Welcome Precious by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Bryan Collier.
This picture book features one of Nikki Grimes’ incredible poems.  Her words are always a magical combination of reality and metaphor.  In this poem, a baby is being welcomed into the world, a world of rainbows, warmth, sun, moon, and kisses.  Collier’s paintings are equally as magical as he matches the wonder of the poetry page by page. 
Give this one as a baby gift.  It encapsulates all you would wish for a new baby to have.  It can also be shared as a first picture book, though the parents will love it most. 

Dear Mr. Rosenwald by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie is the story of Ovella’s one-room schoolhouse and the community’s effort to build a new school for African-American children.  The community must raise money for the school and then Mr. Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck & Co will match those funds.  The book demonstrates the struggle of a poor community to raise funds, the joy of accomplishment, and the wonder of a new school and learning.  This picture book is done in verse with each two-page spread a combination of poem and picture.  The book is well executed with the illustration and poetry enhancing one another.  The illustrations have the feel of folk art, evocative of the effort and community that it took to build this school. 
This is a picture book for older children and a very important one.  It speaks both to the power of community and to the wealth of generosity.  Modern day children need to understand the history of African American poverty and lack of schooling.  Share this in an African-American history unit, a unit on schools or just to share a moment in history with children.  Children aged 3rd grade and up will enjoy it most.

Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies.
This is my new favorite beach read-aloud.  The bats discover that the moon is perfect to head to the beach, so they all grab their towels, books, buckets, shovels, and more to have the perfect beach party.  But the author does not forget that these are bats, not people, so the bats’ party is uniquely batty with bat treats and bat games.  And his illustrations add additional depth to the story through their luminous yet definitely nighttime perfection.  My favorite illustration is the bat who has tested the water when they first arrive.  I don’t think I can imagine a bat looking more chilled with a grimace on his face and his wings tightly wrapped around him.  It has a great rhyme pattern that makes it easy to read, but the author is also not afraid to use wonderful words that children may not know like embers, slender, weary, and crevice.  What a lovely way to learn new words. 
This is a must-read and a must-have for beachy story times, but share it with kids interested in bats.  It also makes the perfect bedtime story as it ends with the bats all curled up together as morning breaks. 

Mrs. Crump’s Cat by Linda Smith, illustrated by David Roberts.
Mrs. Crump is a rather grumpy, older woman who lives by herself.  But her life changes when a cat insists on entering her house and staying.  She finds herself buying cream for the cat, even though the grocer warns her not to feed it.  And on her walk back home, it somehow seems shorter.  Each day, Mrs. Crump tries to put the cat out, but then something makes her reconsider.  As the days pass, she gets happier and more friendly.  When she puts up the missing cat flyer to see if the cat belongs to anyone, she describes the cat in very unique terms.  No one claims the cat, so Mrs. Crump has very little choice but to happily live with it.
I enjoyed this more than other unwanted cat stories, because the cat does nothing but simply be a cat.  It is not sneaking back in after being thrown out or making a pest of itself.  It simply is there wanting to be fed, happy to be petted, looking for a warm lap.  Recommend this one to cat lovers.  It is a nice length to share with Kindergarteners or first graders in a cat storytime.