Kiss, Kiss, Pout-Pout
Fish by Deborah Diesen, Pictures by Dan Hanna
The Pout-Pout Fish in
the Big-Big Dark by Deborah Diesen, Pictures by Dan Hanna
Pout-Pout Fish has many adventures, all in rhyme and all
below the sea. You will meet a variety of fish swimming and working together in
both of these sweeter than sweet stories. If you like to rhyme and have the
time, you’ll be right in the swim of things with these two new stories.
The Spirit of
Christmas by Nancy Tillman
Another story in rhyme by the author of On the Night You
Were Born. While this is presented as a board book, it’s clear that the story
is told for the adult and not so much for the child. The rhymes are sometimes
saccharine, “He spoke to me then/ in a whisper of wings./ “There are gentle
things/ the season brings.” And the pictures alternate between artful realism
and fancifully stylized. As a Christmas book, it has my vote for when I am
looking for a way to express how I miss the children in my life at that time of
year.
At the Supermarket
by Anne Rockwell
A little boy accompanies his mother to the supermarket,
telling about the groceries he bought, including the necessary ingredients for
making a cake, just in time to celebrate his birthday the next day. As I read
through this, I wondered: who still eats meat every day? Where are all the
black and brown people? There is one Asian looking woman working at the
register and one or two other darker skinned people, most seem to be working
rather than shopping. The back of the book indicates that the books was first
published over forty years ago. While it is a cute story and one that many
children can relate to, the lack of diversity makes me think this should be a
book that can be kept on the shelf.
Mimi and Bear in the
Snow by Janee Trasler
Mimi is a rabbit with human features who carries Bear with
her wherever she goes. But, when she takes Bear out to play in the snow, she
leaves him behind. After a careful search, she finally finds Bear and starts
carrying him in a backpack so he won’t get left behind again. A perfect story
for any child who has a special stuffed animal that goes everywhere with
him/her.
Close Your Eyes by
Kate Banks, Pictures by Georg Hallensleben
Little Tiger is reluctant to close his eyes as he prepares
to go to sleep. Anyone who has had a conversation with a child where one answer
leads to three more questions, will recognize Little Tiger in their own child. Mother
Tiger has all the answers and finally convinces Little Tiger to go to sleep.
The images in both words and pictures are poetic while still being easily
understood by the youngest listeners: “You can even float among the clouds, and
when night comes, the moon will hold you in its lap.”
I Get Dressed by
David McPhail
I Play by David
McPhail
In I Get Dressed,
each page has one animal from David McPhail’s Nursery Rhyme collection and each
animal has one item of clothing: shirt, pants, socks, tie, etc. Simple drawings
and simple words, for our youngest ‘readers.’
In I Play, the
little bear is featured with one simple verb per page, cutely illustrated by
bear singing, running, and even reading.
Firebears: The Rescue
Team by Rhonda Gowler Greene, illustrated by Dan Andreasen
The firebears have a number of adventures, fighting fires,
rescuing other bears and even helping a cat stuck in a tree. Told in simple
rhymes, the story moves quickly from one emergency to another. Brightly colored
illustrations support the text and help to tell the story. Classrooms that have
units on community helpers would love this book. Since the bears are not
explicitly gendered, it could be a good tool for talking about both firemen and firewomen.
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