75) How are you Peeling? by Saxton Freymann and Joose Elffers

Bibliographic Citation: Freymann, Saxton and Elffers, Joost. How Are You Peeling?. Turtleback, 2004. 48 pages. ISBN: 978-1417643189

Format: Hardcover

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation:  Fruits and vegetables are transformed into expressive faces. 

Reflection:  A variety of fruits and vegetables are carved to show various emotions. The rhyming text and questions encourage children to discuss the range of feelings they may have.  The carved expressions on the vegetable faces help children associate the facial expression to the emotion described, “Feeling sorry and ashamed? Or embarrassed to be blamed?”  Another talking point would be to name the fruits and vegetables and their colors.  Children and adults will find the pictures of the carved fruits and vegetables interesting and amusing. 

Categorization Tags: Vegetable Carving, Emotions, Juvenile literature,

74) Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Bibliographic Citation: Henkes, Kevin. Kitten’s First Full Moon. Greenwillow Books, 2004. 40 pages. ISBN: 978-0060588281

Awards: Caldecott Medal (2005), Charlotte Zolotow Award (2005), An ALA Notable Children's Book for Younger Readers (2005)

Format: Hardcover  

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.kevinhenkes.com/

Age Group: Ages 2-4 Years

Annotation:  A kitten thinks the full moon is a bowl of milk and is determined to get it. 

Reflection:  The kitten sees her first full moon and mistakes it for a bowl of milk.  She tries jumping for it, climbing a tree, and leaping into a pond but ends up hurt, wet, exhausted, and disappointed.  The hungry kitten goes home and finds a bowl of milk on the porch.  The rhythmic and repetitive line, “Still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting,” follow each of the kitten’s failed attempts.  The black and white illustrations provide great contrast and some pictures follow a sequencing pattern like a comic strip.  The kitten’s facial expressions mirror what she is feeling and the book ends with “What a night!” 

Categorization Tags: Cats, Animals, Moon, Caldecott Medal, Juvenile Fiction,

73) Piggies by Audrey Wood and Don Wood

Bibliographic Citation: Wood, Audrey and Wood, Don. Piggies. Illustrated by Don Wood. HMH Books, 2005. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-0152056322

Format: Lap-Sized Board Book    

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.audreywood.com

Age Group: Ages 2-4 Years

Annotation:  Piggies play and dance on a child’s fingers and toes before going to sleep. 

Reflection:  This board book has only a few words on each page so young children can keep their attention on the colorful piggies.  This book teaches children opposite concepts like hot/ cold and clean/dirty while the pictures are great talking points.  The piggies’ antics keep children engaged and this book is a perfect bedtime story.  

Categorization Tags: Bedtime, Games, Pigs, Juvenile Fiction,

72) Mother Goose Favorites by Bob Pepper

Bibliographic Citation: Pepper, Bob. Mother Goose Favorites. innovative KIDS,1999. 8 pages. ISBN: 978-1584760023

Format: Board Book

Age Group: Ages 2-4 Years

Annotation:  A collection of ten classic Mother Goose nursery rhymes. 

Reflection:  This board book compiles some favorite nursery rhymes like Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.  Children will love this interactive book that includes foam play pieces which can be matched and placed into the corresponding nursery rhyme.  Each of the nursery rhymes uses rhyming pairs of words making it easy for children to sing along and remember the words. 

Categorization Tags: Mother Goose, Nursery Rhymes,

71) Curious George Visits the Library by H.A. Rey and Margaret Rey

Bibliographic Citation: Rey, H.A. (Hans Augusto) and Rey, Margaret. Curious George Visits the Library. Illustrated by Martha Weston. Houghton Mifflin, 2003. 24 pages. ISBN: 978-0618065684

Format: Paperback

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation:  Curious George is on another adventure, exploring the library. 

Reflection:  Curious George visits the library for the first time and attends story hour.  He tries to behave and sit still while the librarian reads a book to them but ends up grabbing the dinosaur book and taking off to explore the library.  Curious George takes a book cart and ends up making a mess.  He gets a library card and ends up taking home a pile of books.  This book introduces children to library terminology and children find his mischievous behavior hilarious.  Children can relate to attending story hour and getting their own library card.  The book is a little dated with the librarian stamping the books but is useful for introducing children to the library. 

Categorization Tags: Monkeys, Libraries, Books and Reading, Juvenile Fiction,

70) Animals should definitely not wear clothing by Judi Barrett

Bibliographic Citation: Barrett, Judi. Animals should definitely not wear clothing. Illustrated by Ron Barrett. Turtleback, 1988. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-0833513373.   

Format: Hardcover

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation:  The funny pictures and text show why it is impractical for animals to wear clothing. 

Reflection:  This funny book includes pictures of various animals trying to wear human clothing and explains why it would be “disastrous.”  “Animals should definitely not wear clothing… because it might make life hard for a hen,” who is trying to lay an egg or for a walrus whose natural behavior would get the clothes wet.  Children love looking at the clothed animal pictures and the book teaches animals names and introduces vocabulary in an entertain way. 

Categorization Tags: Animals, Juvenile Fiction

69) Duck! Rabbit! By Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Bibliographic Citation:  Rosenthal, Amy Krouse. Duck! Rabbit!. Illustrated by Tom Lichenheld.  Candlewick Press, 2009. 40 pages. ISBN: 978-0811868655

Format:  Hardcover

Awards: Goodreads choice award nominee for picture book (2009)

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.whoisamy.com,  http://www.tomlichtenheld.com

Age Group:  Ages 0–4 Years

Annotation:  The narrators debate whether the animal shown is a duck or a rabbit. 

Reflection: When I first pulled the book off the shelf the oversized black text was a great contrast against the stark, black and white line-drawing of the duck/rabbit.  The entire book contained the super large, black text and the same repeating large head of the duck/rabbit.  The conversational style of the book is a great example of a conversation that children can easily relate to.  The text reads, “Oh great, you scared him away.  I didn’t scare him away.  You scared him away.”  It has a great twist at the end with the two narrators finding a new creature, one thinking it’s an anteater and the other thinking it’s a brachiosaurus! 

Categorization Tags:  Animals -- Identification, Juvenile fiction, Children's stories, Pictorial works,

68) A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka

Bibliographic Citation: Raschka, Chris. A Ball for Daisy.  Schwartz & Wade, 2011. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-0375858611.

Format: Hardcover

Awards: Caldecott Medal 2012, New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books (2011)

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation: Daisy is sad because her favorite ball popped, but she gets a delightful present from a friend that cheers her right up.

Reflection: This wordless picture book of brilliant watercolor illustrations conveys the message of the story in a series of pictures.  The sequencing of the pictures tells the story of a dog and her favorite toy, a red ball. The dog loves to play with the ball and even sleeps next to her ball.  The owner takes the dog for a walk and plays fetch with the ball.  While in the park the ball gets caught in the fence but is retrieved by the owner who then throws the ball.  Another dog runs after the red ball to fetch it but accidently pops it.  The dog is devastated by the loss of something she loves and tries to revive it in the next series of pictures. When the dog realizes that it is broken and the owner throws it away, she hangs her head in sadness. The owner tries to console the dog but she doesn’t cheer up until she goes back to the park and sees that the other dog’s owner has brought a new blue ball.  The book ends with the two dogs playing together with the blue ball and her taking the ball back home.  This book teaches children the concepts of loss and friendship and can be related to a real child’s life and what they have lost. 

Categorization Tags: Dogs, Balls, Juvenile Fiction, Caldecott Medal

67) ZooBorns!: Zoo Babies from Around the World by Andrew Bleiman and Chris Eastland

Bibliographic Citation: Bleiman, Andrew and Eastland, Chris. Welcome to the World, Zooborns!. Simon Spotlight, 2012. 24 pages. ISBN: 978-1442443761.

Format: Hardcover

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.chriseastland.com/

Age Group: Ages 0-4 Years

Annotation: All kinds of different animal babies are explored in this book.

Reflection: Welcome to the World, Zoo Borns exposes children to language that builds their vocabulary and uses repetition of the line “Welcome to the world, baby (animal)!” to introduce a familiar welcome with a new baby animal each time. The most important feature of this series is it uses real photographs of animals in their natural settings not illustrations.

Categorization Tags: Zoo animals – Infancy, Juvenile literature

66) Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi

Bibliographic Citation: Gomi, Taro. Everyone Poops. Illustrated by Amanda Mayer Stinchecum. Kane/Miller Book Pub, 2001. 27 pages. ISBN: 978-1929132140.

Format: Hardcover

Age Group: Ages 2-4 Years

Annotation: The functions of human and animal bodies are shown.

Reflection: Everyone Poops is a fun book that young children are fascinated with and love to read.  In my library system, the book is interfiled with the adult nonfiction books.  The book has illustrations of animals and people pooping, and children are amused by the different sizes of poop.  Having a book about this natural occurrence makes it easier for parents to explain this bodily function and for children to be comfortable talking about it.  Some similar titles that go into more detail about pooping are The Truth about Poop by Susan E. Goodman and It Hurts When I Poop! by Howard J. Bennett, M.D.

Categorization Tags: Defecation, Feces, Juvenile Literature

65) Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

Bibliographic Citation: Willems, Mo. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!. Hyperion, 2003. 40 pages. ISBN: 978-0786819881.

Format: Hardcover

Awards: Caldecott Honor (2004), Kentucky Bluegrass Award for K-2 (2005), Charlotte Zolotow Award Nominee for Highly Commended Title (2004), Vermont's Picture Book Awards: Red Clover (2005), An ALA Notable Children's Book for Younger Readers (2004)...more, South Carolina Book Award for Picture Book Award (2006), Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (2005), Golden Archer Award for Primary (2005), Buckaroo Book Award (2004), Indies Choice Book Award for Picture Book Hall of Fame (2009)

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.mowillems.com

Age Group: Ages 2-4 Years

Annotation: The very expressive pigeon wants to drive a bus, but nobody will let him.

Reflection: "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" is definitely a fun read aloud.  I also think the simple illustrations of the pigeon show so much expression and the children can tell when he is sad or mad.  The ending is great when the pigeon sees the big truck at the end and then sets his sights on something bigger and better.  It's also a good "jump-off" book to the next series of pigeon adventures, such as, "The Pigeon Wants a Puppy," "The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!" The Pigeon has Feelings, Too!" and "Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late."

Categorization Tags: Pigeons, Bus drivers, Juvenile Fiction, Caldecott Honor

64) Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

Bibliographic Citation: Cronin, Doreen. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. Illustrated by Betsy Lewin. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2000. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-1416903482.

Format: Hardcover

Awards: Caldecott Honor (2001), Charlotte Zolotow Award Nominee for Highly Commended Title (2001), Vermont's Picture Book Awards: Red Clover (2002), An ALA Notable Children's Book for Younger Readers (2001), Charlotte Award (2002) ...moreMaryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award for Picture Book (2001), Book Sense Book of the Year Honor Book for Children's Illustrated (2001)

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.doreencronin.com, http://betsylewin.com

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation: A group of barnyard animals give their farmer a set of very interesting

demands.

Reflection: Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin and pictures by Betsy Lewin won the Caldecott Honor Book in 2001.  The expressive watercolor pictures accompanied the text perfectly.  The artist note in the book states, "For this book, I did brush drawings using Windsor Newton lamp black watercolor on tracing paper.  I then had the drawings photocopied onto one-ply strathmore kid finish watercolor paper and applied watercolor washes to the black drawings.  The advantage to this method is that I can get as many copies on the watercolor paper as I want, and can experiment with the color, choosing the finishes that I like the best." The story begins with Farmer Brown telling us that the cows love to type all day long and he hears "Click Clack Moo. Click Clack Moo. Clickety, Clack, Moo."  The literate cows go on strike and demand electric blankets or no milk and leave typewritten notes on the barn door for Farmer Brown.  When Farmer Brown doesn't respond the cows give him notes from the hens demanding electric blankets for the hens because they're cold.  So Farmer Brown gets his own typewriter and writes back to the cows that there will be no electric blanket and demands milk and eggs.  The cows call for an emergency animal meeting sending the duck out as a neutral party to negotiate a deal.  The cows typed that they would exchange their typewriter in exhange for electric blankets and Farmer Brown gave in to the their demands.  The book ends with a sweet twist when Farmer Brown receives a typewritten note from the ducks that the pond is boring and they would like a diving board, "Click Clack Quack.  Click Clack Quack.  Clickety, Clack, Quack."  The final page is a picture of a duck's bottom that has just dove off the diving board. 

Categorization Tags: Cow, Domestic Animals, Typewriter, Juvenile Fiction, Caldecott Honor

63) I Dream of an Elephant by Ami Rubinger

Bibliographic Citation: Rubinger, Ami. I Dream of an Elephant. Abbeville Kids, 2010. 28 pages. ISBN: 978-0789210586.

Format: Hardcover

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.amirubinger.com

Age Group: Ages 0-4 Years

Annotation: The dreamer dream of many different colored elephants and wonders if they dream too.

Reflection: I Dream of an Elephant by Ami Rubinger is an outstanding, read aloud, picture book that focuses on the concept of colors.  It is the colors of this book that stand out at first sight, which is filled with playful elephants of every color, set on a background of lavender that make this book impossible to pass over.  When you open the book, you are taken away to a colorful land of rhyming text, where the entire, two page spread is the major clue for the repeating question, "I dream of an elephant whose color is..." For example, on the first page, you see a giant, Blue elephant that is jumping and the text reads, "Jumping and playing the whole morning through!" and then the next side of the text reads, "I dream of an elephant whose color is..." and the response is, of course, "Blue!"  Children quickly catch on to the color naming game and can't wait to yell out the color of the next elephant.  From an early literacy/early learning standpoint, the colors are not presented in "Rainbow Order" which is, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple.  However, the author chose to add secondary colors and Black, White and Gray.  For children at the 0-4 age range, I recommend sticking to the same color names that the Crayola company gives it crayons, which are Black, White and Gray and leave the shades and tints lessons for later grades.

Categorization Tags: Stories in Rhyme, Juvenile Fiction, Elephants, Color, Vocabulary

62) Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin

Bibliographic Citation: Lin, Grace. Bringing in the New Year. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2008. 34 pages. ISBN: 978-0375837456.

Format: Hardcover

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.gracelin.com

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation: A family prepares for the Chinese New Year.

Reflection: Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin is my favorite story when presenting my Chinese/ English multicultural/bilingual storytime. All children are excited to learn about the Chinese culture through the story's beautiful and colorful illustrations.  The story focuses on a young Chinese girl and her family as they prepare for the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture because it is a time of new beginnings.  Eventhough each of the family members' names are in Chinese, children can understand because they can see that it is the little girl's mother, father, and sister.  Children can relate to the rituals depicted in the book, such as making special foods, receiving gifts, wearing new clothes, getting a haircut, and attending a parade with family and friends.  Children are excited about the firecrackers, the lion dancers that scare away the bad luck, and the surprise fold-out pages for a full lenth dragon that ushers in the New Year.  You can also go to the front and back covers and review the vocabulary used in the story.  This is an excellent introduction to the Chinese New Year for very young children.

Categorization Tags: Chinese New Year, Chinese Americans, Juvenile Fiction

61) Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months by Maurice Sendak

Bibliographic Citation: Sendak, Maurice. Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months. HarperCollins, 1991. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-0064432535.

Format: Paperback

Age Group: Ages 2-4 Years

Annotation:  A little boy talks about the reasons it is good to have chicken soup and rice

during each month.

Reflection: The story consists of twelve different poems for each month.  Lots of rhyming and repetition is used and at the bottom of each poem, the last line always ends with “chicken soup and rice.”  The story itself teaches children about what the weather is like during each month, giving them real world experience through this book.  The poem format promotes learning and memorization of the months.  The illustrations stand out in the book because they are done in Sendak’s classic and very particular style.

Categorization Tags: Soups, Humorous Stories, Months, Rhyme

60) The Lady with the Alligator Purse by Nadine Westcott

Bibliographic Citation: Westcott, Nadine. The Lady with the Alligator Purse. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 1990. 26 pages. ISBN: 978-0316931366.

Format: Paperback

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://nadinewestcott.com   

Age Group: Ages 0-4 Years

Annotation: Mrs. Lucy call the doctor, the nurse, and the lady with the alligator purse to see if there is anything wrong with Tiny Tim.

Reflection: The Lady with the Alligator Purse is a sing-along story that uses a familiar melody set to rhyming pairs of words to describe hilarious situations.  The book introduces medical terminology, “doctor, nurse, mumps, measles, penicillin” which can be used as discussion points and the silly pictures include many objects that children can name.  The chaotic scenes in pastel colors keep children’s attention and the sing-song rhymes help them remember the text.  The book includes a music score for the reader to sing or play the melody and the end of the book has suggestions for crafts, games, and teachable points that correspond to words and objects throughout the book. 

Categorization Tags: Jump rope rhymes, Nonsense Verses, Children’s Poetry

59) Chick by Ed Vere

Bibliographic Citation: Vere, Chick. Puffin, 2009. 16 pages. ISBN: 978-0141384863.

Format: Paperback

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.edvere.com   

Age Group: Ages 0-4 Years

Annotation: A newborn chick has its very first adventure.

Reflection: Chick is a pop-up book that shows a baby chick being hatched and some typical activities of chickens.  The book uses action sound words and rhyming, “crick crack crickitty crack” to describe the chick breaking out of the egg shell.  Once the chick breaks out of the shell, the text welcomes the baby with “hello chick!”  The chick then makes a “cheep” sound and the mama chicken comes running to embrace the newborn chick.  The next page shows the mother and chick eating together and describes the scene with “pick peck pickitty peck.”  Then the chick poops, “oops!” and children laugh as the poop is dropping from the chick’s bottom and keeps dropping as the reader spins the movable wheel.  The book ends with “chick sleeps,” a full day of activities for a baby chick.         

Categorization Tags: Mother and Child, Pop-up books, Toy and movable books

58) Five Little Kisses by Piggy Toes Press

Bibliographic Citation: Piggy Toes Press. Five Little Kisses. Illustrated by Simone Abel. Piggy Toes Press, 2008. 10 pages. ISBN: 978-1581176834.

Format: Board Book

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://piggytoespress.com   

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation: Valentine’s day is explained in five ways.

Reflection: This pop-up board book teaches children about the Valentine’s Day holiday.  The book includes consecutive counting and describes various Valentine’s motifs like Cupid, chocolate, conversation hearts, doves, and kisses.  The books also asks rhetorical questions about each of the Valentine’s Day gifts and ends with “Happy Valentine’s Day!” 

Categorization Tags: Valentine’s Day, Gifts, Board Books

57) If You're Happy and You Know It by Anna McQuinn

Bibliographic Citation: McQuinn, Anna. If You're Happy and You Know It. Illustrated by Sophie Fatus. Barefoot Books, 2009. 24 pages. ISBN: 978-1846862885.

Format: Hardcover

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.annamcquinn.com   

Age Group: Ages 2-4 Years

Annotation: This sing-along book takes the reader on an adventure through many

countries where the children are all singing “If You are Happy and You Know It.”

Reflection: This sing-along book uses repetition and rhyming pairs of words set to catchy music to make it easy for children to remember the lyrics.  The book continually repeats a chorus line of “If you’re happy and you know it, __________!” The chorus is repeated again and followed with “If you’re happy and you know it, and you really want to show it,” then repeats the chorus line again.  This interactive book encourages participation from the audience as they sing and clap their hands, stamp their feet, pat their head, touch their nose, etc.  The book ends with many children of all ethnicities holding hands and saying hello in their native languages and wearing their traditional clothing.  The last pages of the book show the names of those children and the countries they are from.  The colorful acrylic illustrations of different locations with children of different cultures playing together teach children about diversity. 

Categorization Tags: Children’s Songs

56) The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani

Bibliographic Citation: Trapani, Iza. The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Whispering Coyote Pr, 1997. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-1879085695.

Format: Paperback

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.izatrapani.com   

Age Group: Ages 2-4 Years

Annotation: The spider goes on an adventure for the perfect place to spin its web.

Reflection: The Itsy Bitsy Spider is a sing along tale about the adventures of the daily life of a spider.  The catchy tune, as well as the repetitive nature of the story, keep the children engaged during story time and promotes memory retention.  In each stanza, the second and fourth lines rhyme, creating an easy rhythm that also draws in children’s attention in.  This book also has mostly full page, colorful drawings that make it nearly irresistible to look away from.

Categorization Tags: Children’s Songs, Spiders

55) Duck on a Bike by David Shannon

Bibliographic Citation: Shannon, David. Duck on a Bike. Blue Sky Press, 2002. 40 pages. ISBN: 978-0439050234.

Format: Hardcover

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation:  Duck decides to ride a bike.

Reflection: Duck on a Bike is a story that mainly focuses on repetition.  It shows the

main character, duck, riding a bike past many of his barnyard animal friends.  His friends consist of a cow, sheep, dog, cat, horse, chicken, goat, two pigs, and mouse.  As he passes each different animal, the story shows that animal making its signature noise.  For example, the horse says “neigh” and the cat says “meow.”  At first, all the animals look down upon duck for riding a bike, but as the book nears its end, it shows all the other animals riding bikes as well.  This shows the moral of the story is don’t knock it until you try it.  This book also has very entertaining, full page illustrations.  

Categorization Tags: Ducks, Domestic Animals, Bicycles and Bicycling

54) Maybe A Bear Ate It! by Robie Harris

Bibliographic Citation: Harris, Robie. Maybe a Bear Ate It!. Illustrated by Michael Emberley. Orchard Books, 2008. 40 pages. ISBN: 978-0439929615.

Format: Hardcover

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://robieharris.com, http://www.michaelemberley.com,   

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation: The main character loses its favorite book and comes up with many

implausible, but entertaining ideas explaining how it disappeared.

Reflection: This picture book focuses on the feelings and concerns a child may have when they lose a favorite item, in this case a book.  The book begins with several pages of illustrations of a cat in pajamas crawling into bed, then reading, and then starting to dose off.  There are no words until the sixth page when the cat realizes that his book is missing and the text exclaims, “It’s gone.”  The cat searches under his blanket then begins to panic and cry. The expressive illustrations of the cat’s face help children relate and understand how devastating it would be if they lost a favorite item.  The cat is sad and asks “Where – is – my book?  I need my book!”  The cat then imagines many possibilities of what happened to his beloved book, “Maybe a BEAR ate it!”  and continues to name other animals and what they might have done to his book. The cat decides that he could not go to sleep without his book and the solution is to search for the missing book.  He looks all over the house and tears apart his room until, the book is found.  The picture shows the cat elated and shouting “I LOVE MY BOOK!” while cuddling the book.  The book ends with the cat reading his book in bed and falling asleep with the book safely in his lap. 

Categorization Tags: Animals, Bedtime, Books and Reading

53) Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow

Bibliographic Citation: Christelow, Eileen. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.  HMH Books, 2009. 192 pages. ISBN: 978-0547238739.

Format: Hardcover

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.christelow.com   

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation: A mom tries to get her babies to go to bed, but they all want to jump on the bed.

Reflection: This children’s book is a fun read that is also a perfect bedtime story.  A mom continuously comes in to tell her five children to go to bed, but none of them listen and they choose to jump on the bed instead.  The each end up getting hurt and at the end of the book they finally learn their lesson and just go straight to sleep rather than jump on the bed.  This book uses rhyming and repetition in a way that sets up a very catchy rhythm, which keeps children engaged and waiting to hear the next verse.  It also shows counting.  The book starts with five monkeys jumping on the bed, but each time a monkey bumps his/her head, it shows one less monkey jumping on the bed.

Categorization Tags: Nursery Rhymes, Children’s Poetry

52) There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback

Bibliographic Citation: Taback, Simms. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.  Viking Juvenile, 1997. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-0670869398.

Format: Hardcover

Awards: Caldecott Honor (1998)

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.simmstaback.com,   

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation:  An old lady eats a lot of animals in this amusing sing along.

Reflection: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback is a fun retelling of an old children's folk song favorite, however, what stands out most is Simms Taback's illustrations and the die-cut holes in the old lady's belly, which allows for children to see all the animals the old lady has eaten. As the story progresses, we see the old lady's belly get bigger and bigger. The words are handwritten on strips of paper and placed all over the page, which gives them even more visual power. There are tons of extra text and funny asides, such as a recipe for spider soup and the names of different types of birds that is way over the comprehension level of the intended listener, which all rhyme with the line, "Perhaps she'll die" so if the reader chooses, he or she can sing one of the asides instead of the "Perhaps she'll die" part. What I have found is that people either really love this song or they hate it, so if you like it, I would choose this rendition to present it to a story time group.

Categorization Tags: Caldecott Honor,  Nonsense Verses, Folk Songs, Toy and movable books