A Second Is a Hiccup: A Child’s Book of Time by Hazel Hutchins, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton.

This book winningly puts the concept of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and more into a language that children can immediately relate to and understand.  The words of the book dance along poetically and ends with the warmth of a hug.  The illustrations are lovely as well, demonstrating the friendly, loving world that the words create. 

I highly recommend this as a great poetic addition to units for learning to tell time.  Less about the hands of a clock or strict definitions, this is more about how the time feels and what you can do in the space of that amount of time.  It will appeal to children not interested in the numbers of time but in the experience of it.

The Pink Refrigerator by Tim Egan. 

Ah how I love books like this that open the imagination and ask kids to soar along with them.

Dodsworth lives a very quiet life.  He did get up early to head to the junkyard to scrounge items for his shop, but then he spent the rest of the day watching TV and napping.  He just loved doing nothing at all.  That is until he found the pink refrigerator at the junk yard with a lovely magnet that he could not force loose.  The magnet held up a note that said “Make Pictures” and inside the refrigerator were all sorts of paper and paints.  Dodsworth was thrilled with how much the items would be worth in his shop, but even though he had a buyer almost immediately he couldn’t bear to part with them.  Instead he made pictures himself.  When he returned to the junkyard, another note is under the magnet telling him to “Read More” and it is filled with books.  Dodsworth finds himself reading his day away rather than watching TV.  The notes continue to open up Dodsworth sheltered world, getting him to play music, cook, and plant a garden.  When Dodsworth returns to the pink refrigerator again, he finds a note that tells him to “Keep Exploring” and the refrigerator is empty, but the magnet falls off.  Now Dodsworth has a choice to make about what he is going to do, return to the shop and watch TV or keep on exploring.

The illustrations and language by Tim Egan are a perfect pairing, both showing how dull Dodsworth’s (don’t you love the name and all that it evokes?) world has become.  It does my librarian’s heart good to see TV turned off and books, art, crafts, and more become the center of someone’s life.  Too many children live as Dodsworths in their own lives.  Perhaps this will inspire them to look beyond their own walls and explore what interests and inspires them!  Let’s hope so!

Share this with kindergarteners and first graders.  It is a very nice story to bring when you are asked to read to elementary grades.  Not only will it keep the children interested, but the message is a good one to share, especially when reading to children.

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.

Tippy-Tippy-Tippy, Hide! by Candace Fleming and G. Brian Karas.

One of my favorite choices for story time reading has always been Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!  where a man desperately tries to keep rabbits out of his garden.  Fast forward to the fall and the same person is now trying to keep the tricky rabbits out of his warm, snug house.  

The book features the same child-friendly illustrations, the same child-friendly language and noises, and the same wonderful pacing of the first.  If you haven’t read Muncha, make sure you share that one first as a  gardening, bunny or harvest book.  This new one will work for winter stories or even spring, as well as bunnies. 

Perfect to share with a group or with one child, expect lots of giggles and encourage children to help with making the Tippy-tippy-tippy, Hide noises.