Category Archives: Picture Books

The Lady with the Alligator Purse

Posted on January 27, 2014 | Comments Off on The Lady with the Alligator Purse

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Miss Lucy had a baby,
His name was Tiny Tim,
She put him in the bathtub
To see if he could swim.

Does anyone else remember jump roping to this song?   If so, this book starts out as you remember it, but things soon start to change.  Before you know it, the lady with the alligator purse is prescribing pizza to cure what ails the baby and the doctor, the nurse, Miss Lucy, et al. are happily feasting away.  My youngest has a tradition of reading this “pizza book” with his Dad at bedtime when we’ve had pizza for diner.  It’s a keeper and it comes in both board and picture book form.

Author:  unknown
Illustrator:  Nadine Bernard Westcott

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Posted in Board Books, Picture Books

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Library Lion

Posted on January 23, 2014 | Comments Off on Library Lion

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This is another book with a great premise.  Libraries and lions really do (or should) go together.  The idea of a lion who basically adopts a library would be enough to carry a book.  But this book goes further.  It is also a story about friendship and about rules.  Rules, this story says, are very important.  But sometimes, when there is a very good reason (like friendship), some rules can be broken.

This books trusts kids to be able to understand nuance.  As someone who spends a lot of time focused on rules (“Elbows off the table!”), I appreciate that.  And, leaving aside all nuance, the kids greatly appreciate the frequent opportunities to roar along.

Author:  Michelle Knudsen
Illustrator:  Kevin Hawkes

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Posted in Picture Books

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Diary of a Wombat

Posted on January 22, 2014 | Comments Off on Diary of a Wombat

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This funny story is entirely narrated by a deadpan wombat (an Australian marsupial that look like a brown bear cub that somehow got mixed up with a koala and groundhog).  Initially, her days are unvaried; she spends her time sleeping, eating grass, and scratching. But when some new neighbors move in, her life (and theirs!) starts to change. After some consideration (and a lot of carrots) she decides “that humans are easily trained and make quite good pets.”  (One suspects the humans have reached a rather different conclusion about wombats.)

This story, with its brevity and constant sleeping, is perfect for bedtime.

Author:  Jackie French
Illustrator:  Bruce Whatley

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Posted in Picture Books

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The Three Billy Goats Fluff

Posted on January 20, 2014 | Comments Off on The Three Billy Goats Fluff

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Trolls usually don’t have a great reputation (the cute troll family in Frozen is definitely an outlier).  But how would you like it if every time you tried to sleep someone went trip-trapping all over your ceiling?  Poor Mr. Troll hasn’t slept well since he moved under the bridge leading to a lush green field.  How can he get the rest he needs while letting his neighbors (the goats of the title) get the grass they need?  Luckily, Mother Goat is a knitter and she works up an unorthodox solution.  This story is fun to read and never quite overly cute and fluffy.  My youngest particularly enjoys it.

Author:  Rachael Mortimer
Illustrator:  Liz Pichon

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Posted in Picture Books

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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Posted on January 19, 2014 | Comments Off on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

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I tried reading the original version of Alice in Wonderland to my oldest about a year ago as our before-bed-chapter-book.  It did not click; we abandoned it.  This version, on the other hand, has been entirely successful.  It contains the essence of the story, the visuals are wonderful, and it never feels too long (unlike the various movies).  Both boys are thrilled when I pull it out.

Author:  Adapted from Lewis Carroll’s book
Illustrator:  Robert Sabuda in the style of John Tenniel

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Posted in Picture Books

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Tuesday

Posted on January 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Tuesday

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Like George Shrinks and When Dinosaurs Came with Everything, this book has one great concept (spontaneously-flying frogs!) and joyfully explores it.  There are only two full sentences, but this is a real charmer.

Author:  David Wiesner
Illustrator:  David Wiesner

 

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Kitten’s First Full Moon

Posted on January 17, 2014 | Comments Off on Kitten’s First Full Moon

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It was Kitten’s first full moon.
When she saw it, she thought,
There’s a little bowl of milk in the sky.
And she wanted it.

Kitten tries (and tries) to reach the little bowl of milk that she wants so much.  Things do not go well.  (Poor Kitten!)  But, as you might expect, there is a happy ending waiting.

This soft, sweet, short story is perfect for just before bed.

Author:  Kevin Henkes
Illustrator:  Kevin Henkes

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Posted in Picture Books

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Remarkable Animals: 1,000 Amazing Amalgamations

Posted on January 15, 2014 | Comments Off on Remarkable Animals: 1,000 Amazing Amalgamations

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It is remarkable how long this book keeps us all entertained.  First the boys make a truly wacky animal by flipping through various flaps made up of pieces of ten real animals (the picture above is of one of their creations).  Than I do my best to pronounce the resulting name and we read the description of our newly-created beast.  Much laughter ensues.  This is perfect for situations when you will be waiting on line (we used it this year when we were waiting to see Santa and the time flew by) or just want a good laugh.

Author:  Tony Meeuwissen
Illustrator:  Tony Meeuwissen

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Posted in Non-fiction, Picture Books

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I Love You, Mister Bear

Posted on January 13, 2014 | Comments Off on I Love You, Mister Bear

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Continuing our mini-trend of children and beloved toys, this is a sweet and quiet book about a girl who finds a worse-for-wear bear at a tag sale.  She purchases him (with some help from dad), repairs him (with some help from mom), bathes him, and loves him.  When my oldest was a toddler, this was his very favorite book for a long, long time.  I read it to him over and over and over again.  Now he barely seems to remember it (and his little brother has not taken much of an interest in it).  But I suspect this book will live with us forever.

Author:  Sylvie Wickstrom
Illustrator:  Sylvie Wickstrom

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Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale

Posted on January 12, 2014 | Comments Off on Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale

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This book was our introduction to Mo Willems, a man who probably needs no introduction if you’ve had kids in the ten years or so.  (If you haven’t, the quick version is he is brilliant.)  Like his other books, Knuffle Bunny has a straightforward story:  a favorite toy is left behind in a laundromat, communication issues ensue between a (barely) pre-verbal toddler and her father, and a happy ending is ultimately achieved.  Like his other books, the art is cartoonish.  And, like his other books, it absolutely connects with kids.  This is an especially fun story for reading aloud–lots of voices and sounds and the kids love to hear how Knuffle Bunny is beloved, lost, and found and how the heroine finds her words.

Author: Mo Willems
Illustrator: Mo Willems

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Posted in Picture Books

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