Kids Lit
Books and More for Children and Teens

Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clarke, illustrated by Garry Parsons.

Early one morning, a hen notices that one of her chicks is stuck in the mud.  She pushes and shoves, but can't get the chick out and then finds herself stuck too!  One by one, more animals join them stuck all together in the mud.  All push and strain to get unstuck, but all are trapped.  All except one!  The little chick who started the mess!

The art here is so funny and inviting.  Done in a cartoon style that will make small children right at home, it is perfectly paired with the zany text that will have children even more at home.   The text is pitch perfect, reading aloud so easily that it fairly skips along.  This is the perfect book for a toddler story time where children will love to shout out the animal names and join in the straining to push and pull the animals out of the mud.

Highly recommended for ages 3-6.  Have a muddy good time!

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My Friend the Starfinder by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Stephen Gammell.

Ready yourself for a true story that defies belief.  A girl meets am old man who tells her amazing stories.  He starts by telling her of seeing a star fall and then heading into the fields to where it landed.  He picked up the star and took it home.  Then there was the time he found himself at the end of a rainbow, doused in colors.  Readers at this point will think they are in the middle of a magical picture book story, but in the author's note, Lyon tells us that she knew this man.  What a perfect way for it all to end.  In truth.

Lyon's language here is gorgeous and often breathtaking.  She starts out with plain and simple wording that gets caught in the story and expands, filling the book with metaphor and wonder.  And to make it even more wonderful, she does it a second time and readers will feel just as captured and amazed as the first time.

Pair her deft language with Gammell's art and you get a book that fairly sings with color and story.  Gammell uses his loose art to perfectly capture the connections between people and the singular moments we find ourselves in. 

Highly recommended, this picture book is a welcome addition to any library collection.  It should be shared with children and then they should be given time to hear your stories of wonders that have happened to you and to share their own.  A chance to share and connect is the perfect ending to this book.

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Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis.

First, let me just applaud this book for not being PINK and SPARKLY.  Instead it is red and sparkly and has a girl who is a spunky individual.  Lulu's parents are busy and her big brother is playing baseball with his friends, so that leaves her to find her own fun along with her dog Bingo.  Lulu spends the day outside in the backyard, running, saving ants from boulders, crossing puddles that could contain sharks, and building a fort of her own. 

Captured in the illustrations are her sense of self and freedom.  Lovely to see in a book for girls, Lulu is not squeamish and has a vivid imagination that keeps her more than busy enough while everyone is busy.  The illustrations are full of movement, breeze and joy.  They capture a day spent outside alone and the fun that can be found there. 

Highly recommended as an antidote to pink sparkly books.  This book could serve as a primer for modern children finding good old-fashioned fun in their own backyards.  Recommended for ages 5-7.

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How Big Is the World? by Britta Teckentrup.

From the author of Big Smelly Bear comes this book about a young mole who wants to know how big the world is.  As he travels, he asks different animals who all reveal the limitations of their own view of the world.  That is until he reaches the ocean and finds a whale who says that he has never yet reached the end of the world and carries mole and the readers to different lands.  When mole finally returns home to his father, he reports that the world is "as big as you want it to be."

This is a breathtaking book, with illustrations that are large, bold and inviting all at the same time.  Teckentrup's paintings will shout to an audience of preschoolers, draw them in, show them the world, and return them home with the same sense of adventure that little mole has.  Paired with the text that is purely child-friendly, this becomes a picture book worth adding to your collection and using in story times.

Simply lovely and highly recommended for reading to groups, appropriate for ages 3-6.

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The Chicken of the Family by Mary Amato, illustrated by Delphine Durand.

Henrietta's two older sisters tease her mercilessly.  Even though she knows they often tease, Henrietta starts to believe them when they tell her she is really a chicken not a girl.  The feathers they leave in her room are especially convincing.  So Henrietta heads down the road to a nearby farm to find her real family and there on the farm in the chicken yard, she finds creatures who like her and enjoy being with her.  Maybe this is her real family after all?

What could have simply been a silly story becomes much more deep and thoughtful even with its brisk pace and wonderfully bug-eyed illustrations.  This is a great look at teasing in a family and at how children can see things in their own special way.  The entire family dynamic is believable and not overdone.  The pacing is quick, but allows for some reflection about what family is and what truth is. 

Lovely stuff, this is a great book for families to read together.  Recommended for ages 5-7.

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The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill, illustrated by Russell Ayto.

Marjorie doesn't feel special.  Unlike the other cows on the farm, she can't ride a bike or do handstands.  So the chicken concoct a cunning plan to get Marjorie feeling better.  They give her one of their eggs, decorated with black spots.  Crowds and the press come to marvel at this cow who laid an egg.  But when the egg starts to hatch is the plot revealed?  You will just have to read it to find out.

Great fun from the first page, this book combines a silly story and zany illustrations into a package that will delight young readers.  The illustrations make this book with their marching chickens, jealous cows, and a befuddled main character.  They are done as collages with the use of photographs as well as drawings.  Great fun.

Highly recommended to share with a group of preschoolers.  This would make a great final book for story times about either cows or chickens.  For ages 4-6.

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Big Bad Bunny by Franny Billingsley, illustrated by G. Brian Karas.

There are some picture books designed to be great fun to read aloud and this is definitely one of them.   Mama Mouse is sweetly tucking her little baby mice into bed.  Kisses and sweetness reign supreme.  But turn the page and discover the horror of BIG BAD BUNNY stomping and rampaging no matter what is in her way.  Mama Mouse discovers that Baby Boo Boo is missing!  And then readers discover that Big Bad Bunny is what Baby Boo Boo turns into when she is angry, especially about being called a baby!

Moving between the loud anger of Big Bad Bunny and the tooth-achingly sweet mothering of Mama Mouse is great fun.  And the text is written perfectly to move between them.  Karas' art is as vibrant as ever, skillfully telling more of the story than the words do alone. 

Small children everywhere will love this story and will relate with relish to the anger of Baby Boo Boo.  So here we have a picture book that parents will love to read, children will love to listen to, and which has a great message.  What immense fun!  Recommended for small children (not babies) everywhere, especially those ages 4-6.

Visit the Franny Billingsley's homepage at http://www.frannybillingsley.com/, where you will discover her fantasy books for older children.

Visit G. Brian Karas' page at http://www.gbriankaras.com/ and enjoy his other picture books which are some of my all-time favorites like Muncha, Muncha, Muncha!

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Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach by Melanie Watt.

Scaredy returns in his third book that follows the same wonderful theme as the first two.  Though Scaredy would love to go to the beach there are so many wrong crowds that he could be surrounded by that he doesn't think it's wise.  So Scaredy creates a beach of his own using an inflatable pool and kitty litter.  But something is missing - the sounds are all wrong.  So Scaredy sets off to find a seashell at the beach to put to his ear.  He plans carefully but somehow doesn't factor in one little detail - people.

Watt's art is as always very fresh and fun.  The quirks of Scaredy's logic and thoughts are again thoroughly entertaining.  I love the touches of oven mitts, his middle name, and the care he puts into anything he does.  Very funny, unique and above all child-friendly.

Highly recommended where the first two were popular.  But if you don't have the first two, make sure you get those as well.  The cover art will get the books moving off of your shelves and the stories will keep them coming back for more.  Recommended for ages 5-7.

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What's So Bad About Being an Only Child? by Cari Best, illustrated by Sophie Blackall.

Rosemary Emma Angela Lynette Isabelle Iris Malone knows what it feels like to be an only child.  And to her, it feels horrible!  Smothering and lonely at the same time.  She begs for a sibling, sulks for a sibling, but her parents don't understand what's wrong with being an only child.  Rosemary struggles with her lack of brother or sisterhood until she meets a turtle at the pond and brings it home.  Soon other animals follow as well and she has a menagerie at home who play with her, argue, share secrets and generally are the family she never had.

Rosemary is a character written and illustrated with such verve and vinegar.  She's a refreshing change from other little girls in picture books who can be a bit too pink and frilly to read as real.  Rosemary is a true child from her pigtails to her crooked teeth to the glint of frustration in her eye.  The illustrations and the text work well together, creating the pitch-perfect tone here.

While reading the book, I feared that this little girl was going to find a way to have a baby enter her family in one way or another.  So I was happily surprised when she started collecting animals to be her family. 

Immensely fun to read aloud and a joy to share, this book will be loved by children with many brothers and sisters or those with none.  Recommended for ages 5-7.

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Looking for Loons by Jennifer Lloyd, illustrated by Kirsti Anne Wakelin.

Woken by the first morning sun, Patrick heads to the porch to watch for loons on the lake.  One by one, his family members join him, each awoken by a sound or smell to the beauty of the fall day.  It takes patience and willpower (to not succumb to the smell of a pancake breakfast) to watch for the loons.  By the end of the book, Patrick's patience is rewarded.

The prose in this book is poetic and beautiful.  It perfectly captures the stillness of a morning broken only by the slightest of noises like slippers flopping, kettles whistling and skillets being placed on the stove.  The interludes where the text breaks away from the cabin and looks towards other creatures around the lake are wonderful as well, allowing readers to "see" birds, frogs, and beavers.

As you can see from the cover, the art of this book is done with realism and softness.  It dances between almost photographic realism and a blurriness of sunshine and dappling of leaves.  As the text moves to outside glimpses, so do the illustrations, revealing even more creatures than the text itself. 

Perfect reading for anyone who heads north to a cabin or wishes they could.  This book is not only about loons, but also about wilderness and patience and family.  It has a cozy warmth about it, perfectly capturing a sunny autumn morning.  Recommended for ages 5-8.

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A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton.

Bear never has visitors, in fact he even has a sign on his door that says "NO visitors allowed."  When a small determined Mouse comes to the door, Bear turns him away.  But Mouse appears all over inside Bear's house as he prepares for breakfast.  After trying and trying to keep Mouse out of his house, Bear gives up and allows him to stay for tea.  And with that one snack together, Bear discovers that maybe, just maybe, he doesn't hate having visitors so very much.

This book is simply charming.  The soft-hued illustrations don't shy away from some great slapstick comedy routines.  They will delight young readers.  The repetition and rhythm in text makes this a perfect read-aloud and children will enjoy chorusing some of the repetition along with the reader.  Under all of this runs a story that is warm and filled with friendliness. 

A great choice for reading aloud to preschoolers and Kindergarten classes. 

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Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis.

Portis returns with a second book following her winning Not a Box.  This time readers experience the joy and play that a stick can create.  A piglet finds a stick and begins to play with it.  The adult voice cautions throughout how a stick should be handled, but the pig is just happily caught up in imaginative play. 

The illustrations here are thick line drawings that echo childhood and the text is short and wonderfully supports the spirit of the illustrations.  The sense of freedom and play here is captured to perfection, just as it was with the first book. 

Very toddler friendly, this book can be shared with a wide range of children from ages 3-6.

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Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton, illustrated by Valeria Petrone.

Red Truck is a hard-working tow truck, especially on a rainy, slushy day when the school bus is stuck on a slippery hill.  Red Truck zooms, pulls, and roars its way through the puddles and ice to save the day.

A perfect book for toddlers and young preschoolers, this book reads aloud like a dream.  So many truck books for small children are just a list of parts and noises, but this book has a story, action and will be popular from the moment it gets into children's hands.  It is the red truck on the cover and the bright vehicles that pop on the grey background that will have small hands reaching for it.  The pictures are very child-friendly and marvelously bold and simple.  Perfection for reading to a large group.

Zooooom over and pick this one out.  It's a guaranteed hit with the preschool set.  Recommended for ages 2-4.

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Monarch and Milkweed by Helen Frost and Leonid Gore.

I know that you probably have read many books about monarchs and have plenty on your library shelves, but you must make room for this one. 

This book about the intertwined lives of monarch butterflies and the milkweed plant is simply marvelous.  It follows the growth of the milkweed plant in spring and the monarchs' flight northward through to the fall when the monarchs return south and the milkweed pods burst open and the flying seeds emerge.

Both the illustrations and text work in partnership here.  Frost's words are poetic and simply lovely.  Her vocabulary is very child-friendly, but the result will have children reaching higher to understand the way she frames her thoughts and creates images with words alone.  Adding to the grace and poetry of the book are the illustrations which are at the same time ethereal and yet realistic.  They shine with an inner light and the colors draw readers in.  This is a glorious marriage that creates a book far beyond what either could be alone.

Highly recommended for all libraries and for parents looking for a great nonfiction book that offers amazing writing.  For ages 6-9.

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Little Boy with a Big Horn by Jack Bechdolt, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino.

Ollie was learning to play a enormous bass horn.  But no one wants to hear his playing of the only song he knew, "Asleep in the Deep" with its great deep notes.  He tries different places all over town to play, but every time he ends up bothering people.  Finally, he heads to the harbor to play in a little boat, and there he learns that all noises have their usefulness and place.

Yaccarino's art is wonderful here, vibrating with his signature style and bold colors.  Bechdolt's words are filled with sounds, music and also colors.  It is a very successful pairing.

Recommended for children age 5-7, this picture book is great fun.

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Peanut by Linas Alsenas.

Mildred is lonely until one day she finds a stray digging in the garbage.  She tries to give him bones, take him to the dog park, and other things you would do for a dog, but Peanut is different than other dogs.  But Mildred loves him anyway, despite his differences.  When a man from the circus comes to take his lost elephant back from Mildred, she is left alone again.  Until she finds a lost... kitten.

Alsenas' tone in the text is perfectly pitched, allowing readers and listeners simply ride the gag of the book along to the end.  The art is equally successful, not over-the-top funny but allowing the joke of the book to really shine through. 

Preschoolers adore books where they immediately get the joke and this is one of those.  Read it deadpan and sincerely and you will add to their glee.  Recommended to share with a group of preschoolers, age 4-6.

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Twilight Hunt by Narelle Oliver.

A screech owl heads out on a hunt to bring her babies food.  But every time she's about to catch something it manages to evade her by camouflaging itself in the environment.  Sharp eyes will see not only the one animal hiding but many animals in each image blending gracefully into the surroundings. 

The marriage of great language and wonderful images is perfection here.  The language contains those great words that will expand small readers' vocabulary without them even realizing it.  Lizards scuttle, moths skim and wingbeats are noiseless.  The brief but powerful text leads from one picture to the next where children will lean closer to see the hidden creatures and by the end they too will be noiseless and even breathless.

A powerful book about an intriguing subject, this book is better used with a very small group or one-on-one because of the delicacy and details of the illustrations.  Simply elegant and lovely.

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The Getaway by Ed Vere.

Looking for a breakneck-paced picture book that will immediately grab small boys and keep them enthralled?  Have I got a book for you!  Fingers McGraw is an infamous cheese thief and the reader is immediately enlisted to help him escape with his stolen cheeses.  Jumbo Wayne Jr. is hot on his trail and all the reader needs to do is keep their eyes open and whistle when they see an elephant approaching.  How hard could that be? 

Great dialogue for adults features classic movie quotes and lines that will have you putting on your wildest vintage PI voice ever.  The book is just plain wild fun to share with kids.  Vere's words make the book flow, but his art is just as wild and wonderful, helping to increase the pace of the text.  Fingers always has his ears blowing back in the breeze as he tears past a background of real photographs.  Yes, the art is evocative of Knuffle Bunny's style, but is done with more close up photos so it also has a feel all its own.

A sure-fire hit with kids, save this one for a short school day or a Friday afternoon when the wigglies set in.  Recommended for ages 4-7.

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Kidthing is offering a free online version of Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss where the book is read aloud online.  The book is free through March 31st for classroom use. 

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No! That's Wrong! by Zhaohua Ji and Cui Xu.

When the wind snatches a pair of red lacy underpants off of a clothes line, a rabbit discovers them.  He immediately decides that the underpants are a hat with perfect holes for his ears.  He then heads through the woods and other animals try on the underpants as a hat.  It isn't until he meets a donkey who proves that they are underpants and should be worn on the other end that the rabbit wears them correctly, but his tail doesn't really fit into them and the other animals ask him why he's wearing a hat that way.  So he returns to his original way of wearing the underpants as a hat.  The endpapers feature animals wearing all sorts of people clothes in unique ways.

How can you go wrong with a book about underpants being worn wrong?!  You can't!  It is universal child humor, as proven by the Chinese author and illustrator.  One aspect of the book that I love is that there is a grownup, sensible voice at the end of each two-page spread that speaks in vain.  The illustrations are great fun, enhancing the tone of the words.  In fact, I dare you not to giggle at the crocodile wearing the underpants.

Recommended for reading to only a few children at a time, so that you don't lose control of a larger group.  Some of the pages have more detailed drawings which will work best for small groups to giggle at.

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If a Monkey Jumps Onto Your School Bus by Jean M. Cochran, illustrated by Jennifer E. Morris.

This book is published by Pleasant Street Press, a new small press publishing children's books whose first books were released in December.   I wanted to point this out, because I think it is so important that we start looking beyond the large publishers for quality books.

This book is structured as a guide book for what you should do if the animals break out of the local zoo and start heading your way.  And what should you do?  If a hippo appears offer her pancakes and tea.  Let the lion drive the carpool.  And just get out of the elephant's way as he rounds the bases.  The book is filled with humor and situations that children will enjoy.  The juxtaposition of zoo animals and their everyday routines will get children engaged and laughing along.  To add to the fun, try to spot the monkey on each page.

Cochran's jaunty rhymes contribute to the spirit of fun and move the book along at a romping pace.  Morris' art is vivacious, colorful and very child-friendly.  The docile animals add to the fun without creating any worry at all for children, even the grinning alligator is friendly. 

Share this one for storytimes on any zoo animal, but especially monkeys.  The rhyming is fun to read aloud and the illustrations will project well to a group.

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Nature's Paintbox: A Seasonal Gallery of Art and Verse by Patricia Thomas, illustrated by Craig Orback.

Wowza.  This is a great book of poetry for children! 

The book moves as a single poem throughout the seasons, rhyming and rhythmic and capturing with clarity each season.  The book also combines an understanding of art with the verse, moving from medium to medium to evoke each season as pure and distinct from the others.  Winter is done in pen and ink, spring in pastels, summer in watercolors and autumn in oils.  And each illustration shows why that is true in the same way as the dazzling poetry does.  While I enjoyed the poetry throughout the book, I am filled with amazement and wonder at the autumn section where Thomas' verse gets as voluptuous and full as the season itself.  The book begins with spare verse about winter, slowly developing throughout the year until autumn arrives and the boundlessness of the season, the colors is almost overwhelming.  Colors are described as "redorangepurplebronzeindigogoldgreen."  And you know just what she means.  It is a joy to read, to dance along with these words and these illustrations through the year.

Highly recommended as a read aloud.  You won't be able to read it to yourself anyway when you reach those colorful words in autumn because they beg to be read aloud and come to life.  Add this one to your seasonal story times or units.  Plus it can be enjoyed by art classes looking at different media where children understanding the seasons already can relate.  Children aged 6-9 will enjoy this best of all.

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Apples and oranges:  going bananas with pairs by Sara Pinto.

Pure silliness in a very appealing package, this book will offer groans of delight.  Each page offers a pair of objects and asks how they are alike.  You then turn the page to find the strange reason they are alike.  And yes, there are always always obvious reasons, but those are never the ones given in the book.  So here's one for you:

How are a starfish and an octopus alike?  Give up?  They both don't knit.

The book goes on and on like that, much to the delight of children it is shared with.  In fact, they will begin to make their own outrageous guesses as to how the items are alike, creating a really interactive experience for them.  The cacophony when shared with a class will be joyous and fun.

The illustrations by Pinto are friendly, funny, and continue the silliness onto the page.  They are the perfect match of line drawings featuring nicely drawn animals and objects and also a silly vibe after the page is turned. 

Sure to be a hit with children, especially if you as a reader play it deadpan and serious.  Children have to be a certain age to get the joke, so I'd recommend sharing this one with ages 6-8.

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Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.

Jazz Baby is awake in his crib when the rhythms and music start and he claps along with the beat.  Then everyone joins in making their own signature sounds and dancing in different styles.  This musical picture book has plenty of opportunities for children to hum, sing and move along with the story.  The text is pure rhythm and rhyme where you can feel your feet tapping and your body swaying along.  It is a joy to read aloud and will be a joy to listen to as well.

The illustrations by Christie are also winning, as we see family members will all different skin tones, styles and movements.  It is a look at diversity within a loving family unit filled with several generations of love.  The illustrations just like the words seem to capture jazz itself, its flow and its improvisational aspects. 

Highly recommended for reading aloud, make sure everyone is invited to move, wiggle and clap along.  They will anyway!



Author's website:  www.lisawheelerbooks.com

Illustrator's website:  www.gas-art.com

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