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.

The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg

Dial Books for Young Readers, New York, 2000.
Hardcover edition, 36 pages, ISBN 0-8037-2566-3.

Annie has lost her mitten sometime, somewhere, in the activity-filled day out of doors. She retraces her steps around the sliding hill, the snow forts, the snowman, and the snow angels, finding boots and sweaters belonging to others, but no mitten. She imagines that an eagle has taken the mitten to keep her baby warm, or that a mouse has purloined it for a sleeping bag in the woodpile. Perhaps she should plant a mitten tree to tend until fall harvest, giving ripened mittens as gifts for Christmas, birthdays and Valentine's Day.

It begins to rain, and Annie is called inside for hot chocolate. Through the rain-streaked window, the melting snowman is visible. He seems to have a little red heart in the center of his snowy chest. Surprise! There is Annie's mitten!

This is a fun wintertime story for toddlers and preschoolers, filled with reminiscences of outdoor play, imaginative fancies, and a bit of a mystery, delightfully solved. Kellogg's busy hallmark style works well for group reading, but is more interesting to view up close for all of the whimsical details. Pairs up nicely with Jan Brett's The Mitten.