On the Farm by David Elliott

Illustrated by Holly Meade. Candlewick Press, Cambridge, MA, 2007.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 978-0-7636-3322-6.

Meade's stunning and engaging earth-toned, double-spread woodcuts create a masterful backdrop for Elliott's simple, wry poetry. Children will delight in investigating the details of life on the family farm while absorbing clever observations on resident animals.

The Barn Cat
"Mice
had better
think twice."

Horn Book Starred Review
Cybils Award in Children's Poetry Books, Nominee, 2008
Raising Reader Selection, 2009

Let's Make Rabbits by Leo Lionni

Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2002.
Boardbook edition. 28 pages. ISBN 0-375-81564-3

The scissors and the pencil decide to make rabbits: one with a collage of colorful paper, and the other with a simply drawn outline. The two rabbits immediately become friends. So begins Caldecott-winning illustrator, Leo Lionni's, original fable.

The rabbits eat carrots created by the scissors and pencil: one from colored paper, and the other, a simply drawn outline. They nap. Upon waking, the rabbits discover a real carrot from an unknown source. They know it is real because it has a shadow. As they eat it, they become real, too. They know they are real because they also have shadows. Joyously, they hop away.

This simple story with simple drawings against a white background is especially suited to a boardbook edition. The use of scissors and pencil as creative elements begs for a craft project using the same.

Do You Know What I'll Do? by Charlotte Zolotow

Illustrated by Javaka Stepton, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2000.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-06-027879-X.

A doting older sister regales her brother with a series of endearing promises to shower him with love and affection in many small ways throughout their lives together. The text takes the form of a rhythmic question and answer:

"Do you know what I'll do when it snows? I'll make you a snowman....
Do you know what I'll do at the seashore? I'll bring you a shell to hold the sound of the sea."

The boldly-colored 3-dimensional painted wood and fabric collages stand out against the stark white pages of the book. The emotional bond between the characters is evident not only in their expressions, but in their intertwined intimacy.

This story can be used as an easy reader due to the repetition and simplicity of the text, but is enjoyable to read aloud at a family storyhour.

First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2007.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 978-1-59643-272-7.

Seeger cleverly masterminds a new look at the age-old chicken vs. the egg controversy. "First the .... " The dust jacket die-cut exposing a large white egg breaks through to the "First the..." hardcover illustration of a hen. The back cover of the dust jacket displays "Then the...." with the picture of a chicken. The back of the hardcover completes the eternal cycle with "Then the ...." with a picture of an egg. (Sadly, this visual humor is largely inaccessible to those using library copies of the book with the jackets mercilessly taped down for posterity.)

Inside, thick acrylic brush daubs on canvas provide colored backdrops for the sparing text and die-cut story elements. Seeger begins with the fundamentals of creating this book. First... the egg, tadpole, seed, caterpillar. Then... the chicken, frog, flower, butterfly. First... the word, the paint. Then... the story, the picture (which contains the chicken, frog, flower, butterfly), and ending once more with "First the chicken, then the egg."

Assists young children with the understanding of cause and effect, or sequencing, in nature as well as in the creative process, providing concepts for discussion.

Caldecott Honor Book
Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book
ALSC Notable Children's Book
New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Books of the Year
Horn Book Magazine Fanfare List
Arizona Grand Canyon Young Readers Master List
Capitol Choices Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens
Michigan Great Lakes Great Books Award Master List
South Dakota Prairie Bud Award Master List

Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems

Hyperion Books for Children, New York, 2008.
Hardcover edition, 58 pages, ISBN 978-142311347-8.

Quiet, thoughtful Gerald the elephant and irrepressible Piggie are dear friends who are "ready to play outside." Piggie is brimming over with plans until it begins to rain, increasing in strength until there is a torrential downpour. Piggie is angry and frustrated, his text balloons becoming increasingly larger and capitalized. Suddenly Piggie is dry. Gerald has kindly extended one large ear as an umbrella over Piggie's head. Nearby some worms are exulting in the wet weather, playing and jumping around. Gerald suggests that perhaps he and Piggie can have fun as well. They begin to run, skip and jump in the rain. Piggie is disappointed when the rain stops, but Gerald has a clever solution. He uses his trunk to spray Piggie with water.

Willems packs a lot of story into very simple drawings, colored gray for Gerald and pink for Piggie. Their exuberant body language and facial expressions delightfully mirror the range of emotions expressed throughout the brief encounter. Children easily relate to the disappointment of a play day potentially ruined by poor weather. The ability of the characters to adapt and make the best of the situation, and the kindly actions of Gerald toward Piggie, model important life skills.

The easy repetitive nature of the vocabulary, short sentences, and large well-spaced fonts make this a wonderful early reader.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, 2009

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Greenwillow Books, New York, 2004.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-06-058828-4.

Poor little kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk. Her persistent attempts to reach it result in a taste of firefly, an ouchy tumble, an fruitless exhausting run, a scary tree perch and a dunk in the pond. After each failed exertion, "Still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting." Kitten finally ambles home, "wet and sad and tired and hungry," to find a real bowl of milk on the porch.

Henkes uses black pencils and goache to recreate the nighttime setting with heavy outlines delineating the gray, shadowed forms illuminated by the moon. Reminiscent of Frank Asch's Moonbear series.

Perfect for toddler / preschool story hour. The format is large and the illustrations clearly outlined with large black text. Predictably repetitive and simple enough vocabulary for use as an early reader.

• Caldecott Medal Winner
• Bulletin Blue Ribbon
• Charlotte Zolotow Award
• ALA Notable Children’s Book
• Texas 2X2 Reading List
• Book Sense Pick

The Baby BeeBee Bird by Diane Redfield Massie

Illustrated by Steven Kellogg, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2000.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-06-028084-0.

"Beebeebobbibobbi, beebeebobbibobbi, beebeebobbibobbi!" The baby beebee bird has been sleeping all day at the zoo, and wakes up to sing all night while other exhausted animals try to catch a few Zzzs. The next day, the bears, tigers, hippos, elephants, seals, moose, and water buffalo plot their revenge by yelling, shrieking, roaring, trumpeting, bellowing and thundering, "BEEBEEBOBBI!" over and over for hours while the poor baby bird attempts to nap. Finally peace descends on the entire zoo, and the baby bird discovers that "Nighttime is really best for sleeping... especially for very little birds."

A hilarious read aloud which takes a little practice in creating different animal voices and in articulating the tongue twister phrase rapidly and repeatedly. Great for toddlers and preschoolers.

"Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth by Eric Carle

Philomel Books, New York, 2002
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-399-23954-5.

Eric Carle's sloth hangs from a veritable bouquet of color in this lovely tribute, and that is pretty much all that the sloth does--hang. Any activity at all is performed "slowly, slowly, slowly". The other jungle animals accuse him of being slow, quiet, boring, and lazy. After thinking and thinking and thinking "for a long, long, long time," the sloth concedes somewhat to his detractors, but defends himself with a series of other adjectives as well. "I am also unflappable, languid, stoic, impassive, sluggish, lethargic, placid, calm, mellow, laid-back,  and well, slothful!" However... he is NOT lazy.

Jane Goodall has written an informational Forward to the book, and Carle has added his own comments on the back cover, bemoaning the hectic life of society which needs to take a lesson from the unhurried sloth. The back end papers display the exotic collection of jungle creatures from the story in characteristically Carle-painted collage.

A great read for toddler or preschool story hour.

Children may learn that there are different temperaments and attributes of people as well as animals, that everyone is not the same, and that differences are good.

Parent's Choice Silver Honor Book, 2002.
ALA Notable Children's Book, 2003.

The Cat Barked? by Lydia Monks

Dial Books for Young Readers, New York, 1999.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-8037-2338-5.

Longing to be something you're not is a common theme among humans, and evidently, among cats as well, according to Monks. When a marmalade cat observes her housemate, a Scottie, living the good life, the cat jealously recounts a list of the wonderful things about dogdom. Her spiky-haired owner reminds it of the serious liabilities of being a dog and conversely, of the great advantages of being feline. Mischievous watercolors interspersed with photo collage create a perky background to Monks' simply rhyme.

Cute addition to any toddler storytime about cats and dogs. Take a vote on who would like to be a cat or a dog.

Learning to consider and list attributes of an animal, object, or situation in order to make judgments about them. Early reader with simple, well-spaced text.

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

Illustrated by Anita Jeram. Candlewick Press, Cambridge, MA. 1994.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 1-56402-473-3.

In this sweetly contested protestation of who loves the most, Little Nutbrown Hare asks Big Nutbrown Hare, "Guess how much I love you." When Big Nutbrown Hare declines to even attempt to guess, Little Nutbrown Hare extends his arms as wide as he can. Yet no matter what physical metaphor Little Nutbrown Hare performs to express his love, Big Nutbrown Hare can always do it wider, higher, better, and more. Even as Little Nutbrown Hare falls asleep murmuring "I love you right up to the moon," Big Nutbrown Hare whispers the last word, " I love you right up to the moon--and back."

Jeram's whimsical hares perfectly complement McBratney's tender dialogue. This book oozes affectionate appeal. Works for storytime, but absolutely delightful for bedtime or personal time with family members.

ALA Notable Children's Book, 1996.

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

Harper & Row, New York. 1947
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, pre-ISBN.

White letters on navy blue pages.

"Sometimes it looked like Spilt Milk. But it wasn't Spilt Milk."

A white splotch. A mystery.

So begins Charles G. Shaw's simple gallery of shapes and suggested answers to an unspoken question. Twenty-five perplexing pages later, he finally reveals the true nature of the milky white object.

 "Sometimes it looked like Spilt Milk. But it wasn't Spilt Milk.
It was just a Cloud in the Sky."

A wonderful thriller for those listening for the first time. In groups, kids who know the conclusion won't be able to keep themselves from yelling it out, so an admonition at the beginning not to spoil the secret for others may help. Before reading each description, it is fun to take guesses as to what a particular blob might look like. Begs for cloud-making craft activity on blue paper, either with white pastels or crayons, or with cotton balls and glue. At home, going outside to find pictures in the clouds is an added bonus.

Incredibly easy to memorize with repetitive text and visual clues, eventually leading to sight reading. Obvious left to right movement of text and page turns.

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, San Diego, 1987.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-15-232579-1.

Ehlert's solid backgrounds and simple brightly colored shapes clearly delineate the tools, seed types and basic procedures for planting, caring for, and harvesting veggies before washing, chopping, cooking and eating as vegetable soup. She places a few large words on each page, and each item is carefully identified with small labels.

This is an excellent first book about gardening and is well suited to program use for toddlers and preschoolers. It may be accompanied by the quintessential planting activity of a bean seed in a styro cup with a little potting soil.

Promotes print motivation through labeling, print awareness and letter knowledge through limited sections of large type, and narrative skills in detailing of sequential processes of gardening. Enhances vocabulary development of tools, plants and activities related to food production.

Red Rubber Boot Day by Mary Lyn Ray

Illustrated by Lauren Stringer. Hartcourt, Inc., San Diego. 2000.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-15-213756-4.

"I press my nose against the screen and smell the smell of screen and rain. I listen. I watch." After breathing in the smells, sounds and sights of a rainy day, Ray's young boy retreats to enjoy a variety of  indoor activities: drawing, blocks, reading, cars, hiding, tea party. Tired of amusing himself inside, he bursts outside to splash in puddles wearing his red rubber boots. "Red boots. My boots. Red rubber made-for-rain boots." His neighbor, with a touch of eccentricity, stands barefoot on the lawn. "It is a fine thing feeling wet grass on bare feet in green rain." Our boy disagrees, and continues to enjoy "slapping, stirring puddles" in his scarlet footwear until he "wade[s]  into blue sky", and the sun has come out.

Stringer has created close-up views of the child's world in full page warm acrylics. The text moves in simple sentences briefly on each page. This is a great book for sharing in a toddler or preschool storytime about weather or rainy days.

The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort

Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Henry Holt and Company, New York. 2000.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-8050-5952-0.

The story begins long before this song parody of "Wheels on the Bus" rolls into action. The illustrations commence on the title page where a seal is laughing and playing ball at a bus stop. A hand lettered sign reads, "Come to the *BIG PARTY* everyone invited!" More pics of the bus stop with a waiting family of people adorn the copyright page, and the dedication page shows the bus carrying folks away into town.

"The seals on the bus go
ERRP, ERRP, ERRP,
ERRP, ERRP, ERRP,
ERRP, ERRP, ERRP.
The seals on the bus go
ERRP, ERRP, ERRP,
All around the town."

The mayhem begins, as the tiger, the geese, the rabbits, the monkeys, the vipers, the sheep, and the skunks all have their verses before the people on the bus go, "HELP, HELP, HELP!" The bus arrives at the party in the nick of time, and a good time is had by all.

Karas captures the hilarity of the crazy bus ride in colored pencil with a few newspaper shapes stuck on. The animal sounds move all over the pages, adding to the sense of chaos.

Most kids know the tune and can easily pick up the repeated chant with a few motions thrown in. A rowdy time will be had by all at this story time.

Easy memorization of the chant leads to picking out simple words of text. Animal recognition and onomatopoeia of their vocalizations aids in phonological awareness.

Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Fleming

Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2002.

Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-8050-6848-1.

Fleming's handy mouse is kept busy performing 26 different operations and using a variety of tools as he airbrushes, buttons, carves, dyes, erases... his way through the entire alphabet. Her signature fabric paint collage textures are colorful and engaging. A pull-out alphabet poster lives in the back of the book.

Fun for any storyhour where a variety of occupations are featured.

Assists in enhancing letter knowledge, as well as vocabulary of great nouns and verbs related to handyman functions.

The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2003
Booklist Starred Review, 2002
Capitol Choices, 2002
The Children's Literature Choice List, 2002
ALA Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2002
ALA Notable Children's Books, 2003
Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award Nominee 2004
South Carolina Picture Book Award, Nominee, 2005-2006;

Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson

Illustrated by Jane Chapman. Margaret K. McElderry, New York, 2003.
Hardcover edition, 40 pages, ISBN 0-689-84509-X.

Poor Bear awakes from his winter nap with a very empty tummy. One by one, his woodland friends, Mouse, Hare, and Badger lead him to strawberries, fresh clover and a great fishing spot, "...but he still wants more!" Back at his winter den, more friends are cooking up a delicious springtime surprise party, but Bear has gotten so big from all his eating that he gets stuck trying to get in his own front door. The party moves outside to accommodate Bear, and after he gobbles up all the treats himself and falls asleep with a tummy which is finally "full, full, full", his friends find that they, too, "want more".

Chapman's delightful characters sit on the cover with hands clasped before their mouths and eyebrows raised in wistful anticipation of the feast to come inside. She fills the large format pages with expressive close-ups backed by springtime shades of the forest, making this an easy book to show around to a large group. The text is large and widely spaced with no more than four rhyming lines per page.

Great for a toddler storyhour about bears or springtime. The recurring line in the rhyme, "but bear wants more", can be shouted out by the audience.

A sequel to Wilson and Chapman's award winning, Bear Snores On.

Assists in vocabulary building with less familiar animals such as badger, gopher, mole, and a hare instead of a rabbit. Large text spread across pages creates print awareness as the words move left to right. Rhyming verses enhance phonological awareness.

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback

Penguin Books, Toronto, 1997.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-670-86939-2.

Simms Taback takes this classic folksong to another level, both in content and illustration. The old lady herself is portrayed against an orange backdrop, where die-cut holes expose the contents of her ever-growing stomach on one side, and the next animal to be eaten on the other. The opposing black page is relegated to alternating strips of colored text, and busy cutouts of artistic commentary on the featured animal. The book is jam-packed with hilarious rhyming asides and sight gags. Even the back cover is adorned with a prodigious fly collection, each neatly labeled. At the sad conclusion, the moral is so patently ridiculous, that most children won't dwell on the death factor.

This is a great storytime read or dramatic sing-a-long book. Asides can be verbalized or not. It can be performed with the book, or with a puppet or flannel board lady who has each animal added to her stomach in turn. A potential craft project would be to color and/or cut out characters for a paperbag old lady for children to perform with at home. On an individual basis, the book is especially enjoyable when examined closely to see all of the Taback's clever styling.

The rhyme's the thing for phonological awareness in this little gem, but print motivation is all over this book in captions, text strips, and asides in the sky.

Caldecott Honor Book 1998, ALA Notable Book 1998.

Pete's a Pizza by William Steig

HarperCollins, New York, 1998.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 978-1591127406.

Pete is sad and bored because it's raining and he can't play outside. His father decides to make him into a pizza to cheer him up. Steig creates a happy family game where Pete is kneaded into dough, sprinkled with pretend ingredients, and baked in the couch/oven. By the time the pizza runs away and is captured and hugged, the sun has come out again.

Steig's simple, cartoonish illustrations are colored lightly on white space, focusing attention on the characters and the action of the story. The text is concise and direct with no more than two lines on each page, simply narrating the lighthearted drama.

This is fun to add to a toddler story hour about pizza or imagination, and is especially enjoyable to recreate at home.

Narrative skills can be enhanced by sequentially relating the process of pizza making.

Charlotte Zolotow Award Honor Book ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice IRA/CBC Children's Choice

ALA Notable Children’s Book Bulletin Blue Ribbon (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books) Publishers Weekly Best Book

Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss

Random House, New York, 1963.
Harcover edition, 64 pages, ISBN 0-394-80029-X.

This terrific early reader is pure Seuss, complete with quirky characters and zany happenings. Although there is essentially no plot line, on each page the book introduces easy sight words in large text with ample white space between.  Two or more short rhyming words are shown and then used in a simple sentence. The action illustrations clearly explain the text. At the end are a few groups of run-together words to encourage beginning compound deciphering.

Best pored over by children learning to decipher language and adults who help them.

I Love You, Little One by Nancy Tafuri

Scholastic Press, New York, 1999.
Boardbook edition, 15 pages, ISBN 0-439-13746-2.

Tafuri creates a comforting litany of motherhood in the context of the natural world. A young deer, duck, rabbit, mouse, bear, owl and human child, each ask, "Do you love me, Mama?" The mother replies, "Yes, little one, I love you as.... the river, the pond, the earth, the wild rye, the mountain, the oak tree, the stars love you." She goes on to describe her love in terms of the nurturing elements of the home environment which surrounds them, and concludes with the refrain, "forever, and ever, and always." The soothing colors and close-up detail of the drawings create a safe and intimate feel to each venue.

The boardbook format is best used between a child and parent or caregiver. Although any time is a good time to reassure children that they are loved, relaxing before bedtime is particularly appropriate.

As with any book, children develop print awareness from following the left to right reading and page turning sequence. The repetitive refrain makes it easy for children to memorize and follow along.  They begin to develop letter knowledge in following the text from words which they have memorized.