Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
My cousin is having a baby, and instead of cards they requested that we give books. I scoured my shelves, looking at the board books and picture books I had saved from when my children were tiny. Of course I couldn't find a single book I could give up! In my scouring, I came across... Continue Reading →
How odd is it that an otter would fall in love with his food source? Everyone agrees, it's pretty odd. Unusual. Impossible, even. Otter cannot love a fish. It is just not right. After much consternation, wondering and questioning, Otter realizes that he does love a fish. And the fish loves Otter. So they buck... Continue Reading →
I think I'm going to have to create a new category for my books - Wordless Books. It seems like an oxymoron - how can you have a book with no words? - but I've been finding quite a few at my library, and they are lots of fun. The Boy and the Airplane by... Continue Reading →
A Scottie and his ball get separated, so he traverses his apartment building trying to find it. While searching, he makes friends with the other animals in his building, and when they eventually find his ball, they all play together. Scout by Gordon McMillian is a sweet story, full of simple illustrations which will catch... Continue Reading →
Nikki McClure has a gift for making wonderful picture books for infants, toddlers & preschoolers. How to Be a Cat is her newest book, and I highly recommend it. Like Apple, which I reviewed here, How to Be a Cat is deceptively simple. Black-and-white paper cutouts illustrate the book, with pops of color on each... Continue Reading →
Fairy tales teach us consequences, moral character, or how to deal with change. The Paper Crane by Molly Bang, is a modern fairy tale that focuses on dealing with change. A man's restaurant is busy, and he is happy - until a new highway is built which drives traffic away from his business. His sorrow... Continue Reading →
Chris Van Allsburg, a talented artist and author, brings his unique eye to the younger crowd in his alphabet book The Z was Zapped. Each letter takes the stage, and something happens to it. The E slowly evaporates. The M begins to melt. The O is overgrown. And you can guess what happens to the... Continue Reading →
Author Arthur Geisert succeeded in writing an engaging picture book using just one word, and that one word is really a sound: oink. Oink is about a mama pig, her litter of piglets and their life on the farm. Geisert's near-black-&-white illustrations are beautifully delicate and detailed in telling the pigs' story. I can imagine... Continue Reading →
Poor Rabbit! He has just discovered a strange black rabbit is following him everywhere. He tries everything to get rid of that Black Rabbit, but nothing works until Rabbit runs into the forest. Ahh! Finally, Rabbit is alone. But then, Rabbit notices two eyes shining in the darkness. Is it the Black Rabbit? Author &... Continue Reading →
The small fish in This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen is very proud of the fact he has a hat. But, as you can surmise from the title, the hat is not his. He took it from a much larger fish. This tiny fish is confident that he can outwit the larger fish,... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 