Lost and Found — Oliver Jeffers

A little boy finds a penguin that seems to be lost. Together, they set out around town to find out where he belongs, but no one seems to have lost a penguin. Then the little boy figures out that penguins come from the south pole! They find a boat and set out rowing to return penguin to his home. As they row through the big waves, and the storms and the days and nights, the little boy tells penguin lots of stories to pass the time. When they reach the south pole, the boy helps penguin out of the boat and says good-bye. As he’s rowing back home, he can’t help but notice that that penguin looked even more sad when he got home than when he was lost, and he realises that the penguin wasn’t actually lost… he was lonely! This was a nice story about friendship, and the watercolor illustrations are beautiful.

Bumble Bugs and Elephants — Margaret Wise Brown, and illustrated by Clement Hurd

A story that shows the difference between BIG things and little things. This would be a good story to read aloud with a preschooler, while asking them to point out the big things and the little things.

Estelle Takes A Bath — Jill Esbaum, illustrated by Mary Newell Depalma

I loved this adorable story about Estelle and the little mouse that found his way into her house while she was taking a bath. As Estelle is relaxing in the bathtub, she opens her eyes to find a little mouse perched in the bathtub edge. Estelle shrieks and jumps out of the bath and chases the mouse around the house to catch it. Then, when the mouse accidentally falls into the tub and starts drowning, Estelle discovers a soft spot in her heart for the poor little thing and rescues it. The illustrations in this book are fantastic (a naked Estelle’s parts are cleverly hidden throughout) and the story rhymes nicely as you read it. Really fun.

Harriet, You’ll Drive Me Wild! — Mem Fox, illustrated by Marla Frazee

A little girl named Harriet manages to find herself in all kinds of messes, even though she never means to. Her mom knows that Harriet doesn’t mean to get into trouble, so she never yells at her, just tells her to be more careful. But one day, Harriet gets into even more messes than usual, and her mom loses her temper and starts yelling. When Harriet starts to cry and tells her mom she’s sorry, her mom says she’s sorry too and sometimes things happen, just like that. A nice story about how sometimes moms get frustrated at their little ones and just because they yell or get mad, that doesn’t mean they don’t still love them. Nice illustrations, too.

Snow — Joan Clark, illustrated by Jady MacDonald Denton

Winter has arrived in Sammy’s town and it starts to snow. And snow. And snow some more. It seems like it will never stop snowing! Sammy watches as the plows come out and push paths in the white snow, and he begins to wonder, what’s underneath all that snow? A cute story with very distinct illustrations showing all the things Sammy imagines is under the thick snow.

How Do You Count a Dozen Ducklings? — In Seon Chae, illustrated by Seung Ha Rew

A Mama ducks lays a dozen eggs and out pop a dozen ducklings for her to watch over. Mama duck thinks counting a dozen ducklings is really hard, so she experiments with different ways to count them. One day she pairs them up so she only has to count 6 times, but that’s still too much counting. The next day she puts them in threesomes so she only has to count four times, but that’s still too much. The day after that, she puts them in groups of four and only has to count 3 times. A great book about adding and multiplying. I found that this book holds something extra charming about it, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. It could be the illustrations, which are unique and very cute, or it could be the way the story is told, which rhymes and is quite fun. But I suspect it’s just the whole package. Really cute counting story.

Shiver Me Letters! A Pirate ABC – June Sobel, illustrated by Henry Cole

“R! I got me an R, now get me the rest!” I love this ABC concept book featuring a crew of pirates bent on capturing every letter of the alphabet. Great illustrations, and it works in a lot of pirate lingo, which is always fun.

Jousting with Jesters: An ABC For the Younger Dragon — Martin Springett

Another ABC concept book featuring medieval times. Some of the letters are worked in a little haphazardly, but there’s only so much medieval lingo one could use. Nice illustrations.

Recently, I attended a reader’s advisory course at work, and the genres discussed were Inspirational fiction and Chick Lit. I don’t care much for Inspirational fiction, but I do like Chick Lit, so I was looking forward to the course.

Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. The presenters and the majority of the people in the session treated Chick Lit very negatively. They made it seem like all Chick Lit was just a fluffy genre full of pastel covers featuring bubble gum snapping characters interested in nothing but shopping and bedding men, who are employed in fashion (or else unemployed but headed towards a great job in fashion), and, above all, nothing more than silly heroines with trivial problems. (more…)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

The Night Before Christmas — Clement Clark Moore, pop-up illustrations by Robert Sabuda

We all know the story of the night before Christmas, so it’s not like I need to recommend this classic to anyone, but this version of the story is amazing because of its pop-up illustrations. They are not your average pop-ups; these are intricate and beautifully crafted. Each pop-up is hand-assembled, and it couldn’t have been easy. If you have the chance to check out this book, you should. I would not recommend it for the little ones though… they can’t resist grabbing for the pop-ups and you definitely don’t want these to be torn or mangled. Save this edition for the kids who are a little older.

Are You Grumpy, Santa? — Gregg and Evan Spiridellis

Ever have one of those days when you stub your toe first thing in the morning, run out of hot water in the shower, have to wear something itchy because the laundry’s not done, and then people are just annoying you? Well, Santa’s having one of those days. Unfortunately, it had to be on Christmas day! Santa’s grumpy as he gets ready to bring presents to the children of the world and then he runs into all kinds of problems around the world as he’s delivering them. He’s about ready to just lose it altogether, but then he gets to one house where he finds a plate of cookies and a thank you letter from a thoughtful child. And just like that, Santa’s grumpy mood disappears! An extremely fun story that rhymes nicely.

Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight? – -Jerry Pallotta, David Biedrzycki

Just how did reindeer get the job of pulling Santa’s sleigh? Follow along as Santa auditions the various animals that are up for the job and find out why the reindeer were the best for the job.

Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Christmas — Joy Cowley, illustrated by Elizabeth Fuller

It’s Christmas, and Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s pulled out the big tin tub for the cow, pig and duck on her farm to have their Christmas baths. Only problem is… it’s too cold, and the cow, pig and duck don’t want to take a bath! Mrs. Wishy-Washy tells them to stop being troublesome and when she gets back from running her errands, they’d better have all taken their baths! The cow, pig and duck are worried about freezing when one of them has the idea to take a bath… in Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s pink bathtub inside her pink bathroom in her very own house! The animals get inside and take bubbly baths with Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s pink bubblebath and dry off with her pink, fluffy towels and then… Mrs. Wishy-Washy comes home. The house is a mess and the bathroom is all wet, but cow, pig and duck are clean and warm. And Mrs. Wishy-Washy is filled with that forgiving spirit and decides that she’ll let them off the hook this time because it’s Christmas. Another fun, rhyming story.

There is a quote on the front cover of this book made by the author Susan Wiggs, who says that The Tin Box is “feel-good fiction at its best.” This makes me scratch my head a bit because this was quite a depressing novel. Which isn’t as bad as it sounds, because this is also a very good novel.

When we first meet Kenly Lowen, we discover that she’s been keeping a secret from her husband. The secret is small enough to fit into a tin box, but large enough that it has the potential to rip their family apart. Before we find out what the secret is, we are transported back in time to when Kenly was a teenager living in Montana with her alcoholic father, who has just been let go from yet another teaching position. (more…)

One Snowy Night – M. Christina Butler, Illustrated by Tina Macnaughton

Hedgehog is walking outside one winter day when a package falls from the sky. It’s a red wool hat, and the tag on the package says it’s a gift from Father Christmas! But the hat doesn’t fit over Hedgehog’s quills, so he decides to give it to his friend Rabbit. But Rabbit’s ears are too big! So Rabbit decides to give it one of his friends. A story about giving and receiving that comes full circle with a nice ending. This is a touch and feel book, with the red wool hat made out of felt on the page so children can run their fingers over it. A nice book.

Snow Friends — M. Christina Butler, Illustrated by Tina Macnaughton

Little Bear and his friends, Rabbit and Otter are playing outside. They decide to build a big snowman out of the snow and they have fun together as they roll the snow. After making the big snowman, they find it’s getting late, but they don’t want to leave the snowman alone, so they roll another smaller one for him to have as company. A nice story about playing and sharing. The snowman is made out of a shiny glitter on each page.

My Mom Loves Me More than Sushi — Filomena Gomes, Illustrated by Ashley Spires

A little girl and her mom try different foods from cultures around the world and the girl learns that her mom loves her more than everything they try together. A pretty cool book that teaches about some of the different cultures around the world.

Earth to Stella! – Simon Puttock, Illustrated by Philip Hopman

Stella’s father tells her to go to bed, but Stella has to have one last adventure before she goes to sleep, and that’s to blast off to outer space! As Stella explores space, she hears her father’s voice over her radio calling out earth to Stella, go to sleep!

Yes — Jez Alborough

Bobo’s mom tells him it’s time to go to bed, but Bobo says No! He’d rather take a bath or splash around instead of go to bed, so he runs out of the house to play instead. A few animal friends come to play with Bobo and pretty soon they have had so much fun that Bobo gets tired and his mom can come take him to bed. A cute story, perfect for bedtime.

Something About Hensley’s — Patricia Polacco

There’s something about Hensley’s store — it doesn’t matter what you’re looking for, you’ll find it in the store. Need a place setting that was discontinued long ago? Hensley’s will have it. One day, a poor family moves into the neighborhood and the daughter has asthma, but can’t afford the medicine. Of course, Mr. Hensley will find a way to help the family.

Batter Up, Wombat! — Helen Lester, Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

I just love Helen Lester’s books, and I adore Lynn Munsinger’s illustrations. Wombat wanders onto a field and comes across some friends playing baseball, a sport he’s never seen before. The team is short one player, so they get Wombat to fill in, and tell him not to worry, he’ll pick up the rules of the game as he plays. Turns out, baseball lingo isn’t as easy to understand as one might think!

Mrs. Crump’s Cat — Linda Smith, Illustrated by David Roberts

Mrs. Crump is a grumpy old woman who doesn’t like cats, or pretty much anything. When a stray cat shows up on her doorstep, she tries to shoo it away, but it’s raining and the cat wants to come in. The cat sneaks by her and Mrs. Crump decides she’ll just let it stay for one day, because after all, it’s raining out. She goes to the store and buys a tin of cat food just for today, but wouldn’t you know it? Pretty soon, the cat’s stayed two days. Then three. And every day, Mrs. Crump goes out to buy the cat something else it might need, and when she’s bought everything it needs, she starts buying something the cat might like. After a while, the grumpy old woman has softened up and discovered that making a new friend can be a wonderful thing.

Vera’s New School – Vera Rosenberry

Vera’s family has just moved to a new neighborhood, and Vera’s first day in her new school isn’t turning out so well. She’s different from the other kids and they all notice it, and not just that, but Vera seems to attract a lot of bad luck. Finally, after a very tough day, Vera is just glad it’s over and she’s happy to have made even just one new friend.