister and his dad is return home.
Alvin Ho Allergic to Babies, Burglars, & Other Bumps in the Night
A boy recalls when he was “frightened by numbers” with an “allergic reaction/to multiplication … addition … subtraction.” The narrator ultimately diminishes his fear and the creepy clown-like monster when he realizes how important and fun math can be. Richly-hued illustrations for this cautionary tale are oversized, sitting atop the rhyming text.
The Monster Who Did My Math
Zebra wants to create a traditional counting book but his buddy, Musk Ox, is not cooperating at all! Instead, Musk Ox adds and subtracts animals, much to Zebra’s chagrin but sure to delight readers while challenging their counting and visual acuity! This is a worthy and equally funny companion to A is for Musk Ox (Roaring Brook, 2012).
Musk Ox Counts
Bright colors and simple patterns on sturdy pages present simple images of familiar farm animals, enhanced by textured paper. On the opposite side of each page is a pattern that incorporates the animal.
Farm
What do a cricket, a turtle, an opossum, a flea, and a frog have in common? Each are featured in a story that comes from one of the indigenous people that live in Mexico. Fluid retellings combine with information about the natives from whose culture the tales were drawn. A glossary and where to go for additional information and sources are included in this attractively illustrated book.
Whiskers, Tails and Wings: Animal Folktales from Mexico
The familiar fable of competition between a speedy, arrogant hare and a plodding, perseverant tortoise is retold in dramatic, highly detailed illustrations by the artist of the Caldecott winner, The Lion and the Mouse (opens in a new window). Here, too, few words are needed to reveal the setting and different personalities of the main characters and the animals who watch the race, in this altogether handsome telling.
The Tortoise and the Hare
Two of three pigs, paid for their work by the Florida-bound farmer, enjoy chips and “sody-pop” more than a sturdy home. Only one is smart enough to grow healthy food and with her pay build a brick house with a pool. This funny, nonviolent riff on a familiar tale makes a gentle comment about healthy food and hygiene and its impact on huffing and puffing!
The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf
A prairie chicken named Mary McBlinken, “heard a rumbling and a grumbling and a tumbling” fearing that “a stampede’s a comin’!” Others join her to alert Cowboy Stan and Red Dog Dan to the impending danger. Almost sidetracked by a tricky coyote, Stan and Dan save the day and stop the rumbling of Mary’s tummy. A take-off of “Chicken Little” is made even more humorous by rib-tickling illustrations.
Prairie Chicken Little
In 1741, mean-hearted John Leep set out to evict a tenant on Friday, October 13th on a cold and very dark evening. As Leep clip-clops to the widow’s house on his horse, hoof beats are matched by an unseen rider to and from the house. Dark, dramatic illustrations enhance the truly spooky story with an unexpected ending sure to make readers or listeners jump.
Ol’ Clip-Clop: A Ghost Story
When Nelly May takes a job as housekeeper for Lord Ignasius Pinkwinkle, she must learn a new vocabulary. Lord Pinkwinkle becomes “Most Excellent of All Masters,” his bed a “restful slumberific” and so on — until she must put it all together to save the Master and his home. Jauntily illustrated, a fresh version of an old English tale is sure to engage children.
Nelly Has Her Say
Two friendless creatures with “brains no bigger than a pebble” vow not to hurt the other. But when the crocodile takes the scorpion to the other side of the river, there is little doubt that they both wind up at the bottom of the “big, brilliant blue river.” A brief telling of a little-known fable combines with abstract, angular and brilliantly colored illustrations for a memorable tale.
The Crocodile and the Scorpion
Little Chick is not distracted like his mother, Mama Nsoso. He only chases tasty treats after their ilome, a warm new home of grass and mud, for his family is complete. This lively telling based on a fable told by Nkundo people of Central Africa is illustrated with swirling, animated illustrations, complementing the alliterative, onomatopoeic language.
Busy-Busy Little Chick
Musa ventures out alone for the first time to collect firewood, where a loud noise and the dark forest frighten him. A squirrel and a cow calm the panicky boy who returns home safely without any wood — but with a good story to tell. Highly stylized folk art effectively conveys Musa’s emotions in a fast-paced story and introducing a tradition of central India.
Alone in the Forest
Don Pedro and his family make skeletons for el Día de los Muertos celebration in Mexico City. When the papier-mache Calaveras go to market on fiesta day, each skeleton acts out a letter of the alphabet. Richly toned illustrations in an appealing folk art style introduce the alphabet — from ángel to zapatero. This handsome book concludes with an alphabet glossary and a brief explanation of the Spanish alphabet.
Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book
Since he forgets to distribute the lists for the neighborhood picnic, Oscar must launch into action. He shops, sets the table and whips up the food — in a most unusual way — for the best picnic ever! Colorful illustrations add imaginative detail and visual interest as well as a subtle nudge for exercise.
Super Oscar
Kenya is looking for a favorite song to share with her class. She and her father attend a Caribbean music festival in search of it — but Kenya doesn’t find it there. Instead, she creates an original song that celebrates everyone’s music! Realistic illustrations suggest Kenya’s glimpse into other cultures and her own creativity.
Kenya’s Song
Ivy lives on a Nevada ranch with her parents. During the summer of 1949, with her best friend gone, Ivy’s gentle ways and affinity for animals leads to unexpected adventures and a job with a veterinarian, causing Ivy to dream of one day becoming one.
Ivy Takes Charge
Tai Shan and his father fly kites from “the tippy-top of our triangle roof” where they are free like the kites. Tai Shan’s is small, nimble, and red while Baba’s is a strong, large blue kite. The widow and his son are separated during China’s Cultural Revolution though are ultimately reunited. A difficult period is touchingly presented while remaining child-friendly.
Red Kite, Blue Kite
An old woman left her small village to visit her daughter and granddaughter, telling three hungry predators to wait to eat her until she is plumped up on her way back. How the women outwit the bear, fox and tiger is satisfyingly told and handsomely illustrated in saturated color illustrations in this Indian folktale that the author recalls from her childhood.
Grandma and the Great Gourd: A Bengali Folktale
This unapologetically goofy picture book reveals that the legendary ride to town (and the whole macaroni thing) was all suggested by Mr. Doodle’s overeager pony. A historical note ends this colorful, comical take on a nonsensical old song.
Crankee Doodle
Stonewall Hinkleman’s parents are Civil War buffs who reenact its battles, insisting that Stonewall (named for Stonewall Jackson, of course) accompany them. When Stonewall Hinkleman finds has traveled back in time to a real battle, he must work to save history!