Put It on the List by Kristen Darbyshire

Though they are supposed to put things on the shopping list, everyone in the family forgets.  So the chicken family runs out of a lot of things and other times have to get creative.  Pancakes but no syrup means that ketchup may just be the solution!  But when the family runs out of diapers, band-aids, and toilet paper, that’s enough.  So they hold a family meeting and come up with a new plan to really use the list and to help with the shopping.  And the final golden rule, that in an emergency they order pizza!

Every family has faced this sort of disorganization, frantic runs to the store and the attempts to be creative when feeding a family.  The chicken family face it all with a quirkiness and silliness that make the book really work.  Darbyshire’s illustrations and words are simple but immensely fun. 

The round-headed chicken family will capture children’s attention and the giggles will keep them listening.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Tillie Lays an Egg by Terry Golson, photographs by Ben Fink.

Tillie is a hen who doesn’t lay her eggs in the nesting boxes provided for the hens.  The other hens nicely take turns laying their eggs and then head outside.  Tillie doesn’t wait for her turn, but instead finds interesting spots to lay her eggs.  She wants to eat worms, so an egg is laid in the dirt.  Then she ventures onto the farmhouse porch and from there into the house, each day exploring more and laying her egg in a different spot.

Vivid photography makes this book special.  From the shots of the hens in their house to the quizzical close-ups of their faces, the photos are crisp, clear and vibrant.  The photos also have a timelessness that really works with the farm tale.  Additionally, children will enjoy trying to spot Tillie’s eggs in each setting.  Golson captures a sense of lightness and fun in her brief text that reads aloud very well. 

The combination of a silly chicken and missing eggs is made modern and interesting by using photographs rather than illustrations.  Great fun for the youngest readers, this book is appropriate for ages 2-5. 

Moon Over Star by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.

Journey back to 1969 and the lunar landing seen through the eyes of Mae, a young girl who has lots of dreams of her own.  Aston’s poetry pairs flawlessly with Pinkney’s illustrations as we see a group of children celebrate the landing in their own way.  They build a rocket of their very own with scraps from the yard and gather together with rapt faces watching the landing as it happens.  All are caught in the moment of history except Gramps who isn’t sure it has anything much to do with him.  But even he is captured when the landing itself is on TV, and he begins to recall his own dreams as a boy.

Both author and illustrator capture the same tone, something not easily done.  They both linger on images that unite us all.  Youth and age, hard work and dream, family both small and large.  Through Aston’s gem-like poetry we can experience the wonder of the day.   Through Pinkney’s illustrations we can see and also feel the heat, the closeness, the amazing moment.

An amazing achievement in cooperation, just like the lunar landing, this book truly brings the landing itself and its importance to modern children.  Appropriate for ages 4-7, it will be most appreciated by older children who can understand the beauty of the book.

Lovey and Dovey by Elle van Lieshout, Erik van Os and Mies van Hout.

Lovey and Dovey are in love but now they are in prison for stealing a pair of blue socks.  They know they are lucky to be together, but the view in their cell leaves something to be desired.  So Dovey squeezes out between the bars and returns with a beautiful view of the sun and sea that he cut right out of the sky.  That night they can’t see the stars, so Dovey heads out again, taking the moon and stars from the sky and putting them in the cell.  Each day, Dovey heads out, returning with more items to make their cell a home.  Until they are released into the cold gray world.  Back they head, to a certain sock counter.

Lovey and Dovey may be thieves but they are full of honor.  Dovey always returns to the cell even though he has effectively escaped prison again and again.  They are both winning characters without any of the desperado about them.

The illustrations are lovely, a charming combination of soft pastels with Lovey and Dovey inked in boldly on top.  When Dovey slices the various bits from the surrounding countryside, they stay that way.  Blank holes in the world.  There is an artistic bunny who works to fill in the holes with his own art in a very different style.  The text is equal to the illustrations, effectively moving the story forward but allowing the beauty of what is being created to shine.

This book is filled with love, beauty and joy.  It is a pleasure to read aloud and though it will not fit nicely into any themed unit or story time is definitely worth sharing.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett

All of the birds had laid an egg except Duck.  But he found an egg!  A lovely, large egg with green spots that he was sure was the best egg in the world.  The other birds’ eggs hatched one by one until only Duck’s huge egg is sitting there whole.  Duck continued to wait patiently for it to hatch, sitting next to it and knitting.  The egg began to crack and…

Gravett, author of the charming Orange Pear Apple Bear, has again created a book that is very child friendly and accessible.  Her art is soft and filled with playful elements.  The addition of flaps to turn while the eggs are hatching, adds to the sense of anticipation.  Her pacing is right on, and the humor is pitch perfect.

An ideal book for reading aloud to preschoolers, this book is appropriate for ages 3-5. 

The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear by David Bruins and Hilary Leung.

If you click on the title or image above, you will see that you are taken to their specific website instead of Worldcat or Amazon.  This little book is the reason I wade through so many small press or self-published books.  It is that hidden gem.

Ninja, Cowboy and Bear are all friends.  They enjoyed being together all the time, but at the same time were very different from one another.  Ninja was fast and graceful.  Cowboy was precise and accurate.  Bear was strong.  Their various strengths came between them one day when Ninja and Bear began to argue.  Cowboy set them a challenge to pile stones as high as they could.  Bear handily beat Ninja.  Bear declared himself best, but Cowboy challenged him.  Ninja set them a challenge that Cowboy won.  When that was done, Ninja challenged Cowboy and beat him at the challenge Bear set them.  All three walked off in a funk over the results until they realized the truth of their differences and strengths.

The illustrations are the thing that make this book so very special.  Done on a textured surface, they shout with bright colors and modern style.  Each of the three characters has their own way of moving and standing, speaking to their strengths.  On each argument page, the colors mute into sepia tones until the challenge is set.  A subtle but effective device.

The happy ending comes a bit too quickly and easily, but that may just be that I wanted the book to last a little longer.  The text is brief and friendly.  There are wonderful touches throughout that will have adults smiling even if children don’t understand the reference.  I personally enjoy the Free Game Inside! on the cover echoing the cereal boxes of my childhood.  But my favorite piece is when Ninja is meditating and cherry blossoms float by in the breeze.  Love it!

A winning book even if published by a large publisher, this book is charming, funny and offers that free game which is a more physical version of rock, paper, scissors.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas

Four bright-colored, hairy dust bunnies introduce themselves as Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob.  They rhyme together all the time.  What rhymes with car?  The first three bunnies join in merrily rhyming together, but Bob has other things on his mind.  Ed, Ned and Ted are oblivious to what Bob is trying to tell them, chiding him for not rhyming.  Their continued rhyming and Bob’s refusal to play mixed with his growing desperation for them to understand will have everyone laughing.  Classic vaudeville humor in a picture book.

Thomas has this book paced exactly right.  It is a joy to read aloud, the words and the jokes hitting with a rhythm that is written directly into the text.  Add to that the muppet-like bunnies with their buggy eyes and grinning mouths, and you have a winner of a book!

Put this on the top of your school visit books, tuck it under your arm for your own children, just share it whenever possible.  Even better, it can work as an easy reader with its rhyming words and brief text.  This one you just have to try.

Posy by Linda Newbery and Catherine Rayner

As the proud owner of two adorable kittens, Posy was ideal reading.  Newbery and Rayner perfectly capture the charm, silliness, speed and constant movement of a small kitten.  The illustrations have a raggedy striped kitten where scribbly lines depict fur with great style.  Posy’s head tilts in the just the right way, her eyes focus with an intent to play even though they are just two black dots.  Simple but incredibly captivating, this book will have any cat lover entranced.

The illustrations are accompanied by two word lines of a poem that dances along at the same pace as a busy kitten.  Paired into rhyming couplets, the poem reads well aloud and makes this a book that offers not just a quick look at the life of a kitten but a great introduction to poetry for children. 

Appropriate for ages 2-5, share this one with the cat lover in your life no matter their age.  It is sure to generate the same chuckles as a kitten itself without the mess.