An Egg Is Quiet by Dianna Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long. 
This book is lovely, lovely, lovely.  From its speckled end pages to the exquisite illustrations inside, it is like entering an amazing egg gallery.  The joy of the book is taking the time to slowly look at each type of egg in the book, from the vivid turquoise of a Glossy Ibis egg to the strange, tubular dogfish egg.  This is a perfect book to share with preschoolers through second graders when doing a nature unit.  But it is also a great spring lap-book to share one-on-one with a budding naturalist. 

Gossamer by Lois Lowry.

First, I must say that I am such a fan of Lowry’s that I probably am not being critical when I read her books.  I have enjoyed all of her work to date, and continually look forward to her next book.  So realize that this is a review written by a real fan.

Littlest One is a tiny, invisible spirit who is training to be a dream-giver.  With her teacher, she learns to lightly touch items throughout the house she is assigned and bestow memories as dreams.  Her first teacher, Fastidious, is unable to handle Littlest One’s energy and questions.  Her next teacher, Thin Elderly does much better.  Together Littlest One and Thin Elderly witness as a young boy arrives at the home of an elderly lady.  The boy is filled with anger and memories that are less than pleasant, so the dream-givers struggle to find enough positive things to touch to fill his dreams.  But as he spends more and more time with the woman, he starts to create positive memories there.  What will happen though, when he is targeted by the evil Sinisteeds who bring awful tormenting dreams?  Will Littlest One and Thin Elderly be able to help him through it?

I enjoyed entering Lowry’s imagination again.  The idea of tiny beings who bestow sweet dreams to us is very appealing and magical.  The characters are vividly rendered from the humans to the dream-givers.  In Lowry’s distinctive writing style, we are carried into this story with complete belief that it is true and real.  The depiction of a loving foster care giver is especially effective and the example of abuse used is both horrifying and at the right level for children to understand.  Share this one with children who enjoy fantasy without dragons and knights or with children who enjoyed the Great Gilly Hopkins.  It is another winner in Lowry’s body of work. 

Earth to Stella by Simon Puttock, illustrated by Philip Hopman is a very creative bedtime book.  Stella’s father is trying to put her to bed, but Stella is pretending that she is traveling through space.  Her father calls to her:  Earth to Stella! and his messages get incorporated in her imagination.  The illustrations are fun and the text is straight-forward and clean.  I especially liked that this was a space-crazed little girl, rather than a little boy.  Preschoolers will enjoy this story, because they will all recognize how they can get caught up in their imaginary worlds.  The story ends with Stella’s father joining her when she heads back out to space.   Perfect for space-themed storytimes or bedtime ones. 

The Little Red Hen by Jerry Pinkney will be released in May 2006.  Pinkney takes the classic story of the little red hen and keeps its timeless feel.  Pinkney’s art transforms the story, as his art always does, into something even more marvelous.  I enjoy his slight changing of the animals who refuse to work so that the hen has an exact reason to pressure each animal to do a specific job.  Still they refuse, of course.  The pictures will project well to a group of children, allowing librarians, parents and teachers to share this classic tale.  This is a lovely addition to the stable of Little Red Hen books out there.  Purchase it if you need a new one, don’t already have a copy, or need a version that will work well with a group. 

Yankee Doodle America: The Spirit of 1776 from A to Z by Wendell Minor is a book that takes readers down a road in colonial America through its use of wooden signs as illustrations.  Readers follow the signs through the alphabet, learning more and more about America during the Revolutionary War.  The information is concise and clear, making reading a pleasure.  But the real joys of the book are the wooden signs.  They range in topics from individuals involved in the revolution to events like the Boston Tea Party to the Liberty Bell.  Each sign is detailed, deeply colored, and finished with a cracked finish so that it gives the impression of having hung for some time above a public house.  Use this one in a unit about the Revolutionary War, or give it to students interested in history. 

The Seattle Times has a piece on author George Shannon who talks about the importance of sound in a book.  Shannon’s goal is to create books that are fun, filled with word play and free them to be creative.  This approach is very evident in his books White Is for Blueberry and Busy in the Garden.  If you haven’t read any Shannon, this is the time to try him out.   His poetry dances and his books create wonder.

The True Story of Stellina by Matteo Pericoli is a magical true story.  Holly, Pericoli’s wife, found a tiny baby finch in the middle of Manhattan.  She waited for the mother finch to return, but it didn’t.  So she took the baby bird home and raised it by hand.  The charm of the story is the details of how Holly took care of Stellina and how their friendship grew. 

This is another great nonfiction picture book that reads more like fiction.  It is lovingly done and lovely to read.  Share this aloud with a group, or with someone in your lap, it is sure to create discussion.

Ah, another wonderful Minerva Louise book!  Minerva Louise and the Colorful Eggs by Jane Morgan Stoeke, continues in the same tradition as the early books.  The simple text combined with clear pictures that project well to a group, make these books perfect for sharing with a group.  This book is an Easter story where Minerva Louise, a perpetually confused but friendly chicken, finds colored eggs scattered around the farm.  She rounds up the other hens and tells them about the eggs outside “some of them are so cold they’re turning blue.”  But when the hens go out to look, all of the eggs are gone.  Then they see the farmers (people) gathering the eggs and know that it is fine, they are used to farmers gathering eggs.  The story ends with Minerva Louise happily sitting atop a basket of Easter eggs. 

Share this one for Easter or spring storytimes.  The humor, text, and pacing are all perfect for sharing with toddlers and preschoolers.  Even kindergarteners will enjoy the humor. 

Ptolemy’s Gate by Jonathan Stroud.

Stroud has done it again with the conclusion to his unique Bartimaeus Trilogy.  The book does start slowly, almost painfully so, because readers will know that there is plenty of action awaiting them.   This book occurs three years after the second.  We find out what happened to Kitty after the Golem Affair and how being a magician on the Council has corrupted John Mandrake even further. 

I don’t want to say any more about the plot because the joy of reading Stroud is discovering what happens.  Let me just say that it is an amazing conclusion to a great trilogy.