Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
In a crowded market of alphabet books, Keith Baker's LMNO peas stands out. His adventurous peas cavort through the alphabet. They participate in all sorts of fun activities, like building, climbing, dancing, farming, quilting and reading. Peas fill every page, along with colorful and textured alphabet letters, which dwarf the peas on each page. The... Continue Reading →
I cannot say I have ever heard an adult tell their child, "If you don't clean your room, we will buy you a blue whale!" But it doesn't really matter. Billy Twitters heard that, and although he didn't believe it, his parents DID buy him a blue whale. Which is ridiculous. Which is what makes... Continue Reading →
My girls grabbed Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett before I had a chance to read it. Every time I picked it up, they both told me, "Oh Mom, you'll love that book! It's really funny!" And it is! Barnett, and his illustrator Adam Rex, get quite involved in the story Barnett is writing.... Continue Reading →
The title, Ernest, the Moose Who Doesn't Fit, made me think of a Moose who doesn't have any friends, who didn't fit in at preschool, or some such quandry. But the picture book by Catherine Rayner is much more simple than that. Ernest doesn't fit on the page. So he and his little friend spend... Continue Reading →
In the 1930's, a lot of families had a lot of kids. And many of them were able to field their own baseball team. But none were as successful, and none played together as long as the Acerras in New Jersey. Brothers at Bat by Audrey Vernick tells their story. The Acerras had 12 boys... Continue Reading →
The question on the back of the book says it all: "When is more more than enough?" The picture book More by I.C. Springman follows a magpie obsessed with collecting more and more things, until disaster strikes. Fortunately, her field mice friends are there to help her, and the magpie learns a lesson about purging... Continue Reading →
Have you ever tried to read a story to your children, but they kept interrupting you with questions? You know exactly how Papa Chicken feels in David Ezra Stein's delightful picture book Interrupting Chicken. The little red chicken is so excited about the storyline of the book he's listening to that she interrupts Papa Chicken... Continue Reading →
The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting is a surprise - at least it surprised me. It tells the story of Anna and her Grandmother, who comes on Wednesdays to stay with her while her mother works late and her older brother goes to basketball practice. The two of them are working on a surprise for... Continue Reading →
Parents and children alike will enjoy the hidden alphabet by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. Seeger created a beautiful lift-the-flap book with capital letters. Each flap has a window with a picture illustrating the letter. Then, the reader lifts the flap to reveal: the hidden letter of the alphabet. Seeger elegant paintings for each letter really capture... Continue Reading →
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, founders of the United States of America, were best friends. They were quite opposite, in size, shape and temperament, but they really liked each other. They worked together to create the United States of America. They worked together to find a solution to paying the bills of their new country. ... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 