Ninety-Three in My Family by Erica S. Perl, illustrated by Mike Lester.

This boisterous book tells the story of a little boy who has 93 in his family, including 27 owls, 10 cats, 11 dogs, 2 sisters and a mom and dad.  The little boy tells of how they have to order extra large pizzas, cram themselves into the car, and wash all of the animals.  Not only is the text a rollicking rhyme, but the illustrations will have children laughing out loud.  The two paired together are masterful fun. 

Share this one any time someone needs a good laugh or pure silliness.  My five-year-old especially loved the picture of the cats drinking the shampoo, and had us read that page again and again, even turning back to it at the end of the book.  Days later, he still talks about how funny it is.  Now that is a good book.

Annie’s Chair by Deborah Niland really charmed me.  It is the story of a little girl and her love of her favorite chair.  She can read, watch TV, play, pretend, and bounce in her chair.  Even her older brother is not allowed to sit in her chair.  But then Annie discovers the family dog happily sleeping in the chair.  What is a girl to do? 

The illustrations of the book combined with the child-friendly text make this one a winner.  Annie is a real child who reacts just like a real child would to a dog sitting in her chair.   Share this one with toddlers through preschoolers, who will all relate to Annie and her love of a special thing.  They will also recognize Annie’s frustration and anger in themselves.  This book would make a good discussion book about anger as well as sharing, but really it is simply a good read.

Up Above and Down Below by Sue Redding is a quirky and fascinating look at the two worlds, the one above the surface of the ground and the one below.  Redding’s pop-art illustrations capture both the wonder of the two distinct places as well as adding a broad sense of humor to them.  Ocean scenes are amazing glimpses below the surface while the golf course illustration has gophers working industriously with stolen balls.  Children will enjoy looking closely at the illustrations and laughing aloud at the funny details they discover.  This is not a book for sharing at a storytime, but one to allow children to appreciate on a smaller scale.  Share this with almost any child, and you are guaranteed a good deep laugh.