Eensy Weensy Spider

Title: Eensy Weensy Spider
Author: Mary Anne Hoberman & Nadine Bernard Westcott
Publish Date: September 1, 2004
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 32
ISBN: 0316734128

Price: $6.99
Classification: Picture Book, Songs and Music

Annotation: In this book, long time favorite fingerplay song, Eensy Weensy Spider, is extended to include longer lyrics, new friends, and new fingerplays.

Evaluation: This book includes music, fingerplay directions, and games to play. The book is perfect for families new to fingerplay or for families who love the original song and want more. Seeing the song in print supports print awareness and the fingerplay songs supports fine motor skills and sequence and order, just to name a few.

Author Website: http://www.maryannhoberman.com/

One Watermelon Seed

Title: One Watermelon Seed

Author: Celia Barker Lottridge

Illustrator: Pat Katkau

Publish Date: 1st edition (Mar 12 2008)

(First published in 1986)

Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Pages: 32 Hardcover

ISBN: 1554550343

Classification: Picture Books

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Concept Books

Age: Early Education, Ages 2-7

Annotation: Count along as Max and Josephine tend to their garden!

Evaluation: This adorable watermelon counting book is presented in a bright new version with new cover art and illustrations. Max and Josephine plant and take care of their garden while counting along in this book while young readers and teachers and librarians follow along! Then you can count in sets of tens as the garden comes to fruitation and at the same time you can search for pictures of little garden creatures hiding in the pages. I love color when reading to and with children! You'll love hidden educational opportunities! Celia Barker Lottridge's language is lyrical and fun!

Cool Notes about this Title: On the Toronto Public Library's 10 best books of 2008 list for Children up to 5 years of age

Website: Pat Katkau http://www.patkauillustration.com/picturebooks10.html

Charlie and Lola Look After Your Planet

Title:Charlie and Lola Look After Your Planet
Author: Lauren Child

• Reading level: 3-5 and Beyond
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dial (March 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803733356

Price: $16.99

Classification: Picture Book

Notable Features: Encourages Recycling, Includes Recycling Poster, Printed on Eco-Friendly Paper

Annotation: Favorite siblings Charlie and Lola are book and ready to clean out their room. But what should they do with a the stuff? Learn all about recycling and start your own project with an included poster to keep track!

Evaluation: Charlie and Lola always delight the entire family. A great read aloud that has a fun relatable story with a great message, savvy parents can appreciate.

Author Website: http://www.milkmonitor.com/

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale

Title: Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale
Author: Mo Willems
Publish Date: 1St Edition edition (July 12, 2004)
Publisher: Hyperion Book Childrens
Pages: 40
ISBN: 0786818700

Price: $15.99

Classification: Picture Book

Age Range/Reading Level: Preschool through First Grade

Series: Knuffle Bunny

Annotation: Daddy and Trixie and Trixie's favorite toy, Knuffle Bunny go to the laundromat. But, something very important get left behind!

Evaluation: The mixed media style and relatable content not only make this book a fun choice for read aloud, but deals with real-life connections to favorite toys that lots of children have. Especially great for exploring emotions and print awareness. This book will become a funny favorite for the entire family!

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

If You Give A Cat Cupcake

Title: If You Give A Cat A Cupcake
Author: Laura Numeroff
Publish Date: September 30, 2008
Publisher: Harpercollins
Pages: 32
ISBN: 0060283246

Price: $16.99
Genre: Picture Books
Series: If You Give A...Series

Annotation: The beloved and hilarious If You Give a Mouse A Cookie series is back with it's latest cause and effect romp! But this time, if you give a cat a cupcake, he may want some sprinkles to go with it!

Evaluation: A great book to introduce early literacy skills while at the same time having a laugh! You can't go wrong with this series, and in no time, even little pre-readers will be memorizing and following the text as you read! It's read aloud in its highest interest form!

Author Website: http://lauranumeroff.com/

Guess How Much I Love You

Title: Guess How Much I Love You
Author: Sam McBratney
Publish Date: 2008
Publisher: Candlewick
Pages: 32
ISBN: 0763641758

Price: Hardcover $16.99
Classification: Picture Book
Genre: Fiction

Annotation: During a bathtime routine, nutbrown hare and his baby bunny go back in forth about who loves who more. Daddy Nutbrown Hare shows every daddy's sentiment by coming back with more each time.

Evaluation: Something about this book is very appealing. As if the sentiment wasn't enough to make for a sweet read aloud, the illustrations are classic and modern, somehow, at the same time. This book is a reassuring delight for young one's that need their daddy's (and parents in general) soothing words of love but in a "baby play" way. In this way it's also a developmentally appropriate illustration of emotions as well as a great pre-literacy to early literacy read aloud. It also encourages conversation, predictive guessing, and physical movement while copying the Hare's Gestures.

Authors Website:

Chicken, Pig, Cow

Title: Chicken, Pig, Cow

Author: Ruth Ohi

Publish Date: August 15, 2008

Publisher: Annick Press

Pages: 32

ISBN: 1554511569

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Picture Book

Annotation: A new spin on a toy story! Chicken, cow, and pig meet the dog when their little girl is out!

Evaulation: Chicken, Pig, and Cow are toys who live is a popsicle stick barn which sadly doesn't haven't a door or a roof! The animal toys don't mind this at all-MOST OF THE TIME! But, one day when the little girl who owns them doesn't come home, instead they get a dog! without a roof his this presents a precarious situation indeed! All's well that ends well when the animals make a new friend (yup, the dog!) and even get a door on their popsicle home barn!

Kids will ABSOLUTELY love the imagination, the whimsy of ideas, and the watercolor pictures in this book! I wish I had it as a kid! Instead, I will have to bring it to my class! Not to mention it's a wonderful story about unpredictable friends and happy endings!

Website: http://www.ruthohi.com/

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Title: The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Author: B. G. Hennessy

Pages: 40

Price: $16.99

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Publisher Date: March 7, 2006

ISBN: 0689874332

Classification: Picture Books/Fairy Tales

Annotation: The Boy who tends sheep is bored and doesn't know what to do with himself. So out on his little mountainside he makes up a new game, one that he thinks will be really funny. He cries, "WOLF!!!!!!!!!!!" And everybody in the town below comes running...but is this game really funny at all? And what happens when the wolf really comes?

Evaluation: This book takes an old folk tale and familiar saying a new, modern spin, that even the most modern children will be able to relate to. The illustrations are really at the heart of this retelling. They are vulgar (but tame enough for little eyes) and with this edge, convey the feeling of mischief the boy gets himself and the town into. If trying to teach a lesson, or just have a down right good laugh, you'll love this little book!

Author Website: http://www.bghennessy.com/

Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Flip Up Fairy Tales)

Title: Goldilocks And The Three Bears (Flip Up Fairy Tales)

Author: Estelle Corke

ISBN-13:

978-0859536080

Price: $7.99

Publisher:

Child's Play International

Pages:

24

Classification: Fairy Tale/ Lift the Flap Book

Annotation:

Goldilocks wanted to try everything in the three bears house! And so will little readers, as they delightfully try the flip-ups that appear throughout the lively retelling of this classic story.

Evaluation:

"Open" the front door and see the three bears on the other side leaving their home as they let their famous bowls of porridge cool. A surprise is on every page, just like the surprise little bear finds in his bed when he gets home! This is a fun, interactive way to experience a classic fairytale and a storytime in general!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See + CD

Title: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See + CD

Author: Bill Martin and Eric Carle

Price: $9.99

Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners; Pap/Com edition

Publisher Date: August 4, 2009

ISBN: 1427207267

Classification: Picture Book and AudioBook

Annotation: Brown Bear...what do you see? A book full of colors and rhythm and animals...see?

Evaluation: Enthusiastically colored pictures side by side with children's favorite animals make this story about looking and learning colors also a calming pulse of rhythm that will soothe as well as entertain. Sure to be a favorite. And with the CD to listen too, children will be able to get lost in the colors!

Author Website: http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html

Fancy Nancy's Fancy Words

Title: Fancy Nancy's Fancy Words

Author: Jane O'Connor

Pages: 32

Price: $12.99

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publisher Date: April 22, 2008

ISBN: 0061549231

Classification: Concept Book/Picture Book

Annotation: An "fancy" A-Z word book in resplendent Fancy Nancy ways!

Evaluation: Fancy Nancy gives a word and a sentence for each letter of the alphabet side by side with the every amazing illustrations Fancy Nancy Books always have!

Fancy Nancy Website: http://www.fancynancyworld.com/

Alice and Greta

Title: Alice and Greta

Author: Steven J. Simmons and Cyd Moore

Pages: 32

Price: $7.95 (Paperback)

Publisher: Charlesbridge+ Publishing

Publisher Date: July 1999

ISBN: 0881069760

Classification: Picture Books

Annotation: Whatever you do comes back to you?

While good witch Alice uses her powers for good, Greta, bad witch and sister to Alice, uses her powers for quite the opposite. In this colorful and cool fairy tale of good witch bad witch, Greta must learn "the brewmerang principle": that whatever you "brew" comes back to you.

Evaluation: I absolutely love this book. It is one of my all time favorites. I love to read it aloud (it's best for 3, 4, or above in age). A wonderful tale about doing good in a classic good witch bad witch genre. Kids are mesmerized by the vidiv colors and root for the witches and their antics. This book and it's series of titles are all ripe to be re-found as a special title in children's literature. The illustrations are phenomenal.

Illustrator Website: http://www.cydmoore.com/books_colormagic.html

The Subway Mouse

Title: The Subway Mouse

Author: Barbara Reid

Publish Date: May 2005

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.

Pages: 40pp

IBSN: 0439728274

Classification: Picture Books

Annotation: Nib & Lola search for a the end of the tunnels under the subway and find the world outside a very different & dangerous place.

Evaluation: Under a busy subway lives a cute little mouse named Nib who lives with his mouse family. Stories are told amongst the mice about the "tunnel's end" which he absolutely loves. Though the stories say it's dangerous, he romanticizes the idea of the Tunnel's end and like "pack rat" he collects and arranges it within his tunnel home. After having it ruined by some cousin mice, nib goes off in search of the REAL Tunnel's End. While on his adventure he pairs up with Lola, a girl mouse who makes it out of the tunnel with him where they are both shocked by a world that is even MORE dangerous then they could have anticipated-but equally exciting and beautiful. AND...Oh wow! The plasticine art here takes my breath away. Personally, I haven't scene anything quite like this before (to be honest I hadn't even heard of plasticine art before this book), but it's truly amazing. The story is cute but the art definitely takes the center stage here. I was so excited by it that I thought I would share her youtube page where she shows how she actually does this art. It's especially interesting how she creates perspective by starting in the back and working forward!

Barbara Reid on Youtube (Including videos of how she creates the illustrations for her Plasticine Art)!! http://www.youtube.com/user/BarbaraReidAuthor