The Moon Might Be Milk by Lisa Shulman.

Rosie wants to know what the moon is made of, so she asks Cat who says that the moon is made of milk.  Rosie agrees that that might be so, but decides to ask another animal.  It isn’t until she asks her Gran what the moon is made of that she gets an answer that satisfies her. 

And so a story is created that has the rhythm and repetition of a classic story and is infused with warmth and wonder as well.  The book does have more words than some picture books, but because of the repetition, they are made more friendly and accessible.  The illustrations are friendly and warm, perfectly rounding out the world that the words create. 

This is a good read-aloud for kindergarteners or first graders who can use it to ask themselves the question of what the moon is made of.  I would recommend it for evening or pajama storytimes as well as any storytime where you are reading It Looked Like Spilt Milk.  Somehow they just seem like a natural pair.

Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup.

Big Smelly Bear never washed and he smelled so bad that the other animals avoided him, except for the flies that buzzed around him.  One morning, he woke up with a terrible itch in his fur that couldn’t be fixed by rolling in the dirt or rubbing his back on a tree.  Big Fluffy Bear offers to scratch his back if Big Smelly Bear takes a bath first.  Reluctantly, Big Smelly Bear agrees and finds that he has made a new friend just by bathing.

Children will immediately agree with Big Smelly Bear that baths are horrid.   But they will also agree that they don’t want to be avoided or have flies around them either.  The illustrations are large, bold and vivid and will project well to a group of preschoolers, the age that will enjoy this book the most.  The text is perfect to read aloud with lots of repetition and short amounts of text on each page.

Share with a preschool crowd for a bear or bathing unit.