Hop!  Plop! by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Tali Klein, illustrations by Olivier Dunrea.

This toddler-friendly book features elephant and mouse who decide to head to the playground and play together.  But each thing they try doesn’t work.  The seesaw won’t move up and down with mouse on one end and elephant at the other, even when mouse eats an entire watermelon!  Elephant pushes Mouse too hard on the swings, and when Elephant tries they break under his weight.  When they are just about to give up, Elephant offers Mouse his trunk as a slide.  It is a perfect solution.

The text of this book is perfect for toddlers who will recognize all of their favorite playground toys and will enjoy the slapstick humor.  The illustrations by Dunrea are very child-friendly and even when Mouse falls or bumps there is no fear of him being hurt because the illustrations are so soft and welcoming. 

Share this in toddler storytimes.  They will enjoy it!

Who’s Hiding by Satoru Onishi.

This wonderfully fresh and friendly “I Spy” type book offers a chance for the youngest readers to hunt and find.  At first the book has you finding the animal that is hiding, or crying, or angry, but then at the end of the book it changes to be more challenging when all you are given are the animals’ eyes and you have to remember which order they were presented in.

The artwork is lots of fun with animals who look like Fisher Price beasts but with a lot more character.  The colors are bright, the premise is clever, and it is a book that both adults and children will enjoy.

This is a lap book to share with any preschooler.  It iwll not project well to a group of children.  Read to individually, children will love the colors and animals.

The Magic Horse of Han Gan by Jiang Hong Chen.

Oh how I love this book!  It is an amazing story combined with amazing art work that mesh together to create a whole that is well, amazing!  (I promise to come up with another adjective in the next paragraph.)

Han Gan was a poor child who loved art but could not afford the supplies.  When a famous artist sees him sketching horses in the sand, he offers to fund his supplies.  Han Gan drew all day long, loving especially to draw horses.  Han Gan’s drawings grew so very lifelike that they almost seemed ready to jump right off the pages.  When Han Gan is approached to really create horses that come to life, he puts his heart and soul into it and finally does just that, creating a horse that didn’t need sustenance or rest. 

This book is a perfect melding of art and subject with homage being paid to traditional Chinese art and a traditional Chinese story.  It is illustrated using the same techniques that Han Gan himself used.  As a reader, I wasn’t aware of that until I read the final page, but instinctively I knew that something special had been created here that truly drew upon the art of this legendary person.

This is a picture book for elementary age children.  I would recommend it for art classes, units on legends, or as a glimpse into China.  It is so very lovely that it needs to be recommended to children who love art, horses, or just a great read.

One Naked Baby: counting to ten and back again by Maggie Smith.

Toddler books can either be frighteningly saccharine or a joyous romp.  This one is firmly in the second category but remains sweet.  The book starts with one naked baby dashing down the hall.  It counts along as the child is dressed, fed, and then out the door into the yard.  Once outside it counts back down to one and a return to the bath. 

This is a bright, friendly book that celebrates toddler loves like goldfish crackers, feathers, sticks and of course, puddles and mud.  It is a perfect fit for a spring toddler storytime.  Makes me want spring to come so that I can stomp in some puddles myself.