I Will Surprise My Friend

Read: 7/31/2009

I Will Surprise My Friend by Mo Willems

This easy reader is HILARIOUS! I was a little skeptical about all the buzz Mo Willems has been getting, then I read this book and another by him this afternoon. I laughed out loud at the ending. The combination of simple pictures of the Elephant and the Pig, their facial expressions and their thought bubbles made for a really fun read. There is a lot of repetition and the print is large and clear.

Little Hoot

Read: May 7, 2009
Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Illustrated by Jen Corace

Little Hoot is a baby owl with a problem. His parents won't let him go to bed at a reasonable hour. They make him stay up late, because that is what Owls do.

The illustrations by Jen Corace are charming and sweet with a large clear picture of the characters on each page. Though the format of the book is somewhat small overall, the simplicity would make this a good story time candidate.

Maybe a Bear Ate It!

Read: May 7, 2009
Maybe a Bear Ate It! by Robie H. Harris, Illustrated by Michael Emberley

A little monster? cat? creature? is reading a book in bed. When he loses it under his covers, he starts to panic and begins a string of assumptions about what may have happened to his book.

Michael Emberley's illustrations and large, clear and colorful. This lends the book towards easy use for story time and with younger readers. The Bear (who gets a bum rap and is featured on the cover) is scary and endearing at the same time. The main character - the cat/monster/creature has on a cool stripe-y pair of pajamas and I love the expressions he gets while in such a state of despair!

One

Read: 4/28/2009

One by Kathryn Otoshi

Kathryn Otoshi packs a lot of meaningful content into a very simply written and illustrated picture book. This book introduces colors, numbers and standing up to bullies! Simple watercolor illustrations of simple circles of color make up the characters.

Red is a big bully who always puts Blue down. The other colors don't like that, but they don't stand up to Red. Finally, along comes a grey Number One who doesn't take Red's nonsense. All the other colors like that and become numbers able to stand up to Red too. Even Blue. I love this book!

Tillie Lays An Egg

Tillie Lays An Egg by Terry Golson, Photographs by Ben Fink

What a fun little book. Tillie is a little white hen who lives in a chicken coop with 6 other hens. She is adventurous and likes to go outside the barnyard to eat worms and lay eggs in odd places.

The photographs are of the author's actual home and chickens.

BONUS - check out the Hen Cam to see the author's chickens going about their day!

Wave

Read: March 11, 2009

Wave by Suzy Lee

Wave is a delightful wordless picture book. The book is illustrated with charcoal drawing and watercolor paint.

A little girl (drawn in charcoal) visits the beach with her mother (and some seagulls!) The interactions she has with the waves are priceless and hilarious.

A really great book to "read" with a preschooler. The format is a little small for a storytime though.

Fleas!

Read: March 11, 2009

Fleas! by Jeanne Steig, Illustrated by Britt Spencer

This is a Trading Up story with some great goofy colorful illustrations. The story is engaging but rather long - good for the 2nd or 3rd grader or to read aloud to a group of Kindergartners or older students.

A man meets a dog who he gives a good petting to. The dog in return gives him fleas! He manages to trade up to a talkative uncle, a pile of stinky cheese, a banjo, a wig, etc. until he ends up back where he started - with a bone which he gives to the same dog he got the fleas from.