THE POODLE AND THE PEA by Charlotte Guillain, illustrated by Dawn Beacon

The Poodle and the Pea is in a series called Animal Fairy Tales, and it's exactly what you'd expect: a retelling of The Princess and the Pea with dogs instead of humans. The story is somewhat abridged for young readers. The illustrations are cute, and my six-year-old enjoyed the story (the book is billed as for ages 3-7).

I feel more could have been done with the story. It's hardly a retelling at all - it's the same old story, with dogs in the pictures instead of people. It's fine, but it doesn't add much to the original story. I prefer retellings that veer away from the feudal system (this one has a "servant" coming up with the pea idea), which could have been easily done here. I kept waiting for a twist that didn't come.

Still, it's a cute version of THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title from the publisher.

Picture Book Thursday: Animal Story Time

First of all, HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! Did you all remember to wear green? Even though it would make more sense for me to feature St. Patty's day books today, I don't have a bunch of those sitting around. So today's topic is: ANIMALS! :-)

Read to Tiger by S. J. Fore is a very cute story of a little boy trying to read a book. His tiger keeps interrupting by chomping his gum, impersonating a bear, practicing karate and more. It's not until the tiger realizes the little boy is reading a book about tigers that he becomes interested in the book. In the end, the little boy finally ends up reading his book to the tiger. This is a great picture book for young readers. There is much repetition and great pictures to help with more difficult words. A nice choice for an older sibling to read to a younger sibling. S. J. Fore previously published Tiger Can't Sleep which I'm sure is just as cute! We'll have to take a look at that one too.

I recently received a board book copy of Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle. This is a new-to-me title. I actually thought it was a newly published Carle book, but realized it's just a new edition. Mister Seahorse was originally published in 2004. A fun book for kids interested in sea life. Another repetitious story showing fish families. This one is unique because it focuses on seahorses, sticklebacks, tilapia, Kurtus nurseryfish, and more. All varieties where the father takes care of the eggs instead of the female. A great way to show the nurturing side of males. The book has acetate overlays on every other page featuring a hide-and-seek camouflage for the fish. As always the bright Carle illustrations are wonderful! I'm sure this would be a delight for toddlers through pre-K.

I've had Brown Rabbit in the City sitting on my shelf for awhile. And I'm happy to finally be able to review it. Such a sweet little tale! This is the sequel to the book Moon Rabbit. In Brown Rabbit in the City, he comes to visit his good friend Little Rabbit. Little Rabbit flits all over the city with Brown Rabbit in tow. They visit her favorite cafe, a tall building, crowded streets, an art gallery and the subway. It's all a little too much for Brown Rabbit and he goes off on his own. All of sudden, Little Rabbit realizes she was too busy showing her friend everything. They didn't really get to visit and enjoy the company of each other. She rushes off to find him and the two enjoy spending the next day together in the park dancing and playing music. A very sweet rabbit story if you're looking for an Easter gift that doesn't scream "Easter".

Source disclosure: I received unsolicited review copies of each of these books from Penguin Young Readers Group.

Picture Book Thursday: Winter Fun

I thought snowy books would be appropriate for this week's Picture Book Thursday. Here in Minnesota, we're having the snowiest winter in 20 years. My kids are loving it, but I'm already hoping for an early spring.

Peter Rabbit: A Winter's Tale is a gorgeous picture book with a shiny sparkly cover, a fun story and an interactive pop-up at the end. Mrs. Rabbit sends Peter out to gather firewood one afternoon. He runs into his cousin Benjamin Bunny and the two run off to gather firewood together. But snowy fun lures them away from their duty. They sled and throw snowballs. While they are out running around the forest, they run into Tommy Brock who seems up to something. After seeing Mrs. Tittlemouse, the two rabbits realize Tommy Brock stole her babies! They are off to try and save them, all the while keeping an eye out for Mr. Tod, the sinister fox.

Throughout the book, your child will find little envelopes filled with a small shiny snowflake. At the end you can prop the book up, unfold the snowy fir tree and your child can hang their snowflakes on the tree. I would recommend this for about four years old. The snowflakes are too small for the younger set, though they can enjoy the story. You could save the interactive part for when they are old enough to handle it. I'm not sure younger than four will have the dexterity to hang the snowflakes by themselves (but you could always help them!).

Jan Bretty's Snowy Treasury contains four of her well-known stories all in one bound copy: Gingerbread Baby, The Mitten, The Hat, and The Three Snow Bears. I'm sure many of you are familiar with at least one of these stories. They are all beautifully illustrated and a delight to read. Set in beautiful landscapes all inspired by Jan Brett's hometown in the Berkshires or on her many travels including Switzerland and Scandinavian countries.

Source disclosure: These books were sent to me by The Penguin Group as review copies.

Picture Book Thursday: Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora

If you're looking for a picture book that is not only visually interesting but also has a great message showing how diverse our communities can be, take a look at Say Hello by Rachel Isadora.

Carmelita and her mother take their dog, Manny on a walk through their neighborhood. Each person they encounter speaks a different language and Carmelita greets each in their native voice: Spanish, Japanese, French, Italian and many more!

The text of this book is pretty simple and introduces children to many greetings from around the world. The images are wonderful collages and so engaging! There are store-fronts, restaurants, and a parks. You and your child could talk about all the different things you see on each page, and what types of things were used to make the images. You could also get a globe and show your child where each country/greeting is compared to your current location.

Written and Illustrated by Rachel Isadora: She received a Caldecott Honor for Ben's Trumpet and has written and illustrated numerous books for children, including Peekaboo Bedtime, the Lili at the Ballet series, and several classic tales set in Africa. She lives in New York City.

Source disclosure: This book was sent to me from the Penguin Group unsolicited in hopes that it would be reviewed.

Picture Book Thursday: Red Green Blue by Alison Jay

Alison Jay's new book Red Green Blue: A First Book of Colors is a refreshing take on both a color book and nursery rhymes. She combines the two into one book and in a very succinct and fun way.

Each page features a different color and two-sentence paraphrase of popular nursery rhymes. For example, "Little Boy Blue's asleep in the hay. His sheep and his cow have run away." or "This yellow teapot's short and stout. She is the best at pouring out."

The illustrations are the absolute best part of this book. If you look closely, just about each page has a story-within-a story. For example, on the teapot page, there is a framed portrait of Miss Muffet on the wall. The next page of the book features Miss Muffet and the spider. You can also see the Little Boy Blue (on the previous page) in the background outside the window on the teapot page. These continue throughout the book sometimes showing four or five nursery rhyme characters or locations (ie: the pumpkin from Peter, Peter pumpkin eater in the background) in one illustration.

I think a child who is well versed in nursery rhymes would LOVE this book! They would have a great time trying to spot all the different nursery rhymes on the pages. But really anyone can enjoy this one. This book is available on May 13, 2010.

About the Author/Illustrator:
Alison Jay is the celebrated illustrator of many books for children. She studied illustration at the London College of Printing and lives in London, England.

Source disclosure: This book was sent to me unsolicited by the Penguin Group.

Picture Book Thursday: Sleepover at Gramma's House

Yes, I am waaaaay behind on Picture Book Thursday posts! I can't believe how behind I am on those. At least 12 books in the queue to be reviewed. Instead of thinking about how behind I am, I'm just going to get caught up, yes I am! Okay, now that's the right attitude! I'm going to schedule these for every 2-3 weeks and then hopefully, that will help me get caught up and I won't have to remember that it's time for another PBTh book. :-)

So here goes...Book #1: Sleepover at Gramma's House by Barbara Joose, illustrated by Jan Jutte. This book's illustrations remind me a bit (just a bit) of the Babar books. The book starts with a little girl so excited to visit her Gramma's house. She runs around her house packing her "nighty trunk" and saying good-bye to everything and everyone. And then she's off to have fun adventures with Gramma: painting, having fun snacks, telling each other stories and finally good night.

This is a very sweet book that would be wonderful to give to preschoolers before a trip to Grandma's house, especially if they are going for their first overnight! The beginning of the book seems to be ode to Goodnight Moon. After the first few pages the text gets a little long and more sing songy. The illustrations are fun throughout!

This might make a fun book to give to Grandma for Mother's Day from the grandchildren. She could keep it at her house to read to them when they come over. (Edited to add: Just checked the publication date...May 13th. So just misses Mother's Day this year. Maybe for next year though!)
:-)

About the author:
Barbara Joosse is the author of more than thirty books for children, which include Mama, Do You Love Me?, Please Is a Good Word to Say, Love is a Good Thing to Feel and ROAWR!, her first collaboration with Jan Jutte. Sleepover at Gramma's House joins her other major titles as a book that can be, as she says, shared by parents and grandparents and their child inside a hug. Barbara Joosse lives with her husband, sculptor C. T. Whitehouse, and their two dogs in a little stone house in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

About the Illustrator:
Jan Jutte is one of the Netherlands' most accomplished picture book artists. He has illustrated over one hundred titles and has won many of the country's highest awards, including the Golden Brush and the Golden Plaque. Jan and his wife, Nanouk, live in a very old town in the Netherlands called Zutphen with their son, Melle, and two dogs, Titus and Igor.

Source disclosure: This book was sent to me unsolicited from the Penguin Group.

Picture Book Thursday is Back!!

Our enthusiasm for Picture Book Thursday seemed to fizzle out a bit last spring. But I think that was mostly because we had shared most of our favorite books from our daughters' vast collections. BUT, I've had some review picture books laying around here for quite a while now and I am hoping to make Picture Book Thursday a regular feature once again! So let's start off with Pouch! by David Ezra Stein. Became available in book stores on September 17th.

This adorable book introduces us to a baby kangaroo who wants to get out of his mother's pouch and hop around to explore the world. He is excited to see what is out and around him, however, when he encounters something new to him (a bee, rabbit, bird, a new kangaroo friend) he gets a bit nervous and runs back to his mother's pouch for comfort. Each time he emerges from the pouch he takes a few more steps away from his mother, but she is always there for him if he needs her for comfort.

Such a fun little book to show children that it is great to take a few steps away from Mom and see the surprises of the world. And Mommy will always be right there for you if you need a little extra comfort as you get used to something new. And in the end, taking those steps away from Mom could mean something great like making a new friend to play with!

For extra fun, look at the illustrations closely and see if your child can spot the animal from the previous pages in the drawings (ie: the bee on the rabbit page).

Pouch! is perfect for those children who may be a little shy and might need a story to show that it is okay to be nervous about encountering new things. I also think this would be great for the toddler to preschool group who are growing too old for board books, but do not have the attention span yet for longer story-driven picture books. A perfect starter picture book!

About the Author/Illustrator:
David Ezra Stein received the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award for Leaves, which was also a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, a Kirkus Reviews Editor's Choice and a School Library Journal Best Book. His other books include: The Nice Book, Cowboy Ned and Andy, and Monster Hug! He lives in Kew Gardens, New York.

There is a fun "Making of Pouch" feature on the author's website! Check it out here.

Thank you to Sara Zick from the Penguin Group for sending me a copy of this delightful book to review!

Picture Book Thursday

We're featuring books about cats today! My girls, especially my five year old, are very into kitties right now. Oh, does she want a real kitty. She even told me she was saving her money up to buy a cat of her own and that she was going to take care of it, feed it, clean the cat box, AND vacuum. Um, sure she will. But it's pretty cute nonetheless.

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel is a very cute book about a kitty who is mad at his owners for running out of food for him. He goes through the house wreaking havoc, but not just any havoc, alphabetical havoc. Bruel cleverly creates several alphabetical lists to go with this story to help reinforce learning letters. At least four repetitions of different lists throughout the book. The kitty's mother comes home from the store and lists all the yummy treats she's purchased for kitty. And after seeing his owner buy him yummy food, the kitty sets out to be a good kitty and reverse much of his naughtiness from earlier in the day. This is a really cute book and I highly recommend it. Bruel also has a sequel called Poor Puppy which also incorporates numbers along with the alphabet. And if you have a slightly older child who loved Bad Kitty, there is a very short novel with TONS of illustrations (probably more illustrations than words) called Bad Kitty Gets a Bath. And look at the fun stuffed version of bad kitty you can get from Barnes and Noble!

Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton features an adorable cat named Splat who is nervous about going to school. But once he's there he learns all sorts of new things including maybe cats aren't supposed to be best friends with a mouse (like he is). Splat brought his mouse friend to school and the mouse ends up getting chased by all the cats. But in the end, when the snack cupboard lock is jammed, the mouse saves the day by unlocking it. The cats learn that maybe mice aren't too bad after all and Splat learns he likes school and is excited to go the next day. Scotton has a second entry in the series called Love, Splat about a valentine Splat wants to give a girl at school. While the text is cute, the illustrations really make these books! Love them!

We got this book from the library. I'm not sure where I heard about it (I'm pretty sure it was one of the awesome book blogs out there that I read). Each page of this book has a different type of cat on it with some information about that type. But the best thing about this book is the illustrations! Each picture of a kitty is made out of other objects or materials in the form of a collage. For example, one cat is made out of circuit board parts, a computer mouse, and office supplies. Very creative! And fun for the kids to look for objects that they are familiar with.



Random comment: Why do all the kids books about cats feature black and white kitties? There's If You Give a Cat a Cupcake too. Did someone do market research and somehow discover that children like books with black and white cats best? I know for babies and toddlers black and white are more eye-catching and stimulating....anyhoo, just randomness running through my head this morning.

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For some of our Picture Book Thursday posts, I have to think hard to come up with 2-4 books on the topic. Not so with cats! We have two cats, and Lilah adores them. She also adores books about cats. So narrowing it down was the problem this week!

CAT by Matthew Van Fleet
The definitive "cat" book, CAT by Matthew Van Fleet employs adorable photos with interactive pull-tabs, textured inserts, and flaps along with clever, simple rhymes to introduce children to a range of cats with different characteristics. Lilah loves pushing the tab to make the grey kitty dip his paw into the goldfish bowl. The flaps and pull-tabs are at the cutting edge of sturdiness (and as a parent of a toddler who has stayed up late to superglue ripped-off tabs, I consider myself an expert), guaranteeing hours and hours of fun. Lilah loves the photographs of different cats, and the rhymes are fun to read aloud. The very last spread includes the name and breed of all the "stars" of the book, plus a surprise final flap to finish the rhyme scheme. We love Van Fleet's supremely art-directed books, which include the amazing Alphabet, Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings, Monday the Bullfrog, and DOG (which we don't have yet).

Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner We were introduced to Skippyjon Jones, an imaginative Siamese kitty boy with a penchant for trouble and a flair for Spanish, in the simple board books about colors, shapes, and counting, and Lilah loves him. So when we saw a jumbo hardback at Barnes and Noble in the bargain book section, we grabbed it. This book is bigger than Lilah! She thinks its size is lots of fun, and she sits through the whole, involved, tongue-twisting story. I have to admit to some conflicted feelings about Skippyjon's stories. He pretends to be a Chihuahua and goes on adventures. In Skippyjon Jones, the first book, he heads to Old Mexico and uses a sort of Spanglish to help out the bean-eating dogs who need help from El Bumblebeeto, a giant bumblebee who steals their beans. I have to be honest that if Schachner's last name were Rodriguez, I would just think the story is funny and encourages imagination and an awareness of Spanish (there are some contextual "lessons" in Spanish), so I think I'm just being overly PC. When I don't obsess over the PC-ness of the storyline, it's great fun to read, and Lilah loves it.

Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle This is a simple early reader. Lilah already "reads" it to herself and her stuffed animals, because most of the book is: "Have you seen my cat?" and "That is not my cat!" as a child searches for his pet. He is directed by people of various cultures to cats who turn out to be pumas, jaguars, tigers, etc. until he finds his cat. Matt hates reading this one because it's the same words over and over, but Lilah loves it, and her reaction when she yells "No! That's a cheetah!" is too cute. Carle's trademark modern-art illustrations are colorful and arresting, and the simple words are great for a child learning to read.

Picture Book Thursday: Llama Llama Misses Mama (and Giveaway!!)

A little bit ago, I reviewed Anna Dewdney's book Llama Llama Mad at Mama. While looking up the other Llama Llama books, I realized a new book was coming out in March: Llama Llama Misses Mama. I requested a review copy and Samantha from the Penguin Group was nice enough to send me one (Thanks Samantha)!

When we first met Llama Llama, he wore red pajamas and was a little scared of the dark. He called for his mama and continued to get louder and louder until she came running in the room and said, "Enough of this llama drama." In the second book, Llama Llama gets bored while shopping and further llama drama occurs. Now, in the third book, Llama Llama is off to his first day of preschool.

Llama Llama's day starts off with waking up and getting dressed. Then they are off to school. Mama drops him off and says good-bye. He cannot find anything he wants to do, the kids are loud, and he realizes at lunch time that he really misses his Mama. The teacher takes him aside and assures him that Mama will be back to pick him up when school is through. With this news, he perks right up and starts to have a good time. And when Mama arrives at the end of the day, he realizes he loves his Mama AND school!

This is a delightful addition to Dewdney's Llama Llama series. I just love the rhymes in these books. I also really enjoy the range of emotions Llama Llama feels throughout each story. My girls (especially my three year old) love these books too. I believe they like the illustrations as well as the cadence of the text. And each story is definitely something they can relate to. The books are great for showing a child's point of view in situations where grownups may not think about how children feel. Like how the dark can make you a little scared, and the more you think about it, the scarier it gets; or how boring it can be to shop with Mommy; or how anxious you can get to be taken to a new environment and just left there without anything familiar.

Llama Llama Misses Mama has a great subject and would be perfect to read to children just starting preschool, daycare, or another new situation where they may not know anyone. Lily was very anxious this last fall about going to preschool and this would have been the perfect book to read to her. If you're a fan of the previous books, this one does not disappoint. And you can get your own copy when it is released next Thursday, March 19th!

About the Author
Anna Dewdney (www.annadewdney.com) lives just over a covered bridge in southern Vermont. Her two teenage daughters attend boarding school, so she hopes that they miss her; she misses them! To distract herself, she's been slowly renovating a very old house and goes running with her dogs, Radish and Roscoe.

Here's the GIVEAWAY:
Penguin has offered to give one lucky person a new copy of this book!! If you think your child will love Llama Llama enter this contest! Open until 11:59pm Wednesday, March 18th. I will announce the winner on the 19th, the day the book is available for purchase.

To enter:
1. Leave a comment with your email address saying you'd like to be entered
2. For two extra entries, answer this question: what animal character (from a book) is your child's favorite (or even your favorite)?
3. Subscribe to this blog via Google Reader, or follow us in Blogger and receive 3 extra entries (or let me know you already subscribe).
4. Post about this contest on your blog for one additional entry.

That's a total of 7 possible entries! So go now. Comment away! Pass the word on! Good luck!

Picture Book Thursday - Winter Edition

Here in Atlanta, spring is in full force, but since the Weather Channel headline was about the biggest snow of the season for Holly, we're featuring books about winter! (Sorry about the snow, Holly...but it's probably a great day for curling up with a good book.)

The Mitten is a retelling of a Ukrainian folk tale by the incomparable Jan Brett. This is one of our favorite books for any season. Little Nicky asks his grandmother to knit him a pair of white mittens, though she warns he will lose them in the snow. He does indeed lose a mitten, which becomes shelter for a series of increasingly large forest creatures. The pictures are gorgeous, and each page has a little preview picture of what's coming next, making it a perfect book for reading to younger children and asking, "Who do you think will climb into the mitten next?" The story is simple and sweet, and Lilah sits still through the whole book. A magical winter tale.

Just a Snowy Day by Mercer Mayer is a pull-tab entry in the Little Critter series. It's less involved as a story than the other books, but it's a fun one, and the tabs are nice and sturdy, so I haven't had to re-glue something Lilah managed to rip off the book yet! Children can pull Little Critter down the hill on his sled, scratch and sniff his mug of cocoa, and tuck him into bed at the end of a long winter day. This one is a winner for younger children.

I've posted about Jane Chapman and Karma Wilson's Bear series before, but not about this entry. This is the first Bear book, in which Bear's friends slip into his lair while Bear hibernates. More and more animals join in, bringing food and making tea, until a huge party is going on while Bear snores on. The rhyme and rhythm are delightful to read aloud, and Lilah loves this book. It holds her attention through all the pages. It's a fun book for children and adults. A wonderful read-aloud about winter!
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Yes, here in the Twin Cities, we are quite in the midst of a blizzard. UGH! Not fun (although, the kiddos think all the snow is cool). :-) Winter is quite the fitting topic for Picture Book Thursday today. And I'm not the least bit jealous of Allison's spring weather in Atlanta, no I'm not (okay, that was a total lie).

We checked this adorable picture book out of the library: A Really Good Snowman by Daniel Mahoney. Jack is excited for the big snowman-building contest! But his little sister tags along. Her help may not always be so helpful so Jack is quite excited when the rules for the contest say only three to a team. He plans to build his snowman with two friends. But he notices his sister struggling and decides he should help her. Turns out he enjoys himself! This is a fun little book showing a typical sibling relationship. May be good if an older sibling is complaining about a younger sibling. It can show how it is nice to help each other out, even though the younger sister annoys him. He still loves her and wants to help her out when she needs it. The illustrations are fun and the different types of snowmen are great (there's big ones, shorts ones, large ones, skinny ones, and even and Elvis one!).

The charming story of A Snowman Named Just Bob by Mark Kimball Moulton talks about friendship. One night it snows and Bob's voice speaks to a little kid asking him to gather up all the snow to create a new friend. Bob comes along and they have a good time, but he lets the child know that even though he will not always be there, that he can think of him and he'll be near. The last words of the book are: "We all joined in celebration, for his message was quite clear, that just like all good faithful friends....Bob is always near." A good lesson for children (maybe even friends moving away) to know they can have friends who are not always right there but you can still think of them and care for them. Very sweet book. Pretty much a retelling of Frosty the Snowman. :-) In looking this one up, I realized there are some sequels! A Snowgirl Named Just Sue and The Annual Snowman's Ball.

Hope you're staying warm and at home if you live somewhere where it's still winter. :-)

Picture Book Thursday

Our theme this week is...Valentine's Day!

We love Little Critter, Mercer Mayer's vaguely porcupine-like little guy and his animal friends. The Valentine's Day installment is lots of fun--our favorite is Little Critter decorating the classroom, strewing hearts and streamers all over the place. At the end of the story, he gives a special valentine to his special valentine - Mom. It's a sweet story on extra-sturdy pages with flaps to lift. Lilah loves this one, and I enjoy them, too.

Maisy, a cute mouse drawn by Lucy Cousins, doesn't have the most exciting storylines, but Lilah really loves these because of the animal drawings, but also because of...stickers! There are stickers to place on each page to complete each scene, and the simple story is made extra fun with the interactivity.

Franklin was new to us, but we really like him. Paulette Bourgeois writes and Brenda Clark illustrates. Franklin loses all his valentines on the way to the party, and feels very bad when he opens all of his valentines, but his friends tell him it doesn't matter. It's sweet, and Lilah loves the animals!

The Biggest Valentine by Steven Kroll and Jeni Bassett is the story of two adorable mice who are best friends. They decide to team up and make a valentine together, but they fight over the best way to do it. They separate, but neither can make a valentine he's happy with, so they come back together to make the perfect, the BIGGEST valentine ever.

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We are excited about Valentine's Day around here. My girls worked on their class valentines last night and are counting down to Saturday. Funny thing is that we don't really do much for Valentine's day and in fact, last year I completely forgot to give the girls' the books I got them until weeks later when I came across them. But they liked them anyway, even if Valentine's was over. They each got a Dora lift-a-flap book: Valentine's for Everyone and Dora's Valentine Adventure. Both contain flaps to open. Both are board books with sturdy pages. The heart-shaped one actually contains a bit more of a storyline and a few more flaps I think. Valentine's for Everyone is about Dora and Boots delivering a valentine to Dora's grandma. I would suggest Valentine's for Everyone for a younger child (age 2-3) interested in Dora, and Dora's Valentine Adventure for more preschool age (age 3-4). My girls enjoy both books.

We picked out Mouse's First Valentine by Lauren Thompson at the library a few weeks ago. Our library (do all libraries do this?) has a holiday section in the children's area so that all the picture and chapter books relating to a holiday are put in one place. It's great! I usually go the month before a holiday and raid the section. :-) We thought Mouse's First Valentine was particularly cute. Mouse follows his sister around the house one night watching her collect ribbon, lace, and paper. She works very hard to make a valentine for someone and Mouse wonders who it is for. This is a very sweet book with fun illustrations. It is also available in a board book. Thompson also has other books in the Mouse series (Mouse's First Day of School, Mouse's First Snow, Mouse's First Christmas, etc). AND I just learned by doing a search for her other books that she is the author of the Little Quack books too, which we love! I never put two and two together that they were one in the same.

Lilly's Chocolate Heart by Kevin Henkes is another Valentine (or actually, a year-round) favorite of ours. We are fans of many Henkes books and own the little box of treats set. Each small book in the set centers around a holiday treat. They are short and sweet and our kids love all of them. They are only a few pages long. In Lilly's Chocolate Heart, Lilly wants to save her chocolate heart and searches for the perfect place to keep it until she decides the best place for it is in her mouth! Henkes has written and illustrated many picture books and a few novels. He hails from Racine, Wisconsin which is where my husband grew up. We love to support local authors so I just had to throw this one into the pile today.

Picture Book Thursday

I talked Holly into doing an animal edition of Picture Book Thursday since Lilah has so many great penguin books!

The Penguin Who Wanted to Sparkle by Sophie Groves and Kath Smith: This is a sweet, simple tale about Pip, a baby penguin who wants to sparkle. She plays with her friends and discovers that the sunshine makes the snow sparkle. The pages have sparkly bits on them that Lilah loves. The illustrations are lovely, and the story is cute. We picked this up as a bargain book, and I'm glad we did!

Where Is Home, Little Pip? by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman: The team that brought us to wonderful series of books that starts with Bear Snores On tackles penguins. As expected, the illustrations are gorgeous, and the story, of a lost little penguin looking for home, has a happy ending.

Little Penguin's Tale by Audrey Wood: This has Wood's trademark whimsical illustrations, and a really, really funny story. Grand Nanny Penguin decides to tell the youngsters a cautionary tale about a penguin who didn't listen to his Grand Nanny's stories. He goes off and has wonderful adventures, but Grand Nanny gets a bit carried away and says he's eaten by a whale. When the youngsters are horrified, she backtracks, retelling the end. Lilah gets all worked up at the whale part: "Mama! Whale eat Ping in his mouth!" but when I assure her that the whale didn't eat the penguin, she seems fine with it.

Your Personal Penguin is a board book/free song download from Sandra Boynton. Davy Jones of the Monkees sings the sweet song, which is illustrated in the board book as the story of a penguin who just wants to be the hippo's friend. We used to play this song or sing it aloud when Lilah was upset as a baby, and it magically calmed her every time. She still loves it! The song is also on Blue Moo, the fourth musical by Boynton, but the board book is worth having for younger kids.

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Well, Allison tried to talk me into an animal post...but I couldn't settle on one animal. We have a lot of bear books and cat books. But that wasn't exciting me today. So I just started to pick out books that we liked that were animal-related. Turns out I do have a theme! They all started with "L", well, sort of. You'll see below. :-)

Okay, so Ladybugs are not really animals but they are still fun. Two of our ladybug favorites are The Very Lazy Ladybug by Isobel Finn and Jack Tickle (is Tickle a real last name??) and The Ladybug Girl by David Soman. The Very Lazy Ladybug is a pop-up book where a ladybug cannot fly because all she did was sleep all day and night. She tries riding on different animals (kangroo, tiger, crocodile, etc) to travel on her way until an elephant sneezes shooting her in the air and she finally learns to fly. The pop-ups are quite fun as are the illustrations. Hard not to like this book.

Okay okay, The Ladybug Girl doesn't really have an animal in it (well, the little girl has a dog that follows her around). But it follows my theme of "L" things and is a really cute book so I'm throwing it in. We don't own this one, but discovered it while browsing at the book store. Lulu's older brother doesn't want her to play with him because she's too little so she becomes Ladybug Girl and finds her own fun right in her own backyard. Great book showing how entertaining it can be to use your imagination and make your own fun. The sequel entitled Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy comes out March 5th!

We like books with our names in it around here. My daughter Lily received Lily + the Imaginary Zoo by Seneca Clark and Sandy Giardi as a gift. I mostly put it on her wishlist because it had her name in it. I was so pleased when we received it. The story follows Lily and her mom around Boston. They visit the Boston Public Library, where the lion out front comes to life and reads a book with Lily. A tortoise and hare statue in Copley Square race with her. She feeds the "ducks" in the Public Garden and plays with a donkey statue near old city hall. Lily literally turns famous statues/animals into her own personal zoo! The illustrations are almost collage-looking and simplistic enough to look similar to children's drawings. There is a Boston map in the back of the book and a little blurb about each of the sculptures Lily visits. This would be a fantastic book for kids visiting Boston or perhaps homeschoolers learning about Boston or the East Coast.

The last book is actually part of a series by the San Diego Zoo. Baby Lion #12 in the San Diego Zoo Animal Library. These are little board books with photos of the featured animal provided by the Zoo. Each contains facts about the animal's family, food, and habitat. If your little one has a favorite animal I'm sure you can find it in this series. The publisher also contributes 7% of the proceeds from the books to support global conservation programs. I just discovered there is a SeaWorld Library as well with aquatic animals. And yes, Allison, they have Baby Penguin! :-)

Picture Book Thursday

We're back! We took a few weeks off and decided maybe we would run this feature maybe every other week or so. :-) We're going to review "just for fun" books today.

My three-year old really loves Laura Numeroff's If You Give A.... Series. For Christmas she received If You Give a Cat a Cupcake paired with a cupcake themed nightgown (how cute!!!). This one has actually become my favorite in the series. Maybe it is just because I'm a cat person. ;-) But the kitty in the book is so animated and cute and I love the scenarios he gets the little girl into. They go to the beach, the gym, a boat, a merry-go-round, the science museum and back home again. I think we've also read Give a Mouse a Cookie and Give a Pig a Pancake. While we really enjoyed those, this one is my favorite just because it gets out of the house and goes to all those different places. My kids really enjoy any of these books and I look forward to future installments in this series.
This next book, Glitter Critters by Dave Carter is just a really cool book. It's a pop-up book with some real animals (snake, parrot, fish) and some imaginary animals like the Liger (a combination of a tiger and a lion), a Glitterfly, and Snaggle Tooth Lou. Each page contains a cute little rhyme and the animal jumps off the page, sometimes 6-8 inches off the page! The pop-ups are fantastic! The bright colors are great and "glitter" is fun. There is not a lot of depth to this book, but it is a real treat to look at.

The last book for me today is a favorite for my girls and for me! Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney. I keep thinking I reviewed this one already, but I searched the blog and didn't see it. So if I did review it before, you get treated to it again. Tells you how much I recommend it, right? :-) This is the sequel to Llama Llama Red Pajama (which we haven't had the opportunity to read yet). In this book, Llama Llama and his mama go shopping at the shop-o-rama. He is very bored with shopping and decides to have a tantrum in the store. His mother makes him help clean and tells him the shopping will go much faster if he goes shopping with Mama. It is a very sweet book filled with emotions and great rhyming pages. I highly recommend it. And I just discovered there is a new one coming out, March 19, 2009! Llama Llama Misses Mama about Llama Llama's first day of preschool. I can't...er, I mean, we can't wait for it! And this just reminded me to request the first book from the library...off I go!

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"Just for fun" usually means "lift the flap" at our house! Lilah loves the oversized lift-the-flap books, so I'll share a couple of her favorites.

I've mentioned Lisa McCue's adorable animal illustrations before. They're really sweet, and the whole family loves them. Fuzzytail Friends Lift-and-Look Animal Book teaches children about mother and baby animals on the farm, counting in the garden, animal habitats (although I'm not sure that "snake hidey-hole" is the technical term...), and nocturnal/diurnal animals. There are lots of flaps to lift, and Lilah loves finding the animals.

No Elmo fan's library is complete without this Elmo's Favorite Places: A Lift and Learn Flap Book. We have several Sesame Street lift-the-flaps, and this is probably the favorite. The colors are bright, it's new enough to have Zoe and Abby, and each page has something new to learn: matching, colors, shapes, and a really cool double-page spread with one flap for every letter of the alphabet. The flaps are sturdier than in our other oversized Sesame Street lift-the-flap books (Lift and Peek Around the Corner, Elmo's Big Lift and Look Book), although we like those, too! A smaller Sesame Street lift-the-flap book is worth mentioning: Where Is Elmo's Blanket, which has a story told using the flaps.

Picture Book Thursday!

Thank you to Tilbury House Publishers for the opportunity to be part of this Virtual Tour! For more information on Give a Goat, including curriculum ideas for teachers, visit the publisher's web site.

I can think of few books more suited to Christmas giving than the delightful Give a Goat written by Jan West Schrock and illustrated by Aileen Darragh. This is a plot-heavy book with a message, but it's a valuable message and told in a lighthearted, easy to understand way, accompanied by whimsical watercolor illustrations. One of Mrs. Rowell's fifth grade students tells the story of a rainy day when Mrs. Rowell read them a book, Beatrice's Goat, in which a goat changes the life of a little Ugandan girl. The students immediately want to give a goat to help someone. They are even more excited when they learn that recipients of livestock through Heifer International are asked to pass on offspring of their gift animal to other needy families. Mrs. Rowell warns them that it'll be a lot of work to raise the money and they'll have to work together. They come up with a simple business plan and sell snacks to teachers, with a small initial loan from Mrs. Rowell. They expand their successful business to sell to students as well. Along the way, other classes are inspired to help others (a canned food drive to benefit a food pantry, a car wash to benefit the Red Cross). At the end, Mrs. Rowell's class has raised enough money to give a goat...and some chickens and ducks! My favorite illustration is the chickens flying in a vintage plane.

This book was fantastic. It's hard enough for adults to think about all the needy people in the world, but to explain to children that there are people who need help is a challenge. And Give a Goat is an action plan, not just building awareness of a problem, but teaching how to find a solution. It could be a lesson plan for caring. The children in the book are inspired to help others, and they find a way to do it (guided by a very smart teacher). At the same time, they learn valuable skills about business and math and are empowered by their teacher's hands-off approach to their plan. I defy anyone to read this book and not be inspired (and empowered) to help others. This would be a great book to give as a gift along with a donation to Heifer International or another charity.

Author Jan West Schrock's father, Dan West, was a midwestern farmer who served as a relief worker during the Spanish civil war. As he was handing out milk to needy children one day, he realized, "These children don't need a cup. They need a cow." When he returned home he founded Heifers for Relief, and its first shipment of heifers was sent to Puerto Rico in 1944. Jan herself spent twenty-eight years as a classroom teacher, special needs teacher, and administrator, both in the United States and abroad. She is now a senior advisor for Heifer International, an organization that has grown to serve over 8.5 million people in more than 125 countries. Jan lives in Westbrook, Maine, but travels the world to talk about "passing on the gift."

Picture Book Thursday!

We have a couple more book tour stops coming up on Picture Book Thursday so Allison and I decided to do Christmas books this week. There are so many great Christmas/holiday books out there. It's really hard to narrow it down.

Let's start with Merry Christmas, Curious George. In this installment, George and the man with the yellow hat go in search of a Christmas tree. George becomes curious about a large tree on a truck and winds up taking a ride to the hospital where the tree is being delivered. My girls and I enjoy all the Curious George books and this one is no exception. My daughter actually asked Santa for this last year. I was so thrilled that she actually asked for a book (well, she also asked for an Ariel Barbie too). There were no books on her list this year for Santa, but he's bringing her some anyway. ;-)

We received this next book as a gift a couple years ago and its so fun! Santa's Coming to Town by Tish Rabe. The book comes with an attached reindeer finger puppet. It has a magnet in the nose. On each page, the child is supposed to find certain things (like all the elves with striped hats) and the reindeer "sticks" to the correct answers. This is a nice sturdy board book and part of the The Nose Knows series of books. Also in the series, a Halloween version called Spooky Night and another called Puppy Love.

The last book: Once There Was a Christmas Tree is a very sweet tale. Mr. and Mrs. Bear get a very large Christmas tree. It doesn't fit into their house so they cut off the top to give to Mr. Fox and his son, saying to them, "We took our tree and made it two. One half for us, one half for you." This line is repeated through the book as one tree is shared among many animals getting smaller and smaller. I really like the giving and sharing storyline in this Jerry Smath book.


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I picked up McDuff's Christmas by Rosemary Wells at the Highland Games this year (if it's remotely Scottish, SOMEONE sells it in a booth there!). It was our first McDuff book, and it won't be the last. The sweet little white terrier saves Christmas when the family (and Santa) are snowed in. Susan Jeffers illustrates in a lovely, yet realistic style, and both text and illustrations are evocative of Christmas in a simpler time. The text is simple, and Lilah will listen to the whole thing.

The Peek-a-Boo books by Marie Torres Cimarusti are really cute, simple text with lift-the-flap surprises and bright, appealing illustrations by Stephanie Peterson. This Christmas version is really cute, with the flaps revealing an elf who asks "Naughty or Nice?", a toy train, a snowman, and more. The last page has several small flaps, each concealing a previous page's surprise, with a hint for each--in the shape of a gingerbread house! This is a cute one for younger children.

I've mentioned the Bear series by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman before, but Bear Stays Up For Christmas is really sweet. Bear's friends set out to keep him awake to celebrate Christmas, but they fall asleep! Bear happily prepares their presents and treats before his friends wake up to give him a truly thoughtful gift. Santa makes a cameo, but the real star is the friendship between Bear & Co. If you've read any of the Bear books, the rhyme scheme and illustration style will be familiar and welcome.

Some of Lilah's very first books were by Sandra Boynton, and she remains a favorite for all three of us. This is an oversized board books with seven one-page rhyming stories accessed by lifting the tabs on the side to choose one. My personal favorite is A Really Big Box, about a child looking for a really big box for a gift he wants to give "so the hippo's ears don't squish." The first six poems are delightful holiday silliness, and the seventh is a sweet Christmas lullaby, complete with sheet music.