A New House for Mouse

image via

by Petr Horacek

Holes cut out in the pages of the book allow you to peek in or out of each home as mouse searches for a home large enough to fit his apple.

Too Many Frogs

Pig Pig Grows Up

by David McPhail

Pig Pig was the baby of the family and he liked it that way.  All of his brothers and sisters had grown up and left home long ago, but Pig Pig stayed.  He continued to sleep in his crib, eat in his high chair and get pushed in a stroller by his mother.  

Pig Pig's parents tried make him grow up by packing up his baby clothes and buying him a real bed, but Pig Pig screamed and cried until his parents gave in and never spoke about Pig Pig's growing up again.

It wasn't until a misadventure on the way home from the market that Pig Pig realized it was time to grow up.

A lesson to be learned for kids who still want to be babies...and adult children who want the same thing.

image via plaza.rakuten.co.jp

"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"

by Patricia Thomas

illustated by Wallace Tripp

Remembering one vintage book reminds me of another and so on, so I'm just going to give in and go with it.  We'll see how many I can come up with.  Probably no more, now that I'm trying to think of them...

Elephant has such terrible sneezes that the other animals are terrified when he one day announces he feels an itch in his trunk.  His sneezes aren't just bad, they're awful!  He blows the monkeys out of the trees, the stripes off the zebra, and makes the hippopotumus fall on his bottom-us (my kids love that part).  All the animals are devastated when Elephant sneezes.  Fortunately, a little mouse saves the animals from the fate of Elephant's sneeze.  Or does he? 

image via stuartngbooks.com

May I Bring a Friend?

by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers

illustrated by Beni Montresor

One of those books I'm not sure I love because I grew up with it, or if I truly love the story.  I think it's a little of both.  

The queen and king invite their friend to visit.  The friend wonders if he can bring along a friend.  The king and queen are delighted, even when they see the most unusual guests their friend brings along.

One thing's for sure, if you find your own rhymy (?) way to read the book, your kids will soon be "reading" it along with you.

image via coverbrowser.com

Duck! Rabbit!

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld

An idea taken from the classic ambiguous figure by Joseph Jastrow, two characters argue whether the animal they see is a duck or a rabbit.

Remember these?:

Do you see a duck or rabbit?

images via images.indiebound.com and ist-socrates.berkeley.edu 

When Dinosaurs Came With Everything

by Elise Broach

illustrated by David Small

The most fantastic thing that could ever happen to a little boy-- pay for a haircut, get a dinosaur with it.  And not just a little plastic dinosaur, a real dinosaur.  A day full of fun disasters (meaning no one gets eaten), and a book that doesn't end with having to give the dinosaurs back.

I like that one reviewer on Amazon used this book to teach kids that everyone can help out around the house.    

image via juniorlibraryguild.com

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!

by Karen Beaumont

illustrated by David Catrow

Sung to the tune of "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More," a little boy gets into more than just a little trouble...

My kids enjoy finishing the rhyming phrases.

"So I take some red and I paint my..." (turn page to see answer and resulting paint devastation.)

I don't know if I'd recommend this to anyone who thinks their child could get any ideas...

image via alsc.ala.org

Chicken Soup

by Jean Van Leuwen

illustrated by David Gavril

Mrs. Farmer has taken out the big pot!  That can only mean trouble for the chickens, who know that means she is going to be making Chicken Soup.  The chickens scramble for a hiding place with Mr. Farmer in hot pursuit, but little Chickie has a cold and keeps giving away their hiding places with her sneezes.  Chickie is soon to be the one who finds out just what kind of soup Mrs. Farmer is making.

image via davidgavril.com

Good Night, Gorilla

by Peggy Rathmann

The zookeeper says goodnight to gorilla, who silently slips the keys off the zookeeper's belt.  As the zookeeper says goodnight to all the animals, gorilla walks behind him, quietly opening the cages as he goes.  All the animals follow the zookeeper home where his wife is already asleep...

This is one of those books you can't imagine anyone would dislike.  But, with an average of 5 stars (as I suspected), out of 184 reviews on Amazon, three people gave it one star.  One of them reasoned that they didn't like seeing the animals in cages (seriously?), others that there wasn't much to the written story.  It's true, the writing is very simple, but the story that's being told goes beyond what is being said.  I would be very disappointed if every book spelled out exactly what is happening in the story.  And when I see my pre-reader proudly "reading" the book, I'm not complaining one bit. 

I highly recommend buying the boardbook version of this story.  It will be well used (especially if there happens to be a little "Goodnight Gorilla" in your family).

image via savvyauntie.com

Pssst!

by Adam Rex

New in 2008

This book was quite unexpected. The art is very different, but I love it (Recognize it from another of his books: Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich?)! There are so many things to look at on each page as a girl makes a trip through the zoo. As she approaches each cage, she is asked by each of the animals to bring them back an item. My little guy couldn't stop laughing when a sloth fell out of a tree onto his head (after the girl asked him why he wanted a bike helmet).

As for me, I can't stop laughing every time I hear my little 4 year old boy use the phrase, "Psst!" now when he wants to get someone's attention on the sly.

Enjoy the artwork and the story that "comes together" in the end.

image via contentcafe.btol.com

Tops and Bottoms

by Janet Stevens

 A Caldecott Honor Book

Whatever happened to that Hare after he lost the race to Tortoise?  He hasn't exactly changed his ways.

When Mr. and Mrs. Hare ran out of food for their big bunny family, they hatched a plan to change their lot.  The next morning the Hares proposed becoming business partners with the lazy (but wealthy) bear.  Hare and his family would do all the work farming on Bear's land.  At harvest, Bear and Hare would split the produce "right down the middle."  All bear had to do was choose if he wanted  Tops or Bottoms.  You can probably guess what this clever Hare did...he taught Bear that laziness doesn't pay.

It's Spring!  Are you planting a garden?  Some plants grow the part we eat underground while others grow those parts above the ground.  Talk about that before starting the book so you don't have to stop in the middle to explain. 

A very good book for teaching values:  After the book my kids and I had a discussion about whether or not what Hare did was honest or not.  It was a good intro into talking about how half-truths are still lies.  We also talked about what Hare could have done instead to deal honestly with Bear.  Our children certainly need to learn that just because someone has more money, that doesn't mean you can deal dishonestly with them.  Honesty doesn't depend on the circumstance.  I personally would not read this book without the plan for a follow-up discussion.   

image via www.pbp.fcs.msue.msu.edu

Planting a Rainbow

by Lois Ehlert

I just got back from buying all kinds of flowers that I will inevitably kill.  Just being realistic here.  

My adventures in gardening reminded me of this book.  The colors are brilliant, and everyone can learn a little because it lists the names of the different flowers in the "rainbow."  My kids now love identifying the different flowers in our own flower garden.

So, it's memorial day weekend.  Have you finished planting your rainbow yet?

image via syndetics.com

Are You My Mother?

by P.D. Eastman

A classic!!!

A baby bird hatches from his egg while mom is off in search of food.  The baby decides he must find his mother and leaves the nest in search of her...but he doesn't know what she looks like.  

His search for his mother leads him to ask different objects and animals, "Are you my mother?"

image via whatihaveread.net

A Chair For My Mother

by Vera B. Williams

Life is hard sometimes...but then we have the moments we get to curl up in a comfy chair with our little ones and it's easier to see why we're doing it all.  

A tribute to mothers--you'd be surprised what your kids notice about what you do for them.

image via thereadingnook.com

My Monster Mama Loves Me So

by Laura Leuck

illustrations by Mark Buehner

Mother's day is coming up.  Want a sneaky way to remind your family that it's just around the corner?  Stock up on Mother's Day books from the library!

While this book isn't necessarily an official Mother's Day book, it's one of my favorite books about a mother and child.

image via psychobabyonline.com

Once There Was a Bull... (Frog)

by Rick Walton

illustrated by Greg Hally

I'm on a roll... last week it was a book with idioms, this week it's compound words (if only Mrs. Allred could see me now.)!  A compound word is really just two words joined together- -like "bullfrog."

The bullfrog in this wild west story has lost his hop.  He looks under a dog...(turn the page)...house, but his hop isn't there.  

He takes another approach and lands in a field of straw...(turn the page)...berries.  Still no hop.

On bullfrog's quest to find his hop, we find that just one word in a sentence can change a sentence-and a story-completely.

Just like last week, this is probably best for school-aged kids, but my pre-k little guy still enjoys the pictures and likes to yell out the word on the next page (so proud he can "read") "BERRIES!!"

Do a little more with the book:  I think this is such a great book to lead your kids into making their own books with compound words. Depending on their age/ability, they could use the same story of the bullfrog looking for his hop, or they could make up their own story completely.  Great idea for homeschool or afterschool kids alike!

And a little shout-out (a compound word!) to Utah...both author and illustrator are from the Beehive State.

image via rickwalton.com

The Tale of Three Trees

retold by Angela Elwell Hunt

illustrations by Tim Jonke

Sometimes things don't always work out the way you'd planned.  Three trees on a hill had great visions for their futures.  One wanted to become a beautiful chest to be filled with treasure.  The second wanted to become a great sailing ship to travel mighty waters and carry powerful kings.  The third wanted to remain on the mountain and grow so tall, people would see her and think of God in heaven.

But all three met a woodcutter's ax and turned out to be something far different from what they had dreamed.  One became a feedbox, the second became a fisherman's boat, the third became a beam, tossed aside in a lumberyard.  But that wasn't the end for those three trees.

Like I said before, sometimes things don't always work out the way you'd planned.  However, when we fashion ourselves to be useful to God's purposes, we can become so much more.

Have a wonderful Easter.  

image via ebooknetworking.com

Parts

by Tedd Arnold

Soliloquy... oxymoron... onomatopoeia...          Jibberish?  Or do they linger somewhere with your vague memories of sort-of paying attention in English class?  Plain old memorization of terms doesn't work with me, but show me a cute book like this and I've firmly planted the definition of "idiom" in my brain (and no, I didn't mean "idiot," thank you very much.)

 

So what's an "idiom"?  The boy in this book doesn't know an idiom isan expression that doesn't literally mean what the words say.  See how disturbed he becomes as he thinks about his coach "jumping out of his skin," his friend's baby sister "screaming her lungs out" and what his grandma wants him to do when she tells him, "hold your tongue."  (All idioms...see, you're getting it already!)  Don't worry, this isn't a grammar book.  You won't find the word "idiom" anywhere on it.  It's just a fun book that's apparently good enough to have a sequel...  

and another....

Great book for any age--even if your child doesn't understand the common phrases in the book, he will spend countless hours loving the pictures.

images via imperialbeachkids.webs.com, and vanillajoy.com

Bean and Plant

by Christine Back and Barrie Watts

Are you getting a garden ready right now?  Even if you aren't, this is a fantastic book for showing kids what's going on under the dirt with plants that produce our food.  The pictures are excellent quality and very close up, so you can see exactly what's happening.  

The book can be read by a beginning reader if they just read the top line of each page.  If you want to learn more about what's going on in the picture, you can read the smaller print.

The end of the book has 6 pictures for your little one to put in a sequenced order:  first the seed, then the root grows...

I highly recommend this book.  I like it so much I'm going to go ahead and recommend the book "Tadpole and Frog" by the same authors, without even reading it.  I'm sure they will not disappoint.

*update: I've read Tadpole and Frog---and LOVE it!

images via images.albiris.com