One

Otoshi, K. (2008). One. Mill Valley, CA: KO Kids Books.

Recommended Age: 3+

Format: Hardcover

This book follows the color blue, and his friends, yellow, orange, green, and purple. Blue wants to be like his friends sometimes, but for the most part, he enjoys being blue. Red, is mean to blue though, and nobody says anything to him. Red becomes more and more bossy and grows larger and larger and is meaner and meaner. Until the number 1 shows up and stands up for himself to Red. The other colors follow suit and yellow, orange, green and purple become 2,3,4,and 5. Blue then makes the decision to stand up to Red when Red was mean to him. Blue becomes the number 6 and Red starts to sulk away when blue tells him that he can be a number too. Red becomes the number 7. This is an easy to comprehend book that not only teaches colors and numbers but it is an important lesson about bullying that cannot start early enough. Younger children may not understand the larger implications of this book immediately, but it is good book to start reading early. 

Author's website: http://www.kokidsbooks.com/

Beautiful Oops!

Saltzberg, B. (2010). Beautiful oops! New York, NY: Workman Pub.

Recommended Age: 2+

Format: Hardcover

This fun, interactive book, shows children what mistakes can be turned into. The book starts with a tear in a piece of paper that the child can touch and look at, and when you turn the page the tear is the mouth of a crocodile. This book shows a bent corner of paper turning into part of a penguin, a smudge becoming a bunny face, a stain from a cup becoming a frog, a crumpled piece of paper becoming a sheep, and it even has an accordion-like stack of papers to look into to see what the holes in papers hold. There are few words, and the interactive portions of this book would even be fun for kids up to Kindergarten or 1st grade, but it is suitable for young children as well. The interactive portions are so interest, and so far from lift-the-flap books. The illustrations are amazing to look at, they are colorful and work very well with the tears and the flaps. Children will love seeing what each "oops" turns into. This holds book holds a lesson, as well, not to give up if you make a mistake, you'll never know what that mistake could lead to. Overall, this is a really amazing book.

Author's wesbite: http://www.barneysaltzberg.com/

And Then It's Spring

Fogliano, J., & Stead, E. E. (2012). And then it's spring. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
Recommended age:3+
Format: Hardcover


This book tells the story of a young boy who starts off standing on brown land in the middle of fall. He is planting seedlings and waiting patiently for them to grow. He stands guard as the seasons change, the sense of anticipation building until the reader cannot possibly wait any longer. He worries that something happened to them.  And then his world turns green.  The illustrations are understated, yet so important to the story. Little details like the animals that are always with the boy give the illustrations a quiet charm that children might not pick up on. The children can relate to wanting something so badly and having to wait for it. The sense of anticipation along with the simple story line would make this book good for a spring story time with toddlers or preschoolers.

Author's website: http://us.macmillan.com/author/juliefogliano
Illustrator's website: http://erinstead.com/

Stuck

Jeffers, O. (2011). Stuck. New York: Philomel Books.

Recommended Age: 3+

Format: Hardcover

This story is about Floyd. He gets his red kite stuck in a tree, so he takes his shoe off and throws it at the red kite to knock it down. But then his shoe gets stuck, Floyd keeps throwing larger and sillier items at the tree to knock other items he gets stuck down. Some of the items he throws are a bucket of paint, the kitchen sink, a small boat, a large boat, and even a whale. A fire truck comes to see if they can help, and their truck and the firemen get stuck in the tree as well. Finally, Floyd retrieves a saw and knocks his kite down with it. The book ends with Floyd going to bed, feeling like he forgot something. This is a very simple book with whimsical illustrations that are fun to look at. The pure silliness of all the things that Floyd is throwing in the tree and the fact that everything keeps getting stuck will entertain children. Children will be amused with the illustrations, especially the ones that show everything that is stuck in the tree. This would be a good book for toddler or preschool story time. Children can be involved by asking them what they think Floyd will throw in the tree next. 

Author's website: http://www.oliverjeffers.com/

Plant a Kiss

Rosenthal, A. K., & Reynolds, P. (2012). Plant a kiss. New York: Harper

Recommended Age: 3+

Format: Hardcover

This story follows a little girl who plants a kiss. She waters it and waits for it to sprout. Then it does sprout and she shows her friends. She decides she is going to share it everywhere despite her friends saying that she did not want to overuse her kisses assets. But she shares it everywhere she can, and by the end of the book her kiss is magnificently large. This is a fun book for children, and it sends a message of spreading happiness makes more happiness. Literally, children will find the idea of planting a kiss silly and funny. The illustrations are simple, but when her kiss sprouts the illustrations for it are wonderful. Her kiss almost looks like magic. There are very few words in this book, and young children and older children alike would enjoy hearing this at story time. 

Author's website: http://www.whoisamy.com/

Illustrator's website: http://www.peterhreynolds.com/

 

Someday

McGhee, A., & Reynolds, P. (2007). Someday. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.Recommended Age: 4+
Format: Hardcover


This book is appropriate for four year olds and older. The book along with the illustrations would entice them and they would enjoy the story. The implications of the story overall will be lost on a 4 year old. This book tells the story of a mother and her baby, and the dreams she has for her "someday". Dreams that she will walk into a deep wood, dive into a deep lake, leave the house, have her own kids, etc. The book is very sentimental and emotional. The illustrations feel soft and the text is written not straight across the page but sometimes arcing between two pages. It is written in a font that looks very similar to a child's handwriting, and that adds to the whimsy. Although this story is not about going to bed, or of that nature, I think the soft illustrations and sentimental words would make a fantastic story for bedtime.



Author's website: http://www.alisonmcghee.com/
Illustrator's website: http://www.peterhreynolds.com/

On the Night You Were Born

Tillman, N. (2006). On the night you were born. New York: Feiwel & Friends.

Recommended Age:4+

Format: Hardcover

This story tells the child that on the night that they were born the entire Earth, and even the moon and the stars celebrated. Tillman paints a lovely picture with her words alone and the images just build upon it. The story says that on the night that the child was born that the moon smiled down upon the baby, and the stars tried to get a peek. The wind whispered the child's name and the polar bears danced until dawn. The moon stayed up until morning, and the lady bugs did not fly off. There are interactive parts of this book as the text tells the child to say their name, and wiggle their toes. The images are mostly at night and tied together by the same smiling moon. The night theme, and the sentimental words makes this a good book to read with a parent before bedtime.

Author's website: http://www.nancytillman.com/

Good Dog, Carl

Day, A. (1985). Good dog, Carl. La Jolla, CA: Green Tiger Press.

Recommended Age: 0+

Format: Board Book

This book has very minimal words. A mother leaves her baby in the crib and leaves her dog Carl to babysit.  Almost immediately after the Mom leaves, the baby scales the crib and lands on Carl's back. Carl and the baby get into all sorts of trouble and the illustrations are expressive and funny. This wordless book is a great first step in literacy. A book like this can teach infants and toddlers how to hold a book, how to turn pages, when they are looking at the pictures the adult reading it can say key words like "First" and "Next" this gives the child an idea of narration and how a story works. They can learn to understand that a story has a beginning, middle and end. This is a great book to build key literacy skills, with young children. 

Carl's website: http://gooddogcarl.com/Good_Dog_Carl/Home.html

Hug

Alborough, J. (2000). Hug. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
Recommended Age:0+
Format: Board Book


This book only has 3 different words in the entire thing. The story is told with the illustrations. A little chimpanzee is in the jungle, and says Hug looking for a hug. But every time he says hug to an animal he sees them hugging their own little ones. He says hug to an elephant, snake, giraffe and more. The little chimpanzee grows sadder and sadder. Suddenly his mom appears with a big hug for him. At the end, everyone hugs their own little ones, and then they all hug each other. Since this book is told mostly with images it is perfect for infants and toddlers. They will enjoy looking at the colorful images of all the different animals and the board book format makes the book easy to use by tiny fingers. This would be a good book for infant and toddler story times as they will be able to anticipate the word that the little chimpanzee says.




Author's website: http://www.jezalborough.com/

Good Night Gorilla

Rathmann, P. (1993). Goodnight, Gorilla. New York, NY: Putnam.

Recommended age: 0+

Format: Board Book

This story follows the security guard at the zoo as he locks up. First he says good night to the gorilla. While he is saying goodnight the gorilla takes his keys. Then he says good night to other animals in the zoo. Each animal the security guard says goodnight to, the gorilla lets out of the cage. Until there is a long line of animals including the gorilla, an elephant, a giraffe, a lion, a hyena, and an armadillo. The animals all follow him to his home and as his wife says goodnight all the animals reply goodnight. She gets up and takes them all back to their cages, and the gorilla gets out again. The gorilla ends up in bed with the wife and the final page is the gorilla saying goodnight. This is a fun book for infants and toddlers. There really is not many words other than the phrase goodnight and the names of the animals. The animals sneaking along behind the security guard in the illustrations is silly, and many children will enjoy that.  This is a good book to practice animal names with and a great book to read before bedtime or nap time. 

Author's website: http://www.peggyrathmann.com/

Doggies

Boynton, S. (1995). Doggies: A counting and barking book. New York, NY: Little Simon Books.

Recommended age:0+

Format: Board Book

This book counts 10 doggies. They all bark different or in some cases howl. They slowly build upon each other so by the time you get to 10 there are 10 different barks to make. Small children pick up on the repetitive sounds of the barking and imitate it. The numbers are largely displayed and this book works well as a book to learn number and number order, and to learn to associate numbers with objects or animals.The background colors of the pages are vibrantly colored like all of Boynton's books, which will keep any child looking at the page. Also Boynton's dogs (and one cat) are all different sizes and colors and are also fun to look at. This would make a good baby or young toddler story time book as children could interact with the story by barking along or even counting along if they can. 

Author's Website: http://www.sandraboynton.com/

The Snowy Day

Keats, E. J. (1962). The snowy day. New York, NY: Viking Press.

Recommended Age: 3+

Format: Hardcover

Awards: Caldecott Medal Winner

This book tells a simple tale of a child's excitement over a new snowfall. Peter awakens to find that it has snowed overnight. He puts on his snowsuit and goes out into the snow. He walks different ways to leave different tracks. He finds a stick and hits a snow covered tree knocking the snow down on his head.  He thinks about joining a snow ball fight but he is not old enough yet. So he builds a smiling snowman, and makes snow angels. He puts a snowball in his pocket for the next day and goes home. At home he tells his mother about his adventures as he bathes and while he sleeps that night he has a nightmare that the sun had come and melted all the snow. When he wakes up he realizes that the snow was still there, and they had actually gotten more. The story is simple and relatable by most young children who get excited when snow falls. The images look to be cut outs and Peter's red snowsuit on the white snow creates a nice differentiation   so he does not get lost in the snow to the reader. Children will relate to Peter's excitement and to the fun he has in the snow. Historically, this is an important book because it was the first major publication that featured an African American as the main character and not as a caricature. 

Link to the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation:  http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/

Tikki Tikki Tembo

Mosel, A., & Lent, B. (1968). Tikki Tikki Tembo. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Recommended Age: 4+

Format: Hardcover

This book starts "once upon a time, a long, long time ago..." and is set in China. The story says the tradition then was to give the first born son the longest name they could, and the second born son a really short one.  The story focuses on a mother who had two sons. The first one was named Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo and her second son named Chang.  One day the boys were playing near the well and Chang fell in. Tikki tikki tembo, got his mother, and retrieved an old man with a ladder to save his brother. However, a few months later, Tikki tikki tembo fell into the well and when Chang went to tell his mother, he ran out of breath trying to yell Tikki tikki tembo's name. When he finally went to go get the old man with the ladder, he also had trouble communicating his brother's name. They finally got him out of the well, but it took him a long time to recover. This event started a new tradition of giving all of their children short names. This is a classic book to read in  preschool. Children love when it is time to say Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo and they will join in with the parts they can say.The images are colorful, very detailed, and really interesting to look at. This book will make a good book to read for preschool story time. 

Link to purchase this book: http://www.amazon.com/Tikki-Tembo-Arlene-Mosel/dp/0805006621/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1337105651&sr=8-1

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Barrett, J., & Barrett, R. (1978). Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. New York, NY: Atheneum.

Recommended Age: 4+

Format: Hardcover

This book tells the story of Grandfather tell his two grandchildren a story before bed. He tells them of a town called Chewandswallow where weather was not weather. It rained, snowed, tornadoed, and huriccaned food for the townspeople to eat. The towns people would eat the weather that came three times a day, and always carried a plate and utensils with them. The food weather started to get larger and larger and more and more unpredictable.  A giant pancake fell from the sky and landed on the school, but it was too heavy to lift off of it, so they canceled school. There was a bread hurricane and people's houses were damaged by falling meatballs. So the townspeople made boats out of giant pieces of stale bread and sailed to a new land where they had to buy their own food at grocery stores. This is a fun tale to read aloud to preschoolers and older. The idea of food falling from the sky is amusing. The illustrations are done well and fun to look at, especially when the food gets bigger. The image of a giant pancake on top of the school as helicopters attempt to pull it off is humorous. This book is suitable for older children due to the length and amount of text. 

Author's Website: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Judi-Barrett/1103891

Illustrator's website: http://ronbarrettart.com/

The Story of Ferdinand

Lawson, R., & Leaf, M. (2005). The story of Ferdinand. New York,, NY: Viking.

Recommended Age: 4+

Format: Hardcover

This classic tale tells the story of Ferdinand a little bull who would rather sit under a tree and smell the flowers than fight with the other bulls. When he grows older, he still enjoys sitting under a tree and smelling flowers. One day some men came to find the fiercest bull for the bull fights in Madrid, but at that exact time Ferdinand was stung by a bee under his tree. His reaction to the bee sting made the men think that he was the fiercest bull. When he gets to the bull fight though, he just sits and smells the flowers until  they take him back home to his tree and his flowers. This book goes into some details about the bullfights in Madrid, like the participants in the actual fight. This would be a good story time book for preschoolers as there is not an incredible amount of text on each page. This would be a good book to read to younger children too, but only if they are capable of sitting through a longer book. The black and white images of Ferdinand sitting under his tree are appealing to look at. 

Author's website:http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/birthbios/brthpage/12dec/12-04leaf.html

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Viorst, J., & Cruz, R. (1972). Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. New York, NY: Atheneum.

Recommended Age: 4+

Format: Hardcover

Alexander woke up, and his day was immediately horrible. He fell asleep with gum in his mouth, which got in his hair, he tripped on a skateboard, dropped his sweater in the sink, and his day just continues to get worse. His mom is the only one of his friend's moms who forgot to pack him dessert in his lunch, his best friend picked someone else as their number one best friend, the shoe store was out of the shoes he wanted, he fell down in mud and got in trouble for it, there were lima beans for dinner and kissing on TV. Finally he had to go to bed in the railroad track pajamas that he did not like. Alexander deals with all of these situations by commenting on what a horrible day it was. A few times he states that he should just move to Australia.  The illustrations show everything but Alexander in black and white. You can truly see Alexander getting more and more frustrated as his day gets more and more horrible. This would make a great story time book for preschoolers. Children will find humor in the situations that Alexander sometimes finds himself in. 

Author's website: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Judith-Viorst/707395

The Polar Express

Van Allsburg, C. (1985). The Polar Express. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Recommended Age: 4+

Format: Hardcover

Awards: Caldecott Medal Winner

 

This book tells the story of a little boy who lays in bed on Christmas Eve, listening to hear Santa's sleigh. Instead he hears the approach of a steam engine, and as he goes outside to investigate, he learns the train is going to the North Pole. On the train the children aboard get treats. The go to the North Pole to see Santa off on his journey to deliver toys. The little boy is lucky enough to get the first gift from Santa for Christmas. He gets the one thing he wanted that most, a sleigh bell from one of Santa's reindeer. Although he loses it on the train Santa puts it under his Christmas tree on Christmas morning. His sister and him love the sound it makes, but his parents think it's broken. Hearing the bell is determined by whether or not you truly believe Santa exists. As he grows up the boy can still hear it, but his friends and sister stop hearing it. The illustrations seem to show the most of the pictures lit by outside light. The illustrations are beautiful to look at and children will love to see them, especially Santa. This is a fantastic book to read to 4 year olds and up for story time around Christmas time. Children will be enthralled in this story and the magic of Christmas it seems to have within it. Just as a warning it does mention that his friends do not believe in Santa and do not think he is real, but I think that is negated by the fact that the boy meets Santa in the book. This is suitable for preschoolers and older mainly due to the length of the text. 

Author's Website: http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/flash.html

Pancakes for Breakfast

DePaola, T. (1978). Pancakes for breakfast. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Recommended Age: 1+

Format: Softcover

This is a wordless picture book perfect for pre-readers and readers alike. The woman wakes up thinking of pancakes. She looks up the recipe and starts to make the pancakes. But she realizes she is missing eggs, so she has to go out and get eggs from the chicken. Then she realizes she is out of milk, so she has to go get milk from the cow. Next, she realizes she needs butter, so she makes butter out of her milk. Finally, she needs maple syrup so she goes out to buy some. When she returns her cat and dog have made a mess of everything and it looks like she might not get her pancakes, until she smells pancakes next door. This is a good book for pre-readers to see the structure of a story. They can also hold the book and "read" it without adult intervention if they so choose.  The softcover version of this book will need adult supervision so pages are not ripped out. This is a good book for infant, and toddler story time.  The images are fun to look at and as children get older they will start to understand more and more what is happening. 

Author's  website: http://www.tomie.com/about_tomie/index.html

City Dog, Country Frog

Willems, M., & Muth, J. J. (2010). City Dog, Country Frog. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.

Recommended Age: 3+

Format: Hardcover

This story tells the tale of City Dog who is in the country and he can run as far as he wants without a leash. It is Spring and he stumbles upon Country Frog sitting on a rock. Throughout the Spring they play Country Frog games like hopping and croaking. Spring turns to Summer and City Dog runs to Country Frog's rock. During the Summer they play City Dog games together like sniffing and fetching. Fall comes and Country Frog is to tired to play so they play the remembering game, remembering Spring and Summer together. Snow falls and it is Winter, City Dog runs to Country Frog's rock and cannot find him. He sits on the rock sad and alone. Spring returns, and City Dog meets Country Chipmunk and a new friendship blossoms. The text in this book is not overly complex and it is easy to understand. The illustrations of the seasons seem to match the emotions in that season. One of the most poignant images in the book is City Dog sitting on the rock alone in the Winter. This makes a good book for older toddlers and preschoolers all the way up to elementary school kids. The sense of loss the City Dog is feeling may not be discernible by younger children but they will appreciate the images and the simple story line. 


Author's website: http://www.mowillems.com/
Illustrator's website: http://www.allenspiegelfinearts.com/muth.html

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Stead, P. C., & Stead, E. E. (2010). A sick day for Amos McGee. New York, NY: Roaring Brook.

Recommended Age: 3+

Format: Hardcover

Awards: Caldecott Medal Winner

This story starts with Amos McGee performing his morning rituals, waking up, changing, eating breakfast and making tea. He then gets on his bus to his job at the zoo. At the zoo he plays chess with the elephant, runs races with the tortoise, sits quietly with the penguin, lends a handkerchief to the rhinoceros, and reads stories to the owl. The next day Amos McGee is sick and cannot go to work. His animal friends take the bus to his house and keep him company while he is sick. The elephant plays chess with him, the tortoise plays hide and seek, the penguin keeps his feet warm, the rhinoceros gives him a handkerchief and the owl reads him a bedtime story. This story is a great one to read at a toddler or preschool story time. It is has a nice lesson of being nice to others and they will be nice to you. The illustrations in this book are beautiful. The colors are soft and understated with pieces of red in some of the pictures. Children will find the images amusing as well, watch the animals on the bus to Amos's house is humorous imagery. 

Author's website: http://philipstead.com/

Illustrator's website: http://erinstead.com/

No,David!

Shannon, D. (1998). No, David! New York, NY: Blue Sky Press.

Recommended Age: 2+

Format: Softcover

Awards: Caldecott Medal

Relate Material: David Goes to School

This book about David, tells the story about all the havoc he wreaks in his house. The book starts as David is writing on the wall and his mom says "No, David!" a common theme in the book. David does things like making a mess in the bathtub, playing with his food, picking his nose, playing baseball in the house and even breaking a vase. The entire book is David getting trouble in some way by his mom. At the end of the book after he has been put in time out his mother calls him over for a hug, and tells him that she loves him. The images are rich in color, and look like they are made to look childish. Children will love looking at the illustrations of David getting in trouble, the image of David running down the street naked is particularly amusing. This would be a great book for preschool story time as children pick up on the wording quickly and can be prompted to join in. Overall this story holds a message that children and parents both can relate to, being told "No" or feeling like you are telling your child "No" all the time. 

This link shows all of David Shannon's featured works: http://www.scholastic.com/titles/authors/david_shannon.htm

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!

Willems, M. (2006). Don't let the pigeon stay up late! New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.

Recommended Age: 3+

Format: Hardcover

This book written in the same vane as Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, puts the children reading the book in charge of not letting the pigeon stay up late. The pigeon tries to convince the children to let him with arguments like saying that there is an educational special on birds on TV. The arguments get sillier and more desperate as the book goes on, like saying that it is daytime in China. The children keep saying no to the pigeon and finally, the pigeon falls asleep at the end of the book. In the illustrations of the pigeon his body changes positions as he begs and the backgrounds change color. You can see the pigeon getting tired as the story moves on. This book is fun to read at preschool story time because it makes the children part of the story. Making them part of the story also keeps them paying attention and involved. 

Author's Website: http://www.mowillems.com/

The Pout Pout Fish

Diesen, D., & Hanna, D. (2008). The pout-pout fish. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Recommended Age:3+

Format: Softcover

This story is about a pout, pout fish who has a pout, pout face. The book repeats these lines over and over again. Different fish friends tell the pout-pout fish to smile, but the fish keeps saying that is what his face looks like and he cannot change the fact that he looks sad. That is until another fish approaches the pout-pout fish and plants a kiss right on him. The pout-pout fish then realizes that he is not the pout-pout fish but a kiss-kiss fish. He then goes back and kisses all of the fish that told him to stop pouting and gives them kisses, ending with the fish that kissed him. This is a fun story that toddlers can easily be involved in. They can chant along with the pout-pout fish and say the blub, bluuuub, bluuuuubs he says along with him. 

Author's website: http://deborahdiesen.com/

Illustrator's website: http://www.bluebellylizard.com/

Yummy Yucky

Patricelli, L. (2003). Yummy, yucky. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Recommended Age: 0+

Format: Board Book

This board book tells of yummy foods to eat and yucky foods and nonfoods that can be eaten. Most parents are aware of how many different yucky things that babies and toddlers put in their mouths. This is a funny book that babies and toddlers will like to look at. The yummy and yucky items and images are juxtaposed on two pages. This is a good book to introduce opposites with. The opposite of yummy is yucky. The illustrations also show another set of opposites.  Happy baby eating soup and a sad baby eating soap. Toddlers are more likely to find the humor in some of the yucky items, but babies should sit still to look at the pictures. This is a fun board book and very colorful and entertaining even for parents. 

Author's website: http://www.lesliepatricelli.com/

The Napping House

Wood, A., & Wood, D. (1984). The napping house. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Recommended age: 3+

Format: Softcover

The story starts on a rainy day, in a napping house, where granny is asleep on her bed. A child then falls asleep on top of granny, and a dog on top of the child, a cat on top of the dog, and a mouse on top of the cat. However, there is a flea that is awake in the room. The flea bites the mouse and in a chain reaction wakes everyone up and breaks the bed. This book starts with the house and slowly layers more and more things. The more things that are added the sillier they are. Children will enjoy this at a normal story time, or it would be a great for a book before bed.  The images are well done and visually appealing and very detailed. At the end of the book you can see that the bottom of the granny's foot is dirty as she is falling. The illustrations make the situation funnier as the characters move to different sleeping positions throughout the book. 

Author's website: http://www.audreywood.com/

Llama Llama Mad at Mama

Dewdney, A. (2007). Llama Llama mad at Mama. New York: Viking Juvenile.

Recommended Age: 3+

Format: Hardcover

Little Llama is outside playing when Mama Llama tells that they must go shopping. Little Llama wants to stay and play and does not want to shop. Little Llama slowly gets more and more frustrated and angry until he throws a big mess-making fit. His Mama tells him that she does not like to shop anymore than he does, but she likes to spend time with him. So they decide to finish the shopping as a team. They work together to clean up his mess, and finish shopping. Then they get to go out to the car, and head home to play some more. This book follows the same format as other Llama Llama books, many phrases start with Llama Llama and children will pick up on it fast. Many children and parents alike can relate to the hassle that going shopping is. The illustrations are detailed, and you can see Little Llama getting more and more annoyed by the minute. This would make a great story for a toddler story time.

Author's Website: http://www.annadewdney.com/Annas_website/Home.html

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Martin, B., Archambault, J., & Ehlert, L. (1989). Chicka chicka boom boom. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Recommended Age: 3+

Format: Softcover

This book tells the story of the lowercase letters of the alphabet. They start a race to the top of a coconut tree, and pretty soon they are all at the top. Inevitably, all of the letters come tumbling out of the tree and injure themselves. Their family, the upper case letters, all come to pick up the lower case letters that were injured. After getting all of the letters off the ground, it was night time, and the lower case letters go to bed. Until lowercase 'a' starts another race to the top of the coconut tree. Toddlers and preschoolers can be prompted to join in on this story every time the story says "Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom". The bright colors of the letters, and the background make it visually appealing. Children learn to recognize upper and lower case letters from this story as well.  Overall, it's a silly fun book that is perfect for toddler or preschool story time. 

Author's website: http://www.billmartinjr.com/

Author's website:http://www.johnarchambault.com/about.html

Illustrator's website: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Lois-Ehlert/1877089

Peepo!

Ahlberg, J., & Ahlberg, A. (1983). Peepo! Harmondsworth, Eng.: Puffin Books.

Recommended Age:1+

Format: Hardcover

This book follows a baby from all the situations and places that babies would be in. From his crib, and high chair etc. Each line with the baby starts "Here's a little baby 1,2,3.." Then goes on to ask what he sees from the location he is in. There are peek-a-boo holes cut out from the question giving a glimpse of what he sees. The next page then shows the entire image and names all of the things that the baby sees. The illustrations are busy, and the house looks like children live there. The busy images will give children something to look at, and looking for the things the text says he sees is fun for kids. The text is not too long and young children and  even older children will like looking at the illustrations. By the illustrations the story seems to be happening in an earlier time period. It is a great story for young toddlers and preschoolers alike. 

Author's website: http://www.allanahlberg.com/

No No, Yes Yes

Patricelli, L. (2008). No no, yes yes. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Recommended Age: 0+

Format: Board Book

This colorful board book is perfect for babies and toddlers. The book shows what babies and toddlers should and should not be doing. It also is a great book to show opposites for babies. The text of the book says "No no" on the left page and "Yes yes" on the right page and illustrates the naughty activity and the good activity. Little ones can look at the images of this book independently and get the ideas. Parents can read this book with babies and toddlers and describe both the good and bad activities. The colorful images of the baby clad in a diaper will hold the child's attention. The humorous images will make both children and adults laugh at them. Great book to start reading with and to help describe the activities they should be doing, like sitting on the potty not playing in it. 

Author's website: http://www.lesliepatricelli.com/

Press Here

Tullet, H. (2011). Press here. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

Recommended Age: 2+

Format: Hardcover

 

Press Here is an interactive children's book. The text tells the child to press on the dot on the page, and when you turn the page there are 2 dots. The text in the book tells the child to press again and once you turn the page there are three dots. After rubbing the dots and turning the page there are three different color dots. After tapping the dots and turning the page, the dots multiply. Shaking the book and turning the page makes the dots spread out. Tilting the book and turning the page moves all the dots to that side. When reading this to small children, once they follow the instructions, they think they are actually making these things happen and it makes the excited. It also teaches them to count, their colors, and their right and left. Working with small numbers like 5 and only 3 colors, like red, blue, and yellow eases toddlers into that information. This is a fantastic interactive book for toddlers, without all the moving parts. 

Author's website: http://www.herve-tullet.com/

Toes, Ears, & Nose! A Lift-the-Flap Book

Bauer, M. D., & Katz, K. (2003). Toes, ears, & nose! New York, NY: Little Simon.

Recommended Age: 0+

Format: Board Book

This board book is very colorful as typical of Karen Katz. The book is a lift the flap book, and the flaps are generally very large so little fingers can lift them. The text says things like "Inside my mittens I got..." And under the mitten shaped flap it says "Fingers". This book is perfect for teaching simple anatomy to small children. It would be good to read to infants and toddlers. The colors will keep the young children interested and seeing other babies in the book will help them relate. It is not very text heavy so attention span is not a problem. Lifting the flaps will help with young children's fine motor skills. 

Author's Website: http://karenkatz.com/

Fancy Nancy

O'Connor, J., & Preiss-Glasser, R. (2006). Fancy Nancy. New York: HarperCollins.

Recommended Age:4+

Format: Hardcover

Nancy has a family who is just not as fancy as she is. She knows fancy words for feather, plume, and fuchsia, a fancy word for purple. She dresses very fancy and cannot wait until she can learn French, because everything sounds fancy in French. She decides to give her family lessons on being fancy, and accessorize their wardrobes. They then go out for a fancy dinner at a pizza restaurant. However, Nancy has a food related mishap involving four parfaits. After she gets home and cleaned off, she realizes that she loves her family fancy or not. This is a interesting way to introduce some more challenging words to preschoolers in a fun story. The illustrations are colorful and kids will love to look at them, especially the illustrations of the adults after they are dressed up by Nancy. 

Nancy's website: http://www.fancynancyworld.com/

Llama Llama Red Pajama

Dewdney, A. (2005). Llama Llama red pajama. New York: Viking.

 

Recommended age: 3+

Format: Hardcover

Baby llama is put to bed by Mama Llama. After she leaves, he starts to miss her and calls for a drink of water. However, Mama Llama is busy doing the dishes and answering the phone and tells Baby Llama she'll be up soon. But Baby Llama starts to cry and throw a fit. His Mama comes running and tucks him in again and tells him not to worry she will always be nearby. The cadence of this book is very child friendly many lines begin with "Llama Llama red pajama". Many children relate to wanting their parents at bedtime and parents can read this book to them to reassure them that they should not be scared. The illustrations show Baby Llama's anxiety and the colors are interesting to look at. 

Author's Website: http://www.annadewdney.com/Annas_website/Home.html

Pinkalicious

Kann, Victoria, and Elizabeth Kann. Pinkalicious. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Print.

Recommended Age: 4+
Format: Hardcover


This story tells the story of Pinkalicious. On a rainy day she and her mom made super pink cupcakes, with extra pink. She ate so many that when she woke up the next morning her hair, her skin, and even her tears were pink. Her mother took her to the doctor, who told Pinkalicious that she could not have pink food for a few days and that she needed to eat green foods to go back to normal, however, Pinkalicious wanted more pink cupcakes. After her parents went to bed, she sneaked just one more pink cupcake. The next morning she was no longer pink, she was red. Pinkalicious then eats any green foods she can find and returns to her normal coloring, just in time for her brother to enter the room with his newly pink skin.  The book is colorful and full of the color pink. Some of the images are silly, at one point Pinkalicious is swarmed by birds and butterflies, and the illustration of that is humorous. This is a long story and more suitable for preschoolers and older.

Author's website: http://elizabethkann.com/

Author/Illustrator's website: http://www.ilikeart.com/

Zero to Three

There is a national organization for educators and parents alike called Zero to Three. This organization focuses on the overall health of children when they are in the age range in the title. The early years are the most formative and this web site guides parents and educators on how to work with children in this age group. Part of the online resources for this organization are online versions of booklets on early literacy. There is information on what parents and educators can do to lay the groundwork for early literacy among the children in their care. They also offer information on the research behind language development and early literacy in young children. On top of these resources, this organization offers tips for picking books for young children as well as literature on why it is important to read to infants. This is a great resource for parents and educators there is so much useful and pertinent information on this website. Although it can be difficult at first to locate the literacy information, once you locate it, it is well organized and easy to use.

Link to website: http://www.zerotothree.org/







ZERO TO THREE: Homepage. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/

My Friend Rabbit

Rohmann, E. (2002). My friend Rabbit. Brookfield., CT: Roaring Brook Press.

Format: Hardcover
Age:4+
Awards: Caldecott Medal Winner


This book tells the tale of Mouse and his friend Rabbit. At the beginning of the book Mouse says that although his friend does not mean to, he gets in trouble a lot. After this Rabbit gets Mouse's new plane stuck in a tree. Rabbit concocts a plan to get it down and starts dragging unwilling animals into a stack under the tree. The final animal on the stack is mouse. Interesting note about illustrations, when the animals are stacked up to the tree the illustrations flip so they are stacked across two-pages and the book needs to be turned. Then the pile of animals all tumble down. They are all angry at Rabbit and Mouse rescues him from certain trouble in his airplane that he retrieved. The book ends with Rabbit getting himself and Mouse in trouble once again. The illustrations in this book are beautifully done, and fun to look at. I think that this book would make a great addition to a preschool age story time.






Author's website: http://www.ericrohmann.com/

Interrupting Chicken

 

Stein, D. E. (2010). Interrupting chicken. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Format: Hardcover

Age:4+

Awards: Caldecott Honor

This story by David Ezra Stein follows Papa and his daughter as he tries to put her to bed. He makes her promise not to interrupt her bedtime stories. However, she interrupts Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood to tell them no to do something to avoid the danger. She also interrupts Chicken Little to tell him that it was just an acorn that fell on his head and the world wasn't ending. At this point Papa had run out of stories to tell and asked the interrupting chicken to tell him one, but she is interrupted by her father's snores. She then crawls into bed with him and falls asleep. This is a silly, funny book that preschoolers are sure to enjoy. The images are deep colors and are very fun to look at. The images of the story book are colored differently and it is funny to see the interrupting chicken drawn within the story. This is the type of book that would be great for a preschool story time. 

Author's website: http://www.davidezra.com/

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Willems, M. (2003). Don't let the pigeon drive the bus. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Format: Hardcover
Age: 3+ 

Awards: Caldecott Honor

This book is different than normal books for young children. Right from the beginning it puts the readers in charge of not letting the pigeon drive the bus while the bus driver is away. The pigeon dreams about driving the bus and begs and begs but it is up to the reader to keep saying no until the bus driver returns. When the bus driver returns, the pigeon sees a truck, and he starts to have dreams about driving that too. This is a fun book that is truly interactive. Toddlers and preschoolers are big fans of saying no and they get really involved in telling the pigeon no. This would be a fun book to read during story time. The illustrations are simple but it is possible to see the emotions of the poor pigeon with dreams. 

Author's Website:  http://www.mowillems.com/

The Going to Bed Book

Boynton, S. (2000). The Going to Bed Book. Little Simon Place.

Format: Board Book
Age: 1+ 

This fun board book tells the tale of animals who are on a boat. They need to get ready for bed so they all take a bath, brush their teeth, hang their towels,exercise, and go to sleep. This would make a great bedtime story for any child in the 0-5 age group. The pages have bright background colors like other Sandra Boynton books and her animal characters that have been featured in many of her texts. It is relatable by children as most of them have to do the same things before bed, and the illustrations might even be funny to them. It's funny to see all of the animals in one bath tub or shoved in one room brushing their teeth around one sink. This is a wonderful bedtime story for all.



Author's Website: http://www.sandraboynton.com/

Love You Forever

Munsch, R. N., & McGraw, S. (1986). Love you forever. Scarborough, Ont.: Firefly Books.

Format: Soft Cover
Age: 1+ 

This book tells the story of a mother who is rocking her newborn baby and sings, "I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always.As long as I'm living. My baby you'll be." As the child grows older she sneaks into his room while he is sleeping and rocks him and sings the same thing. Even when he is an adult and leaves the house she goes over to his house at night. She gets older and he comes to her house and does the same for her and then goes home and rocks his own newborn and sings the song his mother sang to him.  Children will like to look at the images and will be interested in the story. The illustrations are very well done, you can not only see the son aging, but the mother aging slightly throughout each page. The story is very sentimental and one that would make this a good book for a parent or grandparent to read to a child before bedtime. Parents will understand the sentiment more than their children most likely, but still it is a nice book to share.

Author's website: http://robertmunsch.com/
Illustrator's website: http://www.sheilamcgraw.com/

Moo Baa La La La

Boynton, S. (1995). Moo, baa, la la la! New York: Little Simon.

Format: Board Book
Age: 0+ 


This book is simple it goes through listing animals and the sound they make. It has a silly factor in that the first time the pigs say La La La!  The final page of the book prompts the children to join in by asking what sound they make.Another way children can be involved is by having the adult read the "A cow says..." and prompting the child to answer with the appropriate animal sound. The background colors of the illustrations make the animals stand out. The animals bodies are rounded and they are fun for little children to look at.  The board book format and the simplicity of this book make it perfect for infants and toddlers.

Author's Website: http://www.sandraboynton.com/

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Martin, B., & Carle, E. (1992). Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? New York: H. Holt.
Format: Board Book
Age: 1+


This board book follows a simple story line starting with "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?" and each subsequent animal replies with the color and type of animal looking at them. At the end of the story the goldfish sees a teacher looking at him, and the teacher sees a class of children looking at her. The final pages are a summary of everything in the book. This book teaches animal names as well as color names. Children can pick up on the format of the questions and be prompted to join in with the question. The illustrations are beautiful and contrast well with the white background. For the white dog, the background is black to make the dog stand out more. An interesting note on the illustration of the class, the class is multiracial with different skin,hair and eye colors.

Author's website: http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html

Where Is Baby's Belly Button? A Lift-the-Flap Book

Katz, K. (2000). Where is baby's belly button?: A lift-the-flap book. New York: Little Simon.

Format: Board Book
Age:0+ 

This is a great book for young children learning what the different names of the parts of their body. There are flaps in this book which make it interactive, but the flaps in this book are relatively large in comparison to other lift the flap books, so young children can lift them easier. The words are large and consist of questions like, "Where are baby's eyes?" under the flap it says "Under her hat."  The images are colorful and many have different patterns within them making them very interesting for infants and toddlers to look at.

Author's Website: http://karenkatz.com/

Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book

Campbell, R. (2011). Dear zoo. London: Macmillan Children's Books.

Format: Board Book
Age: 0+


This book follows the storyline that a child wrote to the zoo to send him an animal. He gets animals like elephants, giraffes, lions, camels, snakes, monkey, a frog and finally a puppy. The animals are under flaps that need to be lifted. This would be a great book for story time as young children would be excited to announce the animals they see and know. Another way that they can be interactive with this story is that the lion is sent back because he is too fierce, and the camel is sent back because he is too grumpy, the children could be prompted to act out these things to keep them involved with the story. They could also be prompted with what sound does a monkey make. This a fun interactive book for young children and even beginning readers.

Author's Website: http://www.rodcampbell.co.uk/

Pat the Bunny

Kunhardt, D. (2001). Pat the bunny. Racine, WI: Golden Press.

Format: Board Book
Age: 0+ 


This interactive book is really fun even for infants. It helps develep fine motor skills to interact with the book. The book format is to say Paul and Judy can do this activity can you? Part of the interactiveness is patting the bunny's soft fur, feeling dad's scratchy beard, reading bunny's small book, looking in a mirror, putting a finger through a ring, smelling flowers and waving bye-bye. This simple book is really fun for infants and toddlers to interact with as it involves so much more than simply lifting tabs. The images within the book are reminiscent of illustrations like those found in the Dick and Jane books by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp. This book is a fun way to introduce interactive reading to small children.

Author's website: http://www.loganberrybooks.com/most-kunhardt.html

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Carle, E. (1987). The very hungry caterpillar. [New York], NY: Philomel Books.

Format: Soft Cover
Age: 2+


The Very Hungry Caterpillar starts as a caterpillar is born. The caterpillar is very hungry. The caterpillar eats one apple on the first day and every day he eats more food. On the final day he eats one green leaf and he is no longer little, but big. He then builds a cocoon around himself and two weeks later becomes a butterfly. The illustrations in this book are captivating and beautiful. They are very colorful and children will love to look at them. The story itself includes counting of the food, and also the days of the week in order. So as children read this book, they are picking up on these lessons. Another thing this book has within it is scientific ideas, like where caterpillars and butterflies come from. Carle even gives time periods. This is a fantastic book for story time, or anytime for that matter.






Author's website: http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html

Guess How Much I Love You

McBratney, S., & Jeram, A. (2000). Guess how much I love you. London: Walker Books.
Format: Board Book
Age:2+


This board book follows Little Nutbrown Hare as he tries to express to his father, Big Nutbrown Hare, just how much he loves him. He measures in arm stretches, hops, and even in measurements to the moon. He father reciprocates with the same thing, except his arm stretches are bigger, he hops higher, and he loves his son to the moon, and back. This is a cute story with endearing images of Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare. It is a perfect bedtime story, and little children often start getting imaginative and trying to come up with their own measurements as well. Even though this is a board book, it is relatively wordy but I think that 2 year olds and older would be able to sit through it. The format offers the child the ability to navigate the book on their own without worrying about damaging the book or having problems flipping the pages.

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can you?

Seuss, D. (1970). Mr Brown can moo! Can you?: Book of wonderful noises. New York, NY: Random House.
Format: Board Book
Age: 1+


This is a board book adaptation of a hardcover book by Dr. Seuss of the same title. This story follows Mr. Brown as he goes around imitating sounds like the sound of a rooster, a cow, an owl, rain and so many more. This book is great for small children because when they are getting a grasp on spoken language, many times it starts with sounds. Most children start by learning what sounds animals make. The illustrations are very colorful and will keep young children interested. There is not very much text aside from the sounds the items or animals are making so it will not be too lengthy for small children. This book turns interactive in that at the end of every page it asks if the reader can make the sounds too. This is a fun book for infants and toddlers, and the board book format allows for easy handling by little fingers.






Dr.Seuss interactive website: http://www.seussville.com/

Are You My Mother?

Eastman, P. D. (1960). Are you my mother? [New York], NY: Beginner Books; distributed by Random House.

Format: Hard Cover

Age: 4+ 

This classic tale opens with a mother bird sitting on her egg in her nest. The egg starts to move around so the mother bird goes to get food for her new baby before it is hatched. However, the egg hatches while the mother bird is gone and the baby bird falls out of it's nest looking for its mother. The baby bird goes on a mission looking for his mother, he asks a cat, a hen, a dog, a cow and even a boat and an airplane. The final thing he runs into is a snort, which places him back in his nest. Where his mother is returning with food for her new baby. This book is lengthy although there is not a lot of text to each page. Children should pick up on the "Are you my mother?" line fairly easily and it is easy to make them part of the story by asking their opinion on whether or not the dog or the hen, etc. is the bird's mother. There are only surrounding backgrounds in illustrations that need them, like to place the boat in the river their needed to be rocks around it.  The illustrations are simple and they couple with the story line beautifully 

Author's website: http://www.pdeastmanbooks.com/