Zoo dreams

Written and illustrated by Cor Hazelaar

1997 Farrar, Strauss & Giroux  

What do the animals do at the zoo when everybody goes home? In Zoo dreams, children can get a glimpse into the world of the zookeeper as he puts all the animals to bed. Subtle pastels mute the scene as the polar bear cuddles up and the turtle tucks into his shell. Secrets are also told such as fish sleep with their eyes open and bats sleep with the light on. A terrific bedtime story book that will captivate children while setting the mood for sleep.

The yellow tutu

Written by Kirsten Bramsen; illustrated by Carin Bramsen

2009  Random House 

Children need to be encouraged to be creative. The yellow tutu tells the story of a little girl named Margo who gets tired of wearing her tutu around her waist and decides to wear the tutu on her head. Other kids make fun of her until Pearl puts her pink tutu on her head too. Together the girls embark on a wonderful friendship. Charming illustrations in vibrant color are fun and inviting, perfecting this fascinating story. A must read to captivate children and spark their interests.

Wind says goodnight

Written by Katie Rydell; illustrated by David Jorgensen

1994 Houghton Mifflin Books

Creatures of the night fill the air with song and a girl is unable to fall asleep. The wind tries unsuccessfully to quiet the noises of the night coming from frogs, moths, crickets, and a singing mockingbird. It is not until the wind blows clouds to cover the light of the moon do the creatures stop, and finally the little girl can sleep. Subtle colored-pencil drawings compliment this charming tale making it a perfect read for restless little ones.

What’s under the bed?

Written and illustrated by Joe Fenton

2008 Simon &  Schuster Books 

Poor Fred, he does not want to go to bed. Once tucked in, Fred is afraid there is something under his bed. But, as his imagination takes over trying to figure out what could be under his bed and what it might look like, Fred’s teddy bear, Ted ends up under the bed. Fun black and white images with bits of color that depict the “monster under the bed” fill each page as Fred realizes the only thing under his bed is Ted.

Weezer changes the world

Written and illustrated by David McPhail

2009 Beach Lane Books  

Can a dog change the world? Well, Weezer can! Weezer came into this world an ordinary dog but one day, he was struck by lightning and could do math, play the piano, help doctors find cures, and discover how to accomplish peace on earth. Then, it happened again, Weezer got struck twice and now he can no longer do those amazing things. Weezer has returned to being a normal, well-loved dog. But, the world has changed.

Cute imagines of a little yellow pup help to reinforce the fact that dreams do come true and change can happen. An inspirational story brought to life by fantastic images.

Un-brella

Written and illustrated by Scott E. Franson

2007  Roaring Brook Press  

Paper cutout illustrations create the little girl and her magic umbrella. On a snowy day the little girl emerges in a bathing suit, grabs her un-brella and heads outside. Upon opening the un-brella, the world changes from a snow day to a spring day full of sunshine, flowers, and green grass. On another day that is sunny and warm, the girl is dressed head to toe in snow gear and her un-brella opens to give her a world of winter where she can make snowmen. The closing of the story is a rainy day and the girl is prepared to open her un-brella. What will this day bring? A fantastic story to learn about seasons as well as encourage creativity.

Train Song

Written by Harriet Ziefert; illustrated by Donald Saaf

2000 Orchard Books  

Fascinated with trains, a little boy plays with his toy train while watching a freight train go by. Kids will want to repeat the sounds of the black train as it clickety clacks and choo choos around town. Rhyming verse will mesmerize your youngster along with beautifully illustrated images as the story chugs along through valleys and over hills pulling the cars on the tracks and eventually coming into the station.

Toot & Puddle

Written and illustrated by Holly Hobbie

1997  Little Brown 

Can the best of friends be completely different? Well, if they are Toot and Puddle they can be. Pigs, Toot and Puddle, live together in Woodcock Pocket. Toot enjoys the adventurous life while Puddle is a homebody. Both have wonderful experiences in the environments they feel most comfortable in and share their experiences with one another through letters. Charming watercolor pictures allow the reader to enjoy the adventures along the way too.

The three little pigs

Written and illustrated by David Wiesner

2002  Scholastic Inc.  

The classic tale of The three little pigs gets a bit of a makeover in David Wiesner’s rendition that has been recognized as a 2002 Caldecott Medal winner. As each pig builds his home and the wolf gets ready to blow down their house, the pig escapes the story leaving the wolf confused and now, trapped in the pages. The pigs escape reeks havoc upon other stories such as Hey Diddle Diddle where they rescue the cat and the fiddle, and then remove from another fairytale, a dragon and a golden rose. Their movement is followed throughout the book in watercolor and colored ink until the pigs are removed from their story and the illustrations now become almost comic book in nature with speech balloons, until the pigs return to their original story. Now, even the original story line has changed with the addition of a dragon that scares away the big bad wolf. Consistent with all classic fairytales, the tale ends with everyone living “happily every after”.

Ten tiny babies

Written and illustrated by Karen Katz

2008 Margaret K. McElderry Books 

Starting out with one little baby running, then adding on one baby more at a time doing some sort of fun activity like hopping or spinning, until all 10 babies are going through the motions to get ready for bed: eating, taking a bath, and putting on pajamas. The story finishes up with all 10 babies falling fast asleep. Vibrant and colorful illustrations accompany this fun and moving rhyme dedicated to counting.

Squeaky clean

Written by Simon Puttock; illustrated by Mary McQuillan

2002  Little Brown 

What’s worse than three little dirty pigs that need to take a bath? Three little pigs that continue to get dirty just to take a bath! Mama pig entices her little piggies by adding bubbles and rubber duckies to the bath water. Once in, the piggies have so much fun! They love taking a bath so much they want to sneak out and get dirty just to take a bath again. Poor mama, will she ever get time to take a bath herself?

Every parent knows how hard it is at times to get their little ones in the tub. Squeaky Clean is a great way to show children just how fun bath time can be especially if you want to do take a bath more than once a night! This is a wonderful book to add to storytimes dealing with hygiene or bath time.

Somewhere in the ocean

Written by Jennifer Ward and T.J. Marsh; illustrated by Kenneth J. Spengler

2000 Rising Moon 

If you enjoy Raffi’s “Over in the Meadow” nursery rhyme tune, this is the book for you. Somewhere in the ocean is set to the same musical jingle except in this version all the parents and babies are sea creatures: sea otters, jellies, orcas, and manatees, just to name a few. The rhyming text can be a bit tricky in some areas but the amazing graphics will definitely keep a child interested. As will searching the pages for the related hidden number. A list of fun facts about the sea creatures and a piano accompaniment complete the book.

Rain drop splash

Written by Alvin Tresselt; illustrated by Leonard Weisgard

1946  Mulberry Books  

The 1947 Caldecott Medal Honor book is a complicated story. While the premise is easy to understand: a tiny raindrop multiplies to become a brook, eventually a lake, and finishing up a sea; the vocabulary is busy and overwhelming (i.e.- pickerel weed). The illustrations of a monotonous tone depicts the storyline, however some images do a decent job of showing how the water takes over whatever it touches. One could view this book as an analogy that as the water grows and becomes more complicated so does the story itself, as it grows in breadth and vocabulary.

Pinkalicious

Written by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann; illustrated by Victoria Kann

2006 Harper Collins 

Eating too many pink cupcakes has turned a little girl pink. The doctor has diagnosed her with Pinkititis and she must eat green things to turn back to her normal color. Hearing what the doctor has said and being chased down by bees, butterflies, and birds would scare any child from eating anything else pink but not this little girl until she eats one more pink cupcake and turns RED! Then green food item in the fridge is served up to change Pinkalicious (a nickname given to her by her father) into the pretty little girl she used to be. But the story is not over yet now her brother is PINK! This is funny story with mixed media illustrations that are entertaining and encourage a giggle or two.

Owen and Mzee: The true story of a remarkable friendship

Written by Isabella Hatkoff; pictures by Paula Kahumbu

2006  Scholastic Press  

A nonfiction story about a hippo named Owen that was orphaned after a Tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean off of Indonesia in 2004. Owen is “adopted” by a 100 plus year old tortoise named Mzee. The book’s storyline and photographic images share an amazing tale about the relationship between a tortoise and a hippo. The books authors have established a series that has followed the Owen and Mzee since their meeting over six years ago. This is a wonderful story that teaches children about love and friendships in all forms.

Milo Armadillo

Written and illustrated by Jan Fearnley

2009  Candlewick Press 

Tallulah just wants a pink fluffy rabbit for her birthday just like the rabbits everyone else has but the toy store and the pet store seem to be out. Grandma says she can knit one and although she tries, she ends up making a surprise stuffed animal that is pink and many other colors too since she ran out of pink yarn. The animal is Milo Armadillo. Not happy with her gift, Tallulah knows that Grandma has worked very hard to make Milo but is unable to hide her disappointment. Milo wants to be accepted by Tallulah but is unable to change into a pink rabbit and therefore returns to Grandma for her to fix. When Tallulah realizes Milo is missing, she is so sad and finally realizes how wonderful Milo is and catches Grandma before Milo is changed into a pink rabbit.

A beautiful story of friendship is equally beautiful in illustration. Pages filled with mixed media of watercolor, fabric, and yarn tells the story alongside a straightforward narrative.

Margaret and Margarita

Written and illustrated by Lynn Reiser

1996 HarperCollins  

Margaret and Margarita is a picture book that demonstrates the innocence of children as a blessing. Both girls, along with their mothers, go to the park. While the mothers sit on the same park bench and do not engage in conversation due to their “language barrier”, the girls meet on the playground and become friends. The girls play, laugh, and learn new words in the other’s language.

This is a story that depicts both adults as being unwilling to communicate until their children show them how. It is a wonderful example of what children are able to overlook and what adults create as obstacles to initiate a friendship. Besides the exceptional way that Reiser deals with the difficult subject matter that is so prevalent in today’s society, the story is charming and the illustrations appealing both in color and contrast.

The Magic Peach: A story from Japan

Written by Janet Palazzo-Craig; illustrated by Makiko Nagano

1996 Troll Communications  

How would you like to bite into a peach and out pops a baby boy? What a surprise that would be! That is exactly what happens to an older couple in this Japanese tale. Peach Boy is raised by the older couple and is a good son. So good in fact that when the village is attacked by ogres, Peach Boy heads out to stop the ogres and recover the village’s stolen treasures. Along the way, Peach Boy makes friends with a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant. Together they defeat the ogres and get back the treasure.

The Magic Peach is a celebrated folktale, along with many other Japanese traditional folktales, are designed to teach children about honorable traits such as respect for parents, doing the right thing, and friendship. The story is easy to read and understand, while the watercolor illustrations are beautiful detailed and portray the story’s meaning seamlessly.

LMNO peas

Written and illustrated by Keith Baker

2010 Beach Lane Books 

Peas of all walks of life liven up the mundane descriptions of the letters in the alphabet. From A to Z peas are drawn to represent different occupations such as astronauts, Elvis impersonators, and investigators, just to name a few. Each pea is uniquely designed making each one fun to look at and talk about. And, with each page, a child’s vocabulary is heightened by the new words. A fun way to encourage learning, especially when the child is asked at the end of the book what would they like to be.

The Lion and the Mouse

Written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

2009 Little Brown Books 

This book is the 2010 Caldecott Award winner. A beautiful book filled with pages of watercolor and colored pencil images that tell the story. The lack of words encourages a child’s imagination to tell the story in their own unique way based on individual interpretation.