Category: Preschool Reads

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Happy Book Birthday to Sleep, My Bunny – new Rosemary Wells!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Sleep, My Bunny, by Rosemary Wells, (Nov. 2018, Candlewick Press), $14.99, ISBN: 9780763692629

Ages 2-7

A delicate lullaby for bedtime, Sleep, My Bunny – originally published in 1977 as “Good Night, Sweet Prince” in Don’t Spill it Again, James – is Rosemary Wells’ newest picture book. A bunny family goes through their bedtime routine as the sun sets and night falls. As the words describe the sounds of the evening: crickets and owls sing together; the wind takes the moon for a ride; the pictures show a young bunny and his parents putting toys away, choosing pajamas, having a bath, and selecting a story before a little song and dance, and then, sleep.

The gentle pastels and mixed media artwork starts bold and bright, as the bright sun shines outside during sunset; gradually, the sky grows darker in each spread – the sky in the depicted window in each scene mirrors the text’s background on the accompanying pages – until a midnight blue brings bedtime to a sleepy Bunny. The family is loving and playful, delighting in one another; everyone’s smiles are wide and they have gentle, loving gazes for each other, making this a wonderful cuddle time book. Endpapers set the mood, with a tinge of sun in the lower left-hand corner of the front endpapers; a midnight blue sky and a hazy crescent moon shine on the back endpapers.

Sleepy, My Bunny is a gentle story for toddlers, preschoolers, and Kindergarteners; early readers can help at bedtime by reading this to a sibling (or pet, or lovey). Another classic from Rosemary Wells.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Up, up, and away with My Bed is an Air Balloon!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

My Bed is an Air Balloon, by Julia Copus/Illustrated by Alison Jay, (Oct. 2018, Faber & Faber), $15.95, ISBN: 9780571334841

Ages 3-6

This bedtime story has an entertaining spin: the book has two front covers, and can be read front to back, or back to front. It’s a mirror form poem where two children – a light-skinned boy and a dark-skinned girl go on a bedtime adventure in their beds, which magically transform into hot air balloons that transport them over treetops and hills, spying fantastic animals like flutterrufts, whifflepigs, and floogs. The children meet in the middle – two air balloons that pass in the night? – and the journey resumes on the next spread, as the story continues in reverse with the opposite child.

My Bed is an Air Balloon brings playfulness and joy to bedtime storytime. Alison Jay’s whimsical art creates a fantasy landscape where smiling suns and moons overlook a sea of white, cloudlike dream-shapes; giant beds that become balloons and ships, and boats that look suspiciously like bedtime slippers. There is a wonderfully retro feel to the artwork; a 1920s-type look and feel with round faces, expressive eyes, and long, thin noses with a slight, secret smile.

This one is a cute add to your bedtime story collections, and a nice gift to a parent or caregiver who’s always on the lookout for a bedtime adventure. What better way to send your kids off to dreamland?

(Thanks to illustrator Alison Jay for putting open book shots on her Facebook page!)

Posted in Intermediate, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

Show kids the excitement of cooking with Kids Cooking!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Kids Cooking: Students Prepare and Eat Foods From Around the World, by George Ancona, (Oct. 2018, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9780763698768

Ages 4-7

When my son (now a high schooler) was in first grade, his school participated in a great program called CookShop. The teachers ran the program, and we parents volunteered as helpers, and a couple of times a month, kids learned cooking skills: chopping (with plastic knives), mixing, and the math involved in putting together a recipe. I loved it, and he loved the process of creating meals. No, he didn’t eat anything he made (that honor went to me), but working together brought us even closer, and the whole class came together as a group to prepare and share food. I may have enjoyed CookShop more than he did – I still have my apron! – and am glad it’s still a program in NYC schools. When I read Kids Cooking: Students Prepare and Eat Foods From Around the World, I was immediately brought back to that first grade classroom and the warm memories.

Kids Cooking is photographer George Ancona’s venture into classrooms where a similar organization, Cooking with Kids, brings children from diverse backgrounds come together to prepare healthy meals from different cultures. They roast vegetables and prepare a Moroccan sauce called chermoula; make Chinese-American fried rice with sweet and sour cucumbers; work together to cook up an Italian minestrone soup with breadsticks, and learn about different tomatoes that go into making a Mexican salsa with tortillas and tamales. They draw pictures as they go; teachers use a globe to demonstrate where different meals originate, and parents and teachers make sure that everyone’s cooking experience is safe and exciting.

The book presents photos of the kids and grownups at work, along with some of the children’s artwork, and phrases from the cultures whose meals they’ve prepared. It’s a celebration of food, friendship, and different cultures: meals prepared and shared together are the best meals. An author’s note mentions the Cooking With Kids program and the schools that participated in the book.

With the holidays on the horizon, Kids Cooking is a great book to read to kids and get them talking about meals they enjoy at home. A recipe link included in the book didn’t work for me, but the Cooking with Kids website has recipes available: see if your family wants to try a few out!

You can find more of George Ancona’s photos and learn more about his children’s books here.

Posted in Early Reader, Fiction, picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Get ready for the season with First Snow with a giveaway!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

First Snow, by Nancy Viau/Illustrated by Talitha Shipman,, (Sept. 2018, Albert Whitman), $16.99, ISBN: 9780807524404

Ages 2-6

A brother and sister join their friends for a day of fun when the first snow falls.

This rhyming story stars a brother and sister, both children of color, who wake up to discover that it’s snowing! With mostly two- and three-word rhyming sentences, we follow them as they get dressed and meet their friends for a day of sledding and snowplay. Their pup follows along, adding to the fun and games, and at the end of the day, the siblings and their dog head home to enjoy hot chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, and a story before bedtime.

A lovely companion to Ezra Jack Keats’ A Snowy Day, First Snow takes place in a more suburban settting than Peter’s famous city backdrop. The kids’ bright winter clothes stand out against the soft, white snow. The watercolor artwork is soft, lending a comfortable, hazy, snowy-day feel to the scenery. Brightly colored kids’ hats and mittens set the tone on the endpapers.

Perfect for snowy day reading, preferably with some hot chocolate and a warm blanket and stuffed animal. Great for toddlers and easy readers alike!

Nancy Viau is the author of five picture books, including City Street Beat, Storm Song, and Look What I Can Do!  Her middle-grade novels include her new release, Beauty and Bernice, along with Just One Thing! (2016 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Gold Award Winner), Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head (to be reissued in the spring of 2019), and Something is Bugging Samantha Hansen (fall 2019). As a member of the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature, Nancy volunteers with other council members to produce the Rutgers One-on-One Plus Conference every year. She works as an assistant librarian, and when not reading or writing, she hikes, bikes, and travels wherever her frequent flyer miles take her. To learn more, and to download a free Story Hour kit for First Snow, visit her website, NancyViau.com.

 

Talitha Shipman graduated with an MFA in illustration from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2008. She’s illustrated several books, including You Are My Little Pumpkin Pie, Everybody Says Shalom, and Applesauce Day. Talitha lives in Indiana with her husband, daughter, and dog. She can be found at talithashipman.com.

 

Praise for First Snow:

“A sweet suburban/rural contrast to the snowy day enjoyed by Peter in the city.”  — Kirkus Reviews

Relive the joy of the season’s first snow in this sweet trailer!

 

One lucky winner will receive a copy of First Snow, courtesy of Albert  Whitman & Co (U.S. addresses). Just enter this Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance!

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

A little post-Halloween fun: Bear’s Scare

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Bear’s Scare, by Jacob Grant, (June 2018, Bloomsbury), $16.99, ISBN: 9781681197203

Ages 3-6

Bear keeps a tidy house for himself and his friend, a stuffed bear named Ursa. He loves to clean the house every day, but one day, he notices something: a cobweb! As he searches his home, he notices another web! And another! Convinced he has a spider problem, Bear works himself into a frenzy – the spider is covering the house with webs! It’s making it sticky mess! – and tears his home apart, searching for the spider. The pictures belie what Bear imagines is happening, as we see the spider very politely knitting, painting, and reading a book as Bear turns his house upside down. In his panic to get the messy spider out of his house, Bear traps Ursa’s arm under a chair and tears it off when he pulls her. Stunned into realization, Bear focuses on getting Ursa some first aid, only to discover that the spider has stitched Ursa’s arm together with its own silk. Bear discovers that getting to know someone is a much better way to determine one’s character, and embraces his new friend – who invites some more new friends to visit.

Bear’s Scare is an adorable story about how our own perceptions can get away from us, and the havoc it wreaks. The charcoal and crayon artwork lends a hand-crafted feel to the story, with digital coloring adding a depth of warm color. Bear is a deep navy blue; he stands out against his earth-toned home yellow spider neighbor. Pages are mostly bright white, with the artwork standing out against the background, with some full bleed spreads, usually for a more dramatic moment. The plain black font lets the artwork tell the full story while the text is there to let the storyteller be as tongue-in-cheek as they want to be.

Bear’s Scare is adorable fun with a smart message about friendship and judging others on appearances. It’s a nice add to picture book collections where kids enjoy a little wink, wink, nudge, nudge humor.

See more of Jacob Grant’s artwork and information about his books at his website.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler

Construction fun with Builders & Breakers

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Builders & Breakers, by Steve Light, (Oct. 2018, Candlewick), $16.99, ISBN: 9780763698720

Ages 2-6

Dad’s off to work at the construction site, but – oh no! – he’s forgotten his lunch! Two siblings take the lunchbox and run to meet their father at work, setting the stage for this vibrant story about construction sites and all the activity they embody.

Sparsely worded, this is a great book for toddler storytimes, proving that board books aren’t the only choice when reading to little ones. Each scene is boldly outlined and inked, popping off the plain white page, to create a cityscape where cranes hoist, wheelbarrows carry, and children search.

Because this is a Steve Light book, the beauty is in the small details. The endpapers are blueprints for the building Dad must be working on; the story starts on the title page, where Dad kisses Mom goodbye as his lunchbox sits on the floor. Mom discovers the lunchbox on the verso page, and sends the kids after dad right under the dedication. There’s no wasted space here; there’s storytelling to be found everywhere.

City kids will recognize the omnipresent green wall and “post no bills” stenciling that runs across one spread. The kids search for their dad in the background on subsequent spreads, always giving the reader something to look for. Sound effects invite readers to rat-a-tat-tat-tat along with jackhammers and spark! spark! spark! with welders, and two spreads flip the book lengthwise to show readers a different perspective. A digger reveals treasures on the sides of the dig, including several fossilized dinosaurs, a bike, and a car. When the kids reunite with their father, it’s snack time! Steve Light talks about his architectural influences in an author’s note at the end.

Display and booktalk with Steve Light’s own Diggers Go!, Sherri Duskey Rinker’s Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, and its companions; Byron Barton’s Machines at Work is a nice companion for toddler storytimes about vehicles and construction, and I can’t get enough of Christy Hale’s Building Up. Get out your toy trucks and blocks for some play time after your construction storytime!

Educators and caregivers interested in a Steve Light author study can check out Steve Light’s author website, where he has a free downloadable author study guide available.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Heads and Tails – an animal who’s who guessing game

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Heads and Tails, by John Canty, (Oct. 2018, Candlewick), $16.99, ISBN: 9781536200331

Ages 2-6

Ready for a guessing game? Heads and Tails gives readers clues, plus a rendering of an animal’s hindquarters, to help them figure it out. Every spread offers a watercolor rendering of an animal’s rear end, with three typewriter-font clues (emphasized with color), to help them guess. On the following page, the animal’s front end is revealed! The clues are descriptive: “I have long furry ears and a small nose. I live in a burrow in the ground. I have a white fluffy tail. I am a…” The reveal and the “I am a…” phrase is set in a handwritten, large black font, making this a good storytime read that clues kids in and follow along. The artwork is done is subdued watercolors, and all illustrations are adapated from 19th-century artwork. The tails are more opaque, less detailed, than the heads, almost like a fade-in to the animal reveal. There are two curve balls thrown in, which left my first grader and I scratching our heads, but it seems like it was a chance to draw out the mystery. The final mystery guest is the reader himself or herself: “I love to play. I learn new things every day. I am growing. I am… ME!”

This one’s a nice choice for toddler storytimes; there are few words, short sentences, and the chance to let kids call and act out their favorite animals. It’s a nice additional add for the artwork, which is lovely. I’d pair this one with Simms Taback’s fold-out animals books, which provide similar clues and reveal each animal through vertical and horizontal page unfolding. My toddler times love a dramatic reveal! Display with other fun Who-Am-I books, like my old reliable, Katie Davis’ Who Hops?, another guessing game story, albeit with a lot more laughs and a similar reveal at the end. And there’s always Steve Jenkins’ Who Am I?

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Two Halloween stories for your little monsters to love!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

10 Busy Brooms, by Carole Gerber/Illustrated by Michael Fleming,
(Aug. 2018, Doubleday), $7.99, ISBN: 9781524768997
Ages 2-6

Originally published in hardcover (2016), this board book version of the rhyming, counting story follows a group of little witches as they rescue one another from mischievous skeletons, ghosts, and goblins. The digital artwork is bold and bright, and the witches have eschewed basic black for jewel tones and fashionable hats. There’s some diversity among the witches, too; something always nice to see. One witch even sports a hijab under her hot pink pointy hat! The fonts are bold and white, set off against the nighttime backgrounds of each spread, and the numbers are brightly colored, large, and bold. It’s a fun story for little Halloweeners to enjoy, and the sturdy board book will hold up to multiple readings.

 

How to Scare a Ghost, by Jean Reagan/Illustrated by Lee Wildish,
(Aug. 2018, Knopf), $17.99, ISBN: 9781524701901
Ages 3-7

The team that brought you How to Babysit a Grandpa, How to Raise a Mom, and How to Catch Santa are here to teach readers How to Scare a Ghost! First, you have to attract a ghost. There are several different ways to do this. Then, you have to make sure you have a real ghost, and not some kid dressed up for Halloween. Once you’ve got those two points down, you’re ready to scare! But wait! You’ve gone too far, and you’ve really rattled your ghost? Okay, the book has that covered, too, with ways to comfort, play, and choose a costume for your ghost. A combined handbook and story, How to Scare a Ghost features a brother-sister duo and a friendly ghost enjoying a Halloween together. Endpapers offer a variety of kids and ghosts in a variety of costumes, and the digital art is upbeat and cheerful. This one’s a cute add to holiday collections and great for readers who are a little shy around monsters and spookier fare.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

There’s a dinosaur on the 13th Floor!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

There’s a Dinosaur on the 13th Floor, by Wade Bradford/Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, (Oct. 2018, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 978-0-7636-8665-9

Ages 4-7

Poor Mr. Snore! The poor musician is exhausted when he checks into the Sharemore Hotel, but when the bellhop shows him to his room, there’s a mouse sleeping on his pillow! Mr. Snore complains to the front desk, and is given a room on the second floor – but there’s a literal hog hogging the blankets! So begins a journey through the hotel, where Mr. Snore encounters fish, spiders, giraffes, and more, until he reaches an empty room on the 13th floor – and proceeds to fall asleep. But wait! The dinosaur on the 13th floor calls the front desk, complaining that someone is sleeping on his pillow!

This is an adorable, light story for storytime or one-on-one reading. Endpapers bring readers into the story with illustrations of a city scene: a cab driving away from a concert hall, and the Strathmore Hotel, its lobby light on, like a beacon, in the night. Mr. Snore walks into the hotel wearing a tuxedo and holding a violin case, letting readers use context clues to figure out that he’s a musician. It’s a nice added touch. The arylic and ink artwork has a nice retro feel; the bellhop looks like someone out of a Busby Berkeley movie, and the hotel has jungle-meets-art deco touches to it that really creates an atmosphere for readers. Mr. Snore is played for laughs; he’s got a small stature and a giant nose; a pair of glasses perched precariously on the end.

I have way too much fun with this story, which has entered regular bedtime reading rotation at my house. Let kids try out different snores for the mouse (squeak), pig, (snore), fish (blub blub), and other animals. This could be a fun flannel story, letting kids add different animals to a big bed. Put the song “Ten in the Bed” into your storytime for a fun, crowded bed song. This one’s a fun add to your picture book and storytime collections.

Author Wade Bradford has free, downloadable resources, including plays for kids, on his author website. Kevin Hawkes is an award-winning illustrator. Visit his website for more of his artwork and information about his books.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Bone Soup puts a Halloween spin on a classic!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Bone Soup: A Spooky Tasty Tale, by Alyssa Satin Capucilli/Illustrated by Tom Knight, (July 2018, Simon & Schuster), $17.99, ISBN: 9781481486088

Ages 4-8

Naggy, Craggy, and Scraggy are three hungry witches. Alas, their cupboards are bare, but for a single bone. A single bone, you say? Piff-Poof! Naggy Witch has a plan: Bone Soup, the perfect Halloween treat! The witches travel throughout the town, gathering delights from the local monsters: a bit of water here, an eye of a giant there, some old toenails and some slimy sludge, until the entire town has contributed to a bone-chillingly delicious meal for all! Based on the classic tale, Stone Soup, Alyssa Satin Capucilli puts a wonderfully fun spin on this perfect read for preschoolers and, Kindergartners (and more!).

There’s repetition here that invites readers to join in: “Piff-Poof!” Naggy Witches cries as each ingredient goes into the cauldron, and the witches chant, with each stop, “Trick-or-treat! Trick-or-treat! We’ve something unusually good to eat. It’s bone soup, soup from a bone. A savory morsel is all it needs!” Get the kids chanting, let them be little monsters or witches, and pull out a cauldron (it’s Halloween season, you can find a $1.99 trick or treat cauldron anywhere) to let them throw goodies in.The charcoal and pencil art is adorable, with green, crazy-haired witches, giant blue monsters, and googly-eyed mummies and skeletons. The fonts are big and readable, changing size and color for emphasis. There’s a recipe for Naggy Witch’s Bone Soup at the end of the book, with thoughtful substitution suggestions for those of us who may balk at juice of a toad or colored flies. Author Alyssa Satin Capucilli has a great storytime activity kit for free download on her site, complete with word games for older readers, and a printable recipe to hand out to parents. My kids and my library kids know and love Ms. Capucilli’s Biscuit books, so that could be a good intro when telling parents about the author.

This would be a great feltboard storytime activity, or you can get creative and make your own eyeballs (ping pong balls are good), toenails (cut up some index cards into slivers), and a bone or two (it’s Halloween, there are plush or plastic bones to be found everywhere). I love this story, and can’t wait to get it in front of a group of Kindergartners next week for a Halloween storytime!