There’s something for every member of the family in this carefully selected and expertly performed poetry by a well-known mother-daughter team.
Treasury for All Seasons: Poems and Songs to Celebrate the Year
Mary’s little lamb is well known, but Maria lives in Peru and has a fleecy llama. The well-known cadence in English and Spanish and fresh illustrations present the familiar in a lively new setting.
Maria Had a Little Llama / Maria Tenia una Llama Pequena
Rain spoils Max and Ruby (and friends) outdoor plans but their clever grandmother’s treasure hunt more than makes up for it. Clues in the form of traditional rhymes are numbered, hidden beneath small but sturdy flaps as well as in the spot art are sure to make this a modern classic.
Max and Ruby’s Treasure Hunt
Product Description: Alma Flor Ada’s groundbreaking bilingual collection of rhymes from Spain and Latin America repackaged with a compact disc containing recordings of the included pieces.
¡Pío Peep! Book and CD
Additional verses are added to the familiar ditty and illustrated in the artist’s signature naïve style. The little star sparkles, flickers, shimmers, and glistens around the whole world watched by animal parents and their young in different settings ending with a human baby and mother.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
A collection of early Golden Books illustrated by an artist who (as stated in the introduction) influenced Disney films are presented in a new, larger format. Though retro in feel (and reality) the playful stories, poems and songs effectively capture the joy in simple things.
A Mary Blair Treasure of Golden Books
Young children will treasure this collection of Latin American nursery rhymes. Preserved through oral tradition, these rhymes have been passed on from generation to generation. They have been lovingly gathered and translated for this book and many are accompanied by instructions for finger play.
Tortillitas para Mama and Other Nursery Rhymes
The charming child and hound first introduced in Apple Pie ABC are back. This time the girl chases her mischievous black-eared dog to reclaim her shoe through the gate to a hen house counting all the while in the cadence of a familiar nursery rhyme. Illustrations are open and appealing, adding story to the counting book.
One Two That’s My Shoe
This handsomely illustrated book is accompanied by a CD of songs and lullabies from various parts of Africa.
Songs from the Baobab
The rain starts when a grandfather bumps his head, winds up in bed, and the children must play indoors. Lively illustrated vignettes of their games and concern for their granddad accompany the lyrics to what some may recognize as a song of the 1960s. A CD of the now classic children’s tune (plus 2 others) is included in the package but isn’t necessary to enjoy the book.
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
In this version of a familiar tune, Jo MacDonald (the old farmer’s granddaughter) and her cousin plant a Spring garden, watch it grow, observe what visits it, gather its bounty before the cycle ends only to begin again. Engaging illustrations suggest ways to dramatize the yearly cycle, and suggested activities conclude the book.
Jo MacDonald Had a Garden
Visit places and meet the characters who lived “once upon a time” during a dramatic moment from a well-known fairy tale. Highly detailed photographs accompanied by rhyme guide readers’ eyes. This book is sure to encourage multiple examinations.
Can You See What I See? Once Upon a Time
Can a giraffe actually drive a bus? It’s possible in a book in which a group of noisy animals are on their way to go swimming. This colorful, lively spin on a familiar song is sure to delight the youngest — and perhaps start a conversation about who really drives a bus.
The Wheels on the Bus
In the playful cadence of “The House that Jack Built, “a pot stirred by a maiden and her farm animals is used to create a tasty arroz con leche. Spanish words are used throughout but will be easily understood by all. A recipe and glossary complete this cheery, rhythmic tale.
The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred
Die-cuts are cleverly used to focus on counting from one to 10 but with a turn of the sturdy page, readers can count again when introduced to a circus animal and various objects. Bold form and bright colors create a new spin on an old rhyme.
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe: A Counting Nursery Rhyme
Count down with a child who starts with 10 dogs but winds up with only one lovable canine companion. This nursery rhyme is based on a popular Spanish counting ditty which is repetitive and rhythmic, and meant to be sung or recited. Music is included in this cheerily illustrated book.
Ten Little Puppies/Diez perritos
Read the back story of why — and how — the cow who jumped over the moon (made famous in the nursery rhyme) was able to accomplish this feat. Though no longer in print, this funny parody may be available used or at libraries.
Moonstruck: The True Story of the Cow Who Jumped Over the Moon
Both traditional and original nursery rhymes featuring animals are presented in this attractively illustrated collection. An introduction is likely to inspire adults and lays a foundation for sharing the rhymes in one or the other language.
!Muu, Moo! Rimas de animales/Animal Nursery Rhymes
A mutt tells reveals a “doggy allegory” and how he went from “the saddest and the baddest” to being a hip hop dog. Jazzy language swirls around and with fresh, loose art to create a sense of music in many forms. While rappers may just call it ‘freestyle,’ this zippy book is howling good fun.
Hip Hop Dog
Move over Mother Goose! These cheerfully illustrated ditties not only take off from the earlier rhymes, but add a decidedly contemporary feel with likely appeal especially for truck and grit lovers. The rhymes can be shared aloud or even read aloud with more traditional offerings.
Truckery Rhymes
Children everywhere enjoy similar things, celebrated here in rhymes from around the world. Some are traditional while others are by credited authors; each is accompanied by soft illustrations until it’s time to say good night (in many languages).
Rhymes Round the World
What happens when the well known three pigs try to plan a party? Readers will find out as they read a series of very funny illustrated letters between characters right off the pages of familiar tales.
Yours Truly, Goldilocks
Join a chubby cheeked mail carrier as he delivers letters to well known characters from recognized tales — such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears — then turn the page and read each humorous note.
The Jolly Postman or Other People’s Letters
Everyone knows that rascally egg, Humpty Dumpty, but few have met the rest of his family which includes his younger sister, Dimity. Painfully shy, Dimity comes out of her shyness (her shell, so to speak!) to help her rambunctious brother. Humor abounds in both text and illustration on this take-off of the traditional rhyme.