This funny book has only one word–“Ball”–and is therefore a great example of the impact of punctuation. The dog’s dream sequences are especially creative and playful, so it particularly appropriate as a bedtime story.
Author: Mary Sullivan
Illustrator: Mary Sullivan
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Posted in Picture Books
Tagged Animals, Ball, bedtime, Mary Sullivan, Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book, toys
The Elephant & Piggie series focuses on the interaction of two best friends: Elephant (who is generally cautious and anxious) and Piggie (who is generally spontaneous and joyful). (This odd-couple pairing reminds me of Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad–the stars of a series that I remember fondly but doesn’t interest the boys much.) The books are very funny and inspire lots of dramatic reading aloud and laughter. They are very popular at home, at school, and during trips to the library and the Kennedy Center.
I think the books pictured above are the very best of the series, but it would be hard to go wrong here.
Author: Mo Willems
Illustrator: Mo Willems
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Posted in Early Readers
Tagged Animals, Arnold Lobel, Elephant & Piggie, food, Frog and Toad, Happy Pig Day!, I read this as a kid, I'm a Frog!, Kennedy Center, Listen to My Trumpet!, Mo Willems, series, Should I Share My Ice Cream?, Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book, Today I Will Fly!, We are in a Book!, We are in a Play!
The first Mr. Putter & Tabby book I picked up was Mr. Putter & Tabby Pick the Pears. I loved it. The relationships between Mr. Putter, his fine cat Tabby, their outgoing neighbor Ms. Teaberry, and her good dog Zeke are the heart of the series and the the soft, bittersweet tone and pictures grabbed me immediately. Much to my delight, my boys loved it too. So we’ve slowly been adding to our Mr. Putter & Tabby collection. Like any series, we’ve connected with some of the books more than others. But we’ve read most of the following over and over again (sometimes we’ll read the whole book at a go, other times we’ll read a chapter before bed for several nights running). We also have several others in the series on our wishlist for “someday.” Here is our current collection in the order the books were published:
Author: Cynthia Rylant
Illustrator: Arthur Howard
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Posted in Early Readers
Tagged Animals, Arthur Howard, Christmas, Cynthia Rylant, food, garden, Machines, Mr. Putter & Tabby, series, Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book, toys
