Baby's First Year by Rick Walton

Illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 2011.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 978-0-399-25025-5.

Big brother and sister celebrate their new sibling's milestones in rhyming guesses:

Baby likes to talk a lot.
But understand?
We do not.
Until one day,
what's that we heard?
Was that our Baby's very first...

WORD!?

Church's vivid pastel backgrounds highlight the simply delineated family figures in this joyful romp through first kisses, smiles, peek-a-boos, laughs, crawling, teeth, books, steps and falls leading up to the first birthday party.

A cheerful focus on family closeness, and a celebratory way to trace important landmarks of baby's development for older children. Walton adds a first year milestone poster on the back of the dust jacket with spots for photos of the momentous events. For fun, the author/illustrator photos on the fly leaf are baby pics.

Recommended for family reading, as well as for a story hour about babies or families.

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

HarperCollins, New York, 2006.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN: 978-0061123221.

Wrapped in brown cardboard paper and weighing a mere 11.5 oz. Net Wt., this item, which is clearly "not a box" needs to be handled "This Side Up".

"Why/what are you sitting (doing, squirting, wearing, standing) in/on this box?" asks an omniscient voice, page after page.

The simple line-drawn bunny accompanied by his suspiciously box-like object repeatedly disabuses the notion of boxhood by responding to the series of queries with increasing fervor, "It's NOT NOT NOT NOT a box!"

The object has, after all, been miraculously transformed by imagination into a racecar (mountain peak, burning house, robot, crow's nest, tugboat, hot air balloon, elephant howdah).

An easy beginning read with repetitive patterns, this little gem also invites small ones to create their own possibilities and visions for "outside of the box" thinking.

Provides a wonderful centerpiece for a "Bring your own Box" decorating event.

ALA Notable Children's Book Winner
Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book, 2007.

Little White Duck by Walt Whippo

Illustrated by Joan Paley. Little, Brown and Company, Boston. 2000.
Hardcover edition. 32 pages. ISBN 0-316-03227-1.

Joan Paley brings lovely layered collage textures to freshen this old classic song recorded years ago by the likes of Burl Ives and Danny Kaye. The setting is a staged performance with the cast (guitar-playing mouse narrator, duck, frog, bug, snake) formally introduced in promo-style posters. To ameliorate the sad demise of the bug and the forlorn emptiness of the water, the last page shows the curtain call of the characters, all bowing, with the frog holding a bouquet of roses as if to say "just kidding, it's only a play...."

The artwork is simply beautiful, the characters presented in magnified view, and the sounds amplified with funky outsized fonts. The music for the song by Bernard Zaritsky is presented just inside the title page. The format is large enough to easily share with a group of toddlers at story hour, but would be wonderful to share with a baby, singing and pointing out the animals. This version is available in boardbook format or with audio CD as well.

For the very young, animal identification and noises can be learned. The story has a narrative flow which can be reiterated by slightly older children. Because of the simple, repetition of the verses, the song is easily committed to memory and used as an early reader to work out  the words by sight.

My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss

Illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 1996.
Hardcover edition, 40 pages, ISBN 0-679-87597-2.

This unusual addition to Seussiana was published posthumously with a request from Seuss himself that the artwork be done by another. In more reflective verse than we accustomed to from the Doctor, he describes his daily moods and emotions in terms of different colors.

"Some days, of course, feel sort of Brown.
Then I feel slow and low, low down.

Then comes a Yellow Day. And wheeeeeeeeee
I am a busy, buzzy bee."

Johnson and Fancher have chosen broadly brushed acrylic colors to articulate the animals suggested by the text, as well as their own gingerbread man cookie cutter main character. The font types are varied to express the emotion or movement of individual words.

This has a large enough format to be used in group readaloud, but would also be a wonderful discussion starter with children about feelings on a parent-caregiver level.

Relates the learning of colors and the expression of emotions. Enhances print awareness with large text and font changes.

American Booksellers Book of the Year (ABBY) Award, Nominee, 1997.

Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming

Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1998.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-8050-5745-5

Mama Cat has three kittens. Fluffy and Skinny carefully copy everything that Mama does. Boris naps. When Mama Cat finally curls up to nap with Fluffy and Skinny, Boris casually "stretches, yawns, washes his paws, and POUNCES on Fluffy, Skinny, and Mama Cat. Then Boris naps."

Fleming once again utilizes her unique textile and stencil technique to create brightly-colored, textured highlights of the cats outside in the natural world. Varying trios of insects and bugs adorn each page, as well as a curious mouse who peeks out from numerous hiding places along the way.

A lovely, whimsical read for toddler storytime about cats. The short refrain, "Boris naps", at the end of each kitty activity is easily picked up by the audience. Searching for the mouse and other creatures makes a good one-on-one time with a parent or caregiver.

Short sentences and very large text assist with print awareness and letter knowledge.

The Best Children's Books of the Year, 1999
Books to Read Aloud to Children of All Ages, 2003
Capitol Choices, 1998
Parenting Magazine's Reading Magic Awards, 1998
School Library Journal Starred Book Review, 1998
Charlotte Zolotow Award, Highly Commended, 1999
Great Lakes' Great Books Award Winner 2001
Michigan Reader's Choice Award, Nominee, 2001

In the Small, Small Pond / In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming

Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1993.                          
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-8050-2264-3.    

Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1991.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-8050-1635-X.

These twin jewels explore the wondrous creatures of pond and field respectively. With a mere two words on most pages, Fleming captures the sound and motion of insects, birds, crustaceans, amphibians, fish, and small mammals. Her unique textiled stencil art creates visual textures and interesting flecks of color, giving a luminescent quality to a child's discovery of the natural world and its fascinating inhabitants.

The large animal depictions, bright colors, and simple animated text makes these great picks for baby, toddler or preschool storytime.

Onomatopoeia and rhyming words enhance phonological awareness, while identification of the creatures will assist in vocabulary building.

In the Small, Small Pond was a 1994 Caldecott Honor designee.

In the Tall, Tall Grass won the following awards and honors:

Booklist Starred Review,1991
ALSC Books to Grow On, 2003
Books to Read Aloud to Children of All Ages, 2003
IRA Children's Choices, 1992
ALA Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 1991
School Library Journal: Best Books, 1991
Please Touch Museum Book Award Winner, 1992  
Redbook Children's Picturebook Awards Winner 1991

So Much by Trish Cooke

Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. Candlewick Press, Cambridge, MA, 1994.
Hardcover edition, 48 pages, ISBN 1-56402-344-3.

Cooke takes us on an affectionate, lighthearted romp through the individual arrivals for a family party, with each member (auntie, uncle, cousin, nannie, gran-gran, and daddy), all greeting the baby with an exuberant burst of love.

"I want to kiss him,
I want to kiss the baby,
I want to kiss him
SO MUCH!"

Between each arrival, the colors of Oxenbury's resting, waiting characters become muted and almost washed out, mimicking Cooke's text:

"They weren't doing anything,
Mom and the baby and Aunt Bibba,
nothing really..."

As each new family member enters, the colors brighten, reflecting the joyous atmosphere and energy generated by Cooke's zestful language.

Great for toddler storytime.

I Went Walking by Sue Williams

Illustrated by Julie Vivas. HMH Books, Boston,1996.
Boardbook edition, 30 pages, ISBN 978-0152007713.

A spiky, redheaded youngster embarks on a stroll and encounters a succession of farm animals who, though initially camouflaged, are recognized, identified by color, and greeted. Unbeknownst to the child, they begin to follow one by one. Although the repetitive text , "I went walking", "What did you see?" and the answer, "I saw a ... looking at me", may seem reminiscent of Bill Martin Jr.'s Brown Bear series, Williams has taken a slightly broader turn. Vivas's expressive watercolors stand out against a white background, enabling the reader to focus on the central characters and action, as well as the large, well-spaced text.

Best for toddler storytime in lap book format.

Print awareness is promoted through repetition of text. Color concepts are taught.

ABA's Pick of the Lists, ALA Notable Children's Book, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book, Book-of-the-Month Club Selection

Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Children, New York, 1991.
Hardcover edition, 28 pages, ISBN 978-0887080548.

Carle's signature watercolor collages serve as the focal point of a small boy's search for his missing cat. The end papers depict eight types of cats from the most familiar lion to exotic subspecies such as puma and jaguar. On each double page spread, the boy repeats his simple query, "Have you seen my cat?". The responder, in a unique cultural setting and dressed in appropriate garb, merely points into the distance. On the following page, is a cat indigenous to that setting. The boy replies, "That is not my cat!" After ostensibly traveling around the world, the boy finally locates his cat with a tumble of kittens around her, the unspoken reason for her disappearance being giving birth. "This is my cat!"

This makes a fun read at a toddler storytime about cats or animals. Paint brightly colored exotic cat pictures a la Carle.

Aids in vocabulary building by identifying different types of cats, and promotes discussion of the geographical and cultural settings where they live. Narrative skills can be enhanced by having a child tell the "untold" story hinted at by the pictures. Due to the limited, repetitive nature of the text, beginning readers can easily memorize and develop sight word knowledge, and "read" the entire book themselves.

Grand Prix des Treize selection, 1973.

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw

Illustrated by Margot Apple. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1986.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-395-41105-X.

With only 2-8 rhyming words on each page, Shaw weaves a hilarious tale of sheep on the road. After jubilantly pushing their jeep free from a "gooey" mudhole, the inattentive sheep crash into a tree and total the vehicle. "Sheep weep."

Apple's whimsical colored pencil drawings portray the mayhem in an endearing manner.

The sheep's misadventures continue in a series: Sheep Take a Hike; Sheep Out to Eat; Sheep in a Shop; Sheep on a Ship.

Great for toddler story hour. Available in 26-page regular or lap-sized boardbooks.

Duck in the Truck by Jez Alborough

HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2000.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-06-028685-7.

Duck's truck becomes stuck in the muck in this funny, rhyming story. Sheep, frog and goat join forces to push, all the while becoming more and more covered in slurpy, squelchy, sucking, mud. Inventing an alternate method of extraction, goat finally frees the truck by means of a tow rope attached to a boat. Duck blithely drives off leaving his friends "STUCK IN THE MUCK!" Alborough's paneled illustrations occasionally run off the page giving the reader a sense of being "in" the story. The body language of the sheep tiptoeing through the mud, and the alternately perplexed, angry, and expressive exertions of the animals add realism and humor to the simple plot line.

Great for toddler storytime. Large close-up pictures, simple rhyming text with engaging descriptors. There is a 16 page boardbook version available for the individual very small child.

Rhyming words and onomatopoeia increase phonological awareness. The sequential nature of the action in the paneled pictures fosters left to right awareness.

One of Junior Magazine's Top 100 Picture Books of All Time.