fiction

Alfie Gets In First. Shirley Hughes

After grocery shopping, Alfie races to get home before his mother and little sister. His mother unlocks the door and, as she turns to get Annie Rose from the stroller, Alfie runs in and slams the door. Now Alfie is locked inside, and Mom and a cranky Annie Rose are locked outside. At the climax of the story we have Mom, Rose, the neighbor Mrs. MacNally, Mrs. MacNally’s Maureen, the milkman, and the window washer all crowded on the doorstep trying to help Alfie. Little children (I too!) enjoy being able to see what is happening on the other side of the door as Alfie courageously wipes away his tears, drags his step-stool to the door, and proudly opens it to the astonished gathering. Everyone comes in for a cup of tea and a satisfying ending.

Blueberries for Sal, Robert McCloskey

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Bill Martin, Jr. [Ill. Eric Carle]

Available as a board book.

Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys, and Their Monkey Business, Esphyr Slobodkina

“For in those days, so I’m told, beasts and birds could talk and sing.” Barbara Cooney has adapted for children the Nun’s tale from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. This retelling of the classic fable  has the full, delicious taste of medieval English. Chanticleer is magnificent. “His comb was redder than fine coral and turreted like a castle wall, his bill was black and shone like jet, and his legs and toes were like azure. His nails were whiter than the lily, and his feathers were like burnished gold.”

Both the proud rooster and the flattering fox learn a valuable lesson from their encounter. “For he who closes his eyes when he should watch, God never let him prosper.” “God bring misfortune to him who is so careless about his self-control as to prattle when he should hold his peace.”

The Caldecott-winning illustrations were created after study of rare illumined manuscripts, and are indeed “handsome as a medieval herbal.”

Chanticleer dreams of the impending danger.

Corduroy, Don Freeman

The dust jacket reads, “A brave young mouse and his lady fair find a seemingly deserted castle one fine summer day, cross over the drawbridge, and venture in, unaware that a villainous outlaw was been stalking them. Once they are inside, the villain slams shut the heavy outer door and turns the key on them.” This wordless book tells its story through the enchanting watercolors of Mr. Goodall. A storyteller sharing the book with a little one can make the tale as long or short, simple or elaborate as the occasion requires. Mr. Goodall devised a new format which alternates between full and half pages of watercolor illustration, increasing the suspense of the story.

Engine, Engine Number Nine, Stephanie Calmenson

An Evening at Alfie’s. Shirley hughes

Mom and Dad are going to an evening concert, and leave Alfie and Annie Rose at home with Maureen to babysit them. It begins as a peaceful evening. Maureen reads aloud the story of Noah’s ark before tucking Alfie and his baby sister in bed. Soon, Alfie hears a strange dripping sound. The water main has burst! Will they all float away like Noah’s ark? All concludes happily, but Alfie feels he’s had enough of water for awhile! This was my favorite of the Alfie stories.

Good Dog, Carl, Alexandra Day

Mother must go out, so Carl the faithful rottwieler is left at home to watch the baby. When Mother has left, Carl helps Baby out of the crib for an hour of playful fun, but before Mother returns, Carl needs to wash the Baby and pick up the house. Good dog, Carl! This is a charming and humorous picture book with a minimum of words. The story is told eloquently by the engaging paintings of Alexandra Day. it is a favorite of toddlers. Available as a board book.

Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia, Herman Parish [ill. Lynn Sweat]

Amelia Bedelia is the Rogers’ literal-minded maid. When Amelia Bedelia is at the wheel, a drive in the country with Mr. Rogers becomes a real escapade. When instructed to look for a fork in the road, Amelia Bedelia can’t even find a spoon! Children love the many clever plays on words.

Goodnight, Moon, Margaret Wise Brown

This is the classic bedtime ritual. A mother rabbit and her bunny say goodnight to various objects in the bedroom. As one turns the pages, the room becomes dimmer and dimmer. The predictable text is soothing combined with its rhythm and the tranquil illustrations. Illustrations are alternated between color and black and white. Available as a board book.

Harry the Dirty Dog, Gene Zion

The Little House, Virginia Lee Burton

Mrs. Brown Went to Town, Wong Herbert Yee

The Musical Life of Gustav Mole, Michael Twinn [ill. Kathryn Meyrick]

Lucky the mole born into a musical family! Gustav is such a mole. From the first lullabies of his mother, Gustav loves music and works hard to become a violin virtuoso and composer. Through the musical life of Gustav, introduce children to a wide variety of instruments  (violin, cello, oboe, piano, etc.) and musical styles (classical, folk, jazz, opera). The CD recording accompanying some editions is, I think, an essential. As the narrator (Patrick McNee) reads about the different instruments or musical styles, children can listen to the music.

Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs, Tomie dePaola

Now One Foot, Now the Other, Tomie dePaola

In this tranquil picture-book, a young girl tells us how she went with "Pa" on her first owling in the winter woods. It is bitterly cold and very dark, but the little girl knows that she must be very quiet and patient and brave. She has been waiting a long time for this trip, and the two are eventually rewarded with a glorious glimpse of the majestic owl. The lyrical, measured lines are almost poetic. The watercolor illustrations are beautiful. This quiet celebration of family and nature would make a lovely bedtime read.

Over in the meadow, in the sand, in the sun,/ Lived an old mother turtle and her little turtle one./ “Dig!” said the mother./ “I dig,” said the one./ So he dug all day in the sand, in the sun.

The traditional Appalachian counting rhyme is beautifully illustrated by the textured paintings of a Caldecott-medal winning artist. From turtles digging beneath the burning sun, to fireflies twinkling in the shady glen, animal mothers teach their children proper behavior, and teach young readers to count to ten.

Ox-Cart Man, Donald Hall

The first thing I noticed when I cracked the covers was the words!—large pages full of words! This is unusual and wonderful in a children’s picture book. The vocabulary, sentence structure, and tone of the book are all respectful to the natural abilities of a child. And there are pictures, too! The margins are full of detailed pencil drawings and little notes of sea life, and every fourth page is a beautiful, full-page color illustration.

This delightful and funny book tells the life-story of Pagarus (Pagoo, for short), following his development from a tiny, feathery creature to a happy, two-fisted hermit crab. Always with him is Old Pal Instinct, who advises and directs him through his many adventures in the tidal pools. The story is interesting for itself, but also richly informative. Third Brother commented brightly: “You really learn things in this book!” We learned not only about hermit crabs, but about barnacles, crabs, snails, starfish, mussels, and other fascinating sea creatures and their habitat. There are twenty chapters of three pages each, so you can break the story into little readings, though Third Brother and I gulped it down in three sittings. (I appreciated the occasional inclusion of a pronunciation guide!) A few phrases of evolutionary thought can be easily edited when reading. Words such as ‘enchanted’ and ‘witchery’ are used to describe the beauty of an underwater grotto. The octopus is referred to as the ‘Witch,’ and her tentacle as a ‘magic wand.’

The Relatives Came, Cynthia Rylant [ill. Stephen Gammell]

[28 p]

The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter

Available as a board book.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle

Available as a board book.

This was (is) one of my favorite picture books, and I enjoy sharing it with my younger siblings. One blustery day, the West wind carries away Mr. and Mrs. Whirley, leaving their three children alone. Jack, Flora, and baby Rose take turns managing the household, and their different personalities and interests reflect the activities for the day. The illustrations are wonderful; everyone’s favorite is the scene of the children playing pirates on the dining table. Best of all, there is a cleaning scene! The story is happily concluded when Mr. and Mrs. Whirley return “none the worse for wear after their strange trip”—and very impressed by the sparkling house. I highly recommend this book, “a fanciful blend of license and responsibility.”

nonfiction

A Big Cheese for the White House: The True Tale of a Tremendous Cheddar, Candace Fleming [ill. S. D. Schindler]

The Boy Who Drew Birds: The Story of John James Audubon, Jacqueline Davies [ill. Melissa Sweet]

This is a stunningly beautiful book. Simple but engaging text is accompanied by photographs that reveal the wonder of water’s behavior as a liquid, a solid, and a gas—droplets, wild waves, iridescent soap bubbles, snowflakes, clouds, rainbows. The book suggests simple but fascinating experiments; instructions are given in the back of the book. This book immediately found a place on my wish list.

James Herriot’s Treasury for Children, James Herriot

The Librarian Who Measured the Earth, Kathryn Lasky [ill. Kevin Hawkes]

The Lord Builds The House: The 127th Psalm , [ill. Johannah Bluedorn]

The King James version of this psalm is accompanied by the beautifully detailed watercolors of a talented self-taught artist. “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” A hardback edition of this book is available from Trivium Pursuits.

Monet’s Impressions, words and pictures by Claude Monet

From his boyhood in Saint-Hubert, Pierre-Joseph Redouté knew that he wanted to paint flowers. Papa Redouté warned his son that only portraits and historic scenes would earn money, but young Redoute was sure that he would paint best what he loved most. This is the story of the “Rembrandt of Roses” and “Raphael of Flowers,” official Painter of Flowers for both Marie Antoinette and Josephine Bonaparte. Bonaparte divorces his childless wife. [40 p] Supplement this book with a volume of Redoutés original plates, perhaps The Complete Book of 169 Redout Roses with commentary by Frank J. Anderson. [+149 p]

Seurat and La Grande Jatte: Connecting the Dots, Robert Burleigh

Georges Seurat is famous for having invented a technique called pointillism in which he used dabs rather than strokes of paint. Rather than blending his paints to create new shades, he painted dots of pure (unmixed) colors close together. From far away, these colors combined to create the impression of a new color. For example, the green of grass and leaves is actually the effect of yellow and blue dots juxtaposed! This book explores Seurat’s iconic masterpiece Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte, its composition and color.

Sunday with Seurat [Mini Masters series], Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober

From seaside to ringside, Seurat loved to depict contemporary landscapes and people. Seurat’s signature pointillist technique creates a dappled effect that is at once gentle and vibrating. Board book.

This book, beautifully and accurately illustrated by a botanical artist, introduces children to the wonderful design of the tree—of many kinds of trees. Leaves, sap, bark, and roots all work together to nourish the tree throughout the changing seasons and the passing years. This book immediately found a place on my wish list, though I was disappointed to find that it is currently out of print.

Vibrant details from Van Gogh’s paintings are paired with the artist’s own notes about the colors he loved. The evocative and vivid language with its occasional rhyme is an especial delight to young children. Paintings include Sunflowers, “twelve flowers that are light on light”; The Bedroom at Arles, “two chairs the yellow of fresh butter”; and The Starry Night, “and in my head a starry night.”

What Makes a Monet a Monet?, Richard Mühlberger

What Makes a Rembrandt a Rembrandt?, Richard Mühlberger

What Makes a Van Gogh a Van Gogh?, Richard Mühlberger

poetry

A Child’s Garden of Verses, Robert Lewis Stephenson