Violet and Victor Write the Best-Ever Bookworm Book by Bethanie Deeney Murguia

Victor and Violet are twins.  Violet loves to write and is a great speller.  Victor is would rather count his worms then write a book with Violet.  Together they will write a story, one that Violet hopes will be a best-seller.  Through a series of conversations, the two create an adventure story about a terrible book-eating monster that turns out to be a bookworm.  The illustrations are incredible with a great mix of mediums, lettering and coloring combined using Adobe Photoshop (information in back of book).

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Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

Maddi's Fridge by Lois Brandt

Sofia and Maddie love to go to the park and race and climb until "the taxis stop honking."  But one day after playing Sofia runs to Maddie's house hoping for a snack and instead gets big surprise when she finds nothing but milk in the fridge.  Maddie explains that they do not have enough money to buy more food.  Sophie being a good friend decides she will try to help Maddie and her family.  She does not want to break her promise to her friend and decides she will not tell her mom.  But when Sofia's attempts to help Maddie's family ends badly, she must make a big decision and hope her friend understands her decision.  A great introduction for students to learn about hunger and the world around them in a gentle story told very appropriately for younger audience.

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Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves - I LOVE the illustrations in this book!!  AND the endpages are amazing!!!  I am anxious to see other books from this illustrator.

The Story Starts Here! by Caroline Merola

Little Wolf is changing things a little today.  He begins by having his story start at the end of the book.  Why?  Because he wants to!  Next he has decided he will eat standing up AND begin with desert.  Little Wolf's actions continue much the same way until his parents send him to his room.  There he decides he is not sticking around and sneaks out the window.  However Little Wolf gets more than he bargained for when a scary "monster" begins chasing him.  The topsy-turvy day may be more than Little Wolf bargained for.  The unusual way this book is read will be enjoyable for older students, and hopefully not confusing for the younger students.  The text told through speech bubbles also opens up the possibility for a fun buddy reading activity.

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Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Olive and the Embarrassing Gift by Tor Freeman

Olive's good friend Joe has given him a gift, a hat that says "best friends" on it.  Olive does not like the hat.  He thinks it looks silly.  Apparently many others think the hat looks ridiculous also as they laugh when they see him wearing it.  Olive is so tired of being laughed at that he takes the hat and throws it in the trash can.  Unfortunately Joe sees him do it.  Olive realizes he has not been a good friend but how can he make it better?  How can he get his friend Joe to forgive him?  Another great Olive book that teaches valuable life skills.  Great starting point for discussions.

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Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Betty Goes Bananas by Steve Antony

Betty loves bananas.  When she sees a delicious looking banana she can't wait to eat it up.  But there is a problem.  Betty can not get the banana opened.  She is very frustrated.  A toucan comes along and offers to help with the banana and proceeds to show Betty how to open a banana.  But Betty is still not happy and the worst is yet to come.  Will Betty ever be able to enjoy her lovely banana?  Great read aloud for preschool kiddos that touches on problem solving.

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Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Dangerous by Tim Warnes

Mole loved labeling things.  One day he comes across something unusual.  He decides to label this unusual thing in his path.  When that big thing yawns Mole realizes that this unusual thing may just eat him!  This unusual thing is dangerous and soon eats all of Mole's labels!  Mole soon realizes that the words he made might not be the best choices for this unusual creature.  Great use of words - fun describing words.

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Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Goodnight Already! by Jory John

Bear is very tired and ready to sleep for a LONG time.  Bear is settling in for a long nap when he hears a knock at the door.  Duck has come over and he is NOT tired.  Duck has lots of ideas of things they could do:  play cards, start a band, make a smoothie, read books, etc.  Bear does NOT want to do anything except sleep.  Duck is not willing to give up so easily.  Will Bear every get to sleep?  Hilarious, funny book perfect for bedtime.

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Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall

Something is just not right with Red the crayon.  Everyone tries to help but no matter how hard they try, Red just does not end looking so Red.  In fact Red looks rather blue.  It is not until he meets a new friend, Berry, that he is finally able to see that he is really quite good at making water, blue jeans, blue whales, blueberries, blue birds, etc.  Creatively told with a bit of humor and underlying lesson….you can't always judge a crayon by its paper.  

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Illustrations:  5 Buckeye Leaves

I Don't Want to Be a Frog by Dev Petty

Little frog does not want to be a slimy, wet frog.  Little frog would like to be a cat or rabbit or a pig or an owl.  When little frog tells the bigger frog his feelings, the bigger frog has a counter argument for each of little frog's choices.  The big frog, with the help of a badger, is finally able to come up with an argument to convince the little frog that being a frog may be a better choice.  Similar to Piggie and Elephant, kids will love the speech bubbles.

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Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo

A boy has gone to the city to visit his nana.  He loves his nana but he does NOT love the city.  The city is busy, loud, and filled with scary things.  He does not think his nana should live in the city.  But nana gives him a red cape and shows the boy HER city.  Yes, the city is busy and loud but that does not have to be a bad thing.  And there are also some NOT so scary things in the city.  A great book for discussion on perspective and looking at things differently.  Simple text makes it easier to find the "lesson" to be learned from the boy's experience in the city.  The illustrations most certainly support the text and without the illustrations, especially since they repeat in the second half of the book, the message would be lost.

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Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Earmuffs for Everyone by Meghan McCarthy

I will admit I am a big fan of Meghan McCarthy's nonfiction books.  I love "tricking" kids into reading nonfiction and LEARNING something and them not even knowing it!  Awesome!  Her nonfiction books read like a picture book story so the kids that are reluctant to reading nonfiction will actually read them!!  Furthermore I love the topics she picks:  Balto, Seabiscuit, Walter Diemer, etc.  That being said, her newest books is about Chester Greenwood, inventor, or the "improver" of Earmuffs.  The book also has a nice introduction to the process of inventing and patents.  It also discuses other inventors, such as Edison, and Greenwood's other inventions.  A great fun introduction to someone few may be familiar with.

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Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

How To Bake a Book by Ella Burfoot

Bake a book?  One little girl learns the recipe for "baking" the perfect book. Characters, some big words, some little words, some pictures, good and bad - all mixed together for a perfect book.  Great introduction to writing for elementary students - or reminder of the important elements that must be combined to make a perfect book.  Illustrations are fun and perfectly suited to the content of the book.

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Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves