Dino Pets Go To School By Lynn Plourde

"It's Pet Day!" A very excited boy can't decide which pet to bring. When he arrives with his pet, his teacher is NOT excited about his choice. First his choice is "too tall" and then "loudest" and then "spikest". Each pet the boy brings does not fit the teacher's idea of a pet until he arrives with an egg. His teacher is finally excited but his classmates are not as they are bored.....

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves

I Love Chocolate by Davide Cali

I can't wait to pull this out this little gem I found over the summer...My guess, the teacher's will get a big laugh out of it!! I loved this book.....but I LOVE CHOCOLATE!! The speaker in the book also loves chocolate, all shapes and kinds of chocolate.
"I love chocolate when it's full of surprises.
You have to take a bite to find out what's inside!
Almonds, caramel, nougat, vanilla cream, and best of all, cherries!"

The speaker explains throughout just how much he loves chocolate, and why. At the end of course he explains the one BAD thing about chocolate....

Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves - totally fits text!!
Text: 4 Buckeye leaves

A Storm Called Katrina by Myron Uhlerg

In August 2005 a hurricane named Katrina hit the Gulf Coast causing millions of dollars in damages and displacing millions of families. In this historically based work of fiction, Myron Uhlberg follows a 10 year old boy named Louis Daniel from the first drops of rain, to his family's desperate attempts to escape the rising waters to life in the Super Dome immediately following the storm. The books shares the powerful bond of this small but strong family, and their determination to stay to together. Simply written with enough details for children to understand the main events of this now historical event.

Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves

Old MacDonald Had a Woodshop by Lisa Shulman

"Old MacDonald had a SHOP, E-I-E-I-O! And in her shop she had a SAW, E-I-E-I-O!"

1. Old MacDonald is a HER! Woohoo!
2. She has a shop! I got corrected MANY MANY times by the 3 year old at our house because out of habit I kept saying FARM!! (Something about an old dog new tricks...)
3. Great example of onomatopoeia.

As I have mentioned before I really do enjoy "remakes"! I know some do not, and I also - of course - enjoy new creative books. That being said, I think it is great, for little ones especially, to have a familiar pattern that they hear new words to. Our 3 year old does enjoy his "tools" so this was a perfect choice for him.

Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves
Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
endpages: 5 Buckeye Leaves - LOVE them!! There all all different tools, LABELED!

Llama Llama Home With Mama by Anna Dewdney

Little Llama is back and this time, sniff snuff cough cough, he is not feeling well. Told in Dewdney's usual rhyme and rhythm, Llama Llama is feeling yucky and needs to stay home from school with Mama, reading books and drawing pictures.

"Llama's head is feeling hot.
Llama's throat is hurting lots."

And as luck would have it, just as Llama Llama is feeling better, Mama Llama is starting to feel yucky! (Isn't that always the case!?)
Llama Llama Red Pajama was one of the first "big kid" books Adam and I started reading, so I have a special spot of Llama Llama and Dewdney. We have really enjoyed her book Roly Poly Pangolin and will add this latest installment of Llama Llama to the list.

Illustrations: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Text: 4 Buckeye Leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye Leaves

Bark Park

Come to the dog park where dogs of all shapes, sizes, and colors come to play!

"Hot dog, dot dog, in the park. Fat dog, rat dog. Bark! Bark! Bark!"

Fun rhyming text about a topic most kids, if not all, enjoy reading about, with great choice of words.

Text: 4 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 3 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 4 Buckeye leaves

Prudence Wants A Pet by Cathleen Daly

Prudence wants a pet. She tries to convince her parents, but they do not see it her way. As a result Prudence has a pet stick then twig then shoe then her brother then a tire, etc. When she finally gets her parents to allow her to have sea buddies she is very excited only to be disappointed. Hilarious take on pet-seeking kiddos!!

Text: 4 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves

Happy Birthday, Hamster! by Cynthia Lord

We are VERY excited at our house tonight!!! We just happened to go to the library for some quick returns/pick ups and went to check NEW book section and there it was!!! All shiny and new!! The NEWEST installment from Hot Rod Hamster!!! Same characters, same great rhyme, but guess who is celebrating a birthday?? Hamster is pretty down because it seems none of his friends remembered his birthday! Dog has some shopping to do today so hamster tags along...from cake shop to toy store to card store and finally home to......well, you have to read to find out what SURPRISE hamster finds at home! Super cute....not sure we can wait until April for this one!

Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye Leaves

Gilbert Goldfish Wants a Pet by Kelly DiPucchio

Gilbert wants a pet. Gilbert is a goldfish! One day a dog shows up and Gilbert is ecstatic. But his enthusiasm quickly learns he does NOT want a dog with its barking, barking, and MORE barking!l Next a small gray mouse appears which Gilbert is very excited because it is quiet. Pets continue to show up and with each pet, Gilbert finds a reason that each will not work as his pet. Gilbert has pretty much given up on the idea of having a pet when a new appears with a long tail and whiskers. Will this pet be the one for Gilbert? I love this book. The illustrations and text match perfectly to create a happy and fun book! I plan to ad this to me our pet unit this fall!


Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 4 Buckeye leaves

Cute video trailer on Amazon!

Fancy Nancy: Stellar Stargazer by Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser

Fancy Nancy is very excited to be sleeping outside under the stars with her dad and sister JoJo. Fancy Nancy provides her little sister with lots of information about space and in true fancy way, lots of great vocabulary. I do not get much of an opportunity to read Fancy Nancy at our house, but since the boy LOVES space, he was ok with this book. (And really he will usually listen to anything once....) I have a feeling we might be reading this one again.

Big Brothers Don't Take Naps by Louise Borden

Little brother Nicholas realizes all the things his big brother James can do as well as something James does not have to do. James gets to ride the school bus, he can write his name, call Pop Pop and mimi, etc. and of course James does NOT take naps! James wants to be his big brother and there is a secret that may just give him the chance. Cute, simple book to introduce the idea of a new sibling to young children.

Text: 3 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves

Pretend by Jennifer Plecas

"Pretend," Jimmy said to Dad, " that this couch is a big boat, and that we're floating in the ocean." Thus begins Dad and Jimmy's afternoon adventure which will take them face to face with sharks, to a deserted island, up a mountain, building a fort, and finally relaxing under the stars. A great example of imagination and creative story telling which will be enjoyed by both boys and girls.

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 3 Buckeye leaves

The Lion and the Mice by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley

Based on Aesop's fable, a lion is convinced that a tiny mouse is of no use to him but decides to spare his life anyways. Later that night the mouse returns with friends and frees the lion from his cage. Simple text will make this fable easy for younger readers to understand. The bright colors will attract children as well. Would be a good book to compare/contrast with Jerry Pinkney's Lion and Mouse.


Text: 4 Buckeye leaves (simple enough for young readers)
Illustration: 4 Buckeye leaves

Opposnakes: A Lift-the-Flap Book About Opposites by Salina Yoon

Another fun interactive book for the kids.
"Straight snake. Tangled snake. Dirty snake. Clean snake."
And so it continues with the opposite snake pairs that are revealed with opening each flap. Great, fun introduction to opposites.

Wild Alphabet: An A to Zoo Pop-Up Book By Michael Haines & Julia Frohlich

Antelope, bison, chinchilla, oh my! This amazing pop-up abc book covering animals of all kinds. Each page is a different letter of the alphabet, with an animal that in most cases moves across or out of the book. Each animal is explained with details about the animal. "Narwhal: I'm the unicorn of the sea-I have only one, long, twisted tusk....." Great information, in a fun interactive book.

Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves

Check out the cool video about this book:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6jwVngeM6M



Another ABC animal book that I came across at the library is Brian Wildsmith's Amazing Animal Alphabet. On each page there is an animal that corresponds with the letter. In the back there is additional information about all the animals presented in the book.

Dogfish by Gillian Shields

Adam received this from a friend a few weeks ago......it is hilarious!! "Everyone has a dog...except ME!" As the young boy tries to explain to his mother he NEEDS a dog...his mom uses some of her best lines, like: "Well, if you can't have what you want, you could try to want what you have." The young boy then decides to teach his fish how to be....a DOG! He teaches him to catch a tiny stick, take him for a walk, etc. I plan to use this book with my kindergartners/ 1st graders in our "pet" unit. I know my kids will love the ridiculousness of the boy treating his FISH like a dog!

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves - totally fits the book! So cute!!
endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves....looks like fish gills....love it!

Otto The Boy Who Loved Cars

Otto (and yes, it took me a minute for it to sink it) loves CARS!! He lives cars. He sleeps cars, in his car shaped bed of course! But one day Otto's love for cars goes a little too far. Otto wakes up and is feeling a little strange. He soon realizes he has turned into a....CAR!!! After a day "as a car" Otto starts to wonder if maybe he is too obsessed with cars. A very cute book which car loving kids will especially find appealing. We have one big car loving boy at our house that loves it!


Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves

That Pesky Dragon by Julie Sykes

Izzie's family farm is like many farms: "A goat, a flock of sheep, some chickens, three cats, two dogs and.....A DRAGON!"?? From the time the dragon appears on the farm he has been causing havoc with his loud roar! The milk has been turned to yogurt and the eggs are boiled what is a family to do? Assuming if they stay away the dragon will just go away, the family tries hard to ignore the dragon noise. However Izzie just can't help herself. She decides to go find out why that dragon is roaring so loud.....and what she finds surprises her. Dragon-loving kiddos will love this book! Dragon-loving kid's PARENTS will love the fact that this book is not scary for little kiddos and fulfilling the need to read "big kid topic (dragons) without being scared!!!

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 4 Buckeye leaves

AA is for Aardvark: Double the Letters! Double the Fun! by Mark Shulman

Another ABC book? Not just any ABC book!! This ABC book focuses on DOUBLE letters which adds new fun and new educational experiences for little ones (not to mention the fact I have been looking for double letters ever since I read this book!!)

DD is for puddle.
EE is for beep! beep!
FF is for waffles.
GG is for egg salad.

Of course in addition to the text on each page, the illustrations add another example of the double letter presented on that page! Lots of fun for any age of reader!

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 4 Buckeye leaves

10 Little Hermit Crabs by Lee Fox & Shane McG

I love a good counting book....especially when it is super cute! As you can probably conclude based on the title, 10 little hermit crabs are exploring the beach as one by one they disappear.
"4 little hermit crabs sprint along the sand. One's plucked up by a child's small hand"
This is one of my favorite illustrations as well. The shadow of the child, with spiky, short hair can be seen in the corner! A great summer read for kids of all ages.....while the last few weeks of summer slip away! :)

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves

PETE THE CAT IS BACK!!!!

YAHOO!!! Pete the Cat is back and he is ROCKING HIS SCHOOL SHOES!!! LOVE IT! This is a perfect song for the beginning of the year! You must check this out. Of course Pete is ready for school and is wearing NEW school shoes. He tours his school rocking those new shoes!

Check the video out!
Pete the Cat Video--Click Here!

Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas

How do you know if a book is good? When you have a 3 year old that finds it in the basket of new books from the library, takes it in the other room, starts looking through it - commenting on what is happening on each page, despite never having the book read to him and being pretty darn close too, and CRACKING up hysterically!! It was a hoot!! So anyways, if it is Jan Thomas, you know it is going to be funny....and this one does not disappoint. Duck comes upon a pumpkin and decides to make a jack-o-lantern. Of course he ends up, head first, in the pumpkin. He decides to go look for his friends Pig and Mouse but they think he is the PUMPKIN MONSTER!! Ahhh!!! Of course when Duck hears the Pumpkin Monster is around he also becomes quite scared! Hilarious!! Soon to be a kid favorite!

Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves
*Yes, we will be buying this ASAP!!

Every Cowgirl Needs Dancing Boots by Rebecca Janni

Nellie Sue, cowgirl, is back and this time her boots are ready to DANCE! Mom suggests she asks the girls to join her dancing but they decline. The girls don't dance unless it is in ballet slippers. Nellie Sue decides to have a party but will anyone come? An upbeat example of kids making the decision to do for themselves. Great follow up to her first book.

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves

First Day of School by Anne Rockwell

It is the day BEFORE the first day of school and time for haircuts, backpack buying as well as other school supplies, packing lunches, picking out outfits, and of course, new shoe buying in preparation for the first day of school. The kids reminisce about last year's first day of school to calm nerves. As in most of Anne Rockwell's books, this book is very simple and easy for younger kids to understand. Great look at the steps involved, as well as the feelings that many kids feel, and yes, teachers too, prior to that first day. I am sure this book will be read in many classrooms this year!

Text:4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves - so cute!

Author's site:
www.annerockwell.com

Illustrator's site:
www.lizzyrockwell.com

You Can't Eat a Princess! by Gillian Rogerson

It is Princess Spaghetti's birthday and everything is set perfectly for the celebration. But the celebration is put on hold when it is discovered that her dad, King Cupcake has been taken by aliens. Without another thought, Princess Spaghetti revs up the rocket and takes off in search of her father. She quickly finds the culprits but must escape, with her father, in time before the aliens have them for lunch! Such a cute book that girls will quickly add to their "okease buy me list!!!

Text:4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves -front endpages are covered with milkshakes, cookies, cakes, candy.....how can you go wrong! The end endpages...in Mil

I Spy With My Little Eye by Edward Gibbs

Is it a nonfiction animal book? Is it a color book? It is BOTH!
"I spy with my little eye...something is red."
"I'm a fox."

With the rhyming "clue" that children will enjoy guessing which animal is "looking at them"....orangutan, fox, lion, etc. Great interactive book that preschoolers and early elementary students will delight in reading.


Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves

The Wheels on the Bus by Jane Cabrera

I love this book....But I have always been a fan of taking an original book/story, or in this case song, and changing the words. I think it is great for kids to have new words to add to a tune and even challenge themselves to make up their own version. As you might tell from the cover, this bus is full of animals! (Animals - another great way to get kids to sit up and pay attention!)
"The flamingos on the bus go FLAP, FLAP, FLAP;"
and
"The monkeys on the bus go CHATTER CHATTER CHATTER."
Kids are going to love this one! We will be purchasing for school....and hopefully for home too!

Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye Leaves - Love the bright colors and the FULLNESS of the pictures (in other words not a ton of
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves - LOVE, LOVE LOVE them...animals all waiting at the bus stop...

Yes....our list of "MUST BUYS" increased by one tonight....darn it :)

Visit Jane Cabrera's Website: http://janecabrera.co.uk/

Back to School Tortoise by Lucy M. George

Now that summer is over, Tortoise is headed to school. Tortoise starts thinking about all the things that COULD go wrong.
"What if...he tripped and fell? Or he didn't like lunch? Or the kids were mean to him? "
Then Tortoise changes his thinking,
"But then he started thinking, what if it was fun? Or lunch was his favorite? "
With a change in attitude Tortoise is determined to head in to school with confidence as the....
Another great book that children can easily relate to with a surprise ending sure to bring about a giggle.

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 3 Buckeye Leaves

Orange Peel's Pocket by Rose Lewis

Orange Peel, nicknamed such by her parents because she use to try to eat the peels when she was little, is asked by classmates questions about where she was born, China, and is upset she can not provide the answers. That afternoon after c;ass she sets out to talk to neighbors that know more about China than her. Orange Peel visits Mr. Fan at his tailor shop, Ma Sang, the poet, Mrs. Liu's flower shop, Mr. Yu's noodle shop, and finally Jasmine at the ice cream store. Each person not only gives Orange Peel knowledge about her birth country but also a little gift in her pocket to show her class. The next day Orange Peel enters school with her items, knowledge, and a bit more confidence than before! As a big, HUGE, fan of Lewis' book I Love You Like Crazy Cakes (Yes, now I can ALMOST get through it without crying....almost), I was very excited to see a new book from her about adoption. Although the book does not focus on adoption (which I love), it does point out one of the challenges as children get older. I have researched both China and Kazakhstan for my kiddos, though China is MUCH easier to find information on! Living in Kazakhstan for almost 5 weeks I am hoping we can pass along the information we learned about the every day life to Adam. Thank you Rose Lewis for adding another book to our wish list for our house and one that every cross cultural adoption house should add to their home libraries!


Text:4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:4 Buckeye Leaves
Endpages: 3 Buckeye Leaves

Bear With Me by Max Kornell

Owen's life is perfect.....until one day.... One day Owen's parents arrive home with a surprise - a surprise named Gary! Gary is a bear! Gary turns Owen's perfect life upside down! He takes Owen's stuff, takes over his room - and he snores, and most of all, takes mom and dad's time away from him. In the end, Owen learns an important lesson about accepting change. Readers will quickly make the connection to a new baby in the family. The book lends itself to a great discussion about change.

Text:4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 3 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves - drawings of characters, by characters

The Gingerbread Man Loose In the School by Laura Murray

Hilarious! I love this book! I loved it so much I read about 3 pages, did not read the rest, and bought it on the spot! How can you go wrong when it starts off, "I began in a bowl." A group of children measured and mixed to create a gingerbread man. Unfortunately it was time for recess and the children sped out of the room....without the gingerbread man knowing it. A distressed gingerbread man then sets out in search of the lost children. "I'll run and I'll run, As fast as I can. I can catch them! I'm their gingerbread man!" Along the way the gingerbread man meets lots of other school employees: art teacher, principal, nurse, etc. I can NOT wait to share this with the kids! Adults will love the humor used throughout the book as well!


Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves - in a word - CLEVER
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves - Fits perfectly
Endpages: 4 Buckeye leaves

*AND I got a poster too!!!

UPDATE: Laura Murray, author of The Gingerbread Man Loose in the school, commented below - providing me with her website....check it out! Super cute and fun! I love when authors provide things for teachers and librarians...helps that she is a teacher too!!

http://www.lauramurraybooks.com/index.html


STAY TUNED!!! I HAVE ORDERED A BOOK FROM AMAZON....SUPPOSE TO BE OUT TODAY.....AND I CAN BARELY STAND THE WAIT!!! WILL BE POSTING ABOUT IT SOON!! YAHOO!! (THERE ARE FEW THINGS I GET THIS EXCITED ABOUT...)

Amelia Bedelia's First Field Trip by Herman Parish

Amelia is very excited because her class is headed to Fairview Farm!! Mr. and Mrs. Dinkins show Amelia and her class how to collect eggs, milk cows, and plant seeds. Along the way Amelia learns about Mrs. Dinkin's green thumb and how to NOT toss a salad. Typical Amelia with her literal intreptation of things, adding of course to her appeal and overall humor of the book.


Text: 4 buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 buckeye leaves

Bunny's Lessons by Harriet Ziefert

Charlie and Bunny are best friends. Bunny credits Charlie with everything he knows. From LOUD to OUCH to Messy, Charlie has taught Bunny so much. Very Simple book but the three year old at our house loves it. This book provides a great opportunity for discussing words as well as friendship.

Text:4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 4 Buckeye Leaves

Princess Palooza by Joy Allen

What do you get when six princesses meet another 6 princesses at the park?
A PRINCESS PALOOZA of course :)

In Joy Allen's Book Princess, the twelve princesses come together, with their imagination, and it is one big party.
"Ballerina Princess has been to France
She teaches the girls a fancy dance."

All the Angelina Ballerina and Fancy Nancy books fans will fall in love with this pink, purple, tutu, and everything frilly book.

Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves -fit the story nicely
Text: 4 Buckeye leaves - Simple but cute and fun
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves - cute

The Wheels on the School Bus by Mary-Alice Moore

Another beginning of the year classic.....as each "person" on the bus encourages students to "Read Read Read", "Learn, Learn, Learn", "Eat, Eat, Eat" students will love the familiar tune. This book is a great way to introduce younger children to each person that works at the school and what they do.

Test: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leavees

I Love School! by Philemon Sturges

Ho hum.....It is coming...and for my district it is coming sooner than usual as they are adjusting the calendar to fit the whole first semester in before winter break! That being said, my side kick and I were at the library yesterday so I figured I better start stocking up! I Love School! is a very simple, rhyming text introducing kids to school. I Love School! is a perfect choice for preschool-kindergarten. BUT what I love most about this book....again, my students would probably roll their eyes as I always point them out....THE ENDPAGES!! Not only do they have super cute chalkboard background BUT also facts, related to school, all over the chalkboard! Love that!

Stay tuned...more BACK TO SCHOOL BOOKS to come....eek!

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves - very basic
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves

Come and Eat! by George Ancona

Which of the following are used to eat food: Chopsticks, forks and spoons, or fingers? ALL!! Traditions and customs from around the world, are explained through this photographic nonfiction book about EATING! This book has lots of great information, which opens up the possibilities for great discussions.

Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves - very informative
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye Leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves - good enough to eat :)
*Warning: One of the first pages contains a photo of a mother nursing a baby. Depending on your patrons, this may or may not be acceptable.

Dog Number 1 by Ami Rubinger

Meet some new furry friends and count to 10! From Rover to Missy to my favorite, number 10, Spike, each dog has a personality revealed through rhyme. I am one of Rubinger's biggest fans because her books are interactive! The reader finishes each sentence.

"I'm different and that's just great. Call me Missy. I'm dog number..."

At this point Adam yells, "Eight!!!"

Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye Leaves - some of these dogs' facial expressions are HILARIOUS!
Endpages: 4 Buckeye leaves

Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero by Anne Cottringer

We love this book....and are on the hunt to find a copy as the library will soon be showing up to take this copy back!! Eliot Jones is a quiet boy....he reads, he feeds his goldfish, he watches the neighbor wash the car....BUT......AT NIGHT HE IS A SUPERHERO!!! Eliot leads a group of escaped lions back to the zoo, saves a ship from crashing into rocks, recovers stolen royal jewels, etc. No wonder he is so quiet during the day!! We are TOTALLY into the superhero idea at our house and I am avoiding some of the other, better known superheros. This is a great book because it fulfills the need for SUPERHERO-NESS while still being appropriate and more importantly NON VIOLENT for preschoolers! And and I love this book!

Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye Leaves

Wow! Ocean! by Robert Neubecker

On Izzy's newest adventure she finds herself at the ocean! Animals of all sorts, whales, dolphins, fish, jellyfish, of all kinds- oh my! As in Neubecker's other "Wow!" books, this one has few words, lots of pictures. This book is a great, sit and examine book for kids.

Text: 5 Buckeye leaves - great identification of different sea life
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 4 Buckeye leaves

We HEART Our School! by Judy Sierra

I am trying to decide just how many copies of this to buy for school.....I HEART this book! You know you have an addiction when you get so excited that a book comes in that you run to the car waving it....as an adult!

Why do I love this book so much...let me count the ways.
#6 The teacher's name is Tom Burkey....he is a turkey!
#5. Rhyming!!!
#4. It is colorful! Lots of bright colors.
#3. Cute illustrations with HAPPY, non-scary characters!
#2. Shows school as a POSITIVE experience!
And the MAIN reason I like this book....the #1 reason....drum roll please.....IT IS A REBUS!!! Yippie! What does that mean? A rebus is when the word is taken out of the story and a picture is put in place of the word. I love these as the 3 year old can follow along, and insert the word, and tell me "I am reading mom!" This book is adorable. All the animal characters are headed to school. At school they do lots of fun things: ABC games, towers of blocks, art, singing, etc.

This will be front and center on all the back-to-school book displays this fall!!

Endpages: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves
Text: 5 Buckeye leaves

Makes a mama proud!

Ping Pong Pig and Digby Takes Charge Caroline Jayne Church

Ping Pong Pig and Digby Takes Charge are books we own and I really like. I will admit the thing that first drew me to both of them....the cover art work. I think the art work is adorable. When I took it home for Adam (I got it at a book fair at my school) he liked it too. I also appreciate the fact that the book teaches a lesson - in this case - to do your part and help out. Ping Pong Pig learns this lesson after spending so much time trying to learn to fly and not so much time helping around the farm.

I was at a store in June and saw Digby Takes Charge on the shelf. I thought when I saw the cover the art work looked similar to Ping Pong Pig....and sure enough it was Church. Digby is one of the BEST sheep dogs around BUT is having trouble getting the sheep to listen to him on his new farm. He tries, unsuccessfully, various methods to get the sheep to do as they should. Finally the other animals tell Digby the secret word to get the sheep to move.....PLEASE! Love it!! All kids, and some adults, need reminded about the power of please from time to time!

And as an added bonus....no plain white endpages! woohoo!!!

Text: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 4 Buckeye leaves

Back to Bed, Ed by Sebastien Braun

Ed loves going to bed. He goes through the same routine every night. "Ed loved going to bed...but Ed hated staying in bed..." And every night Ed would climb out of his bed and tiptoe down the hall to his parents room, climb in bed with them, and then sleep soundly all night. Unfortunately his parents were not so lucky. Ed's parents MUST come up with a plan to keep Ed in bed! And they are finally successful....at least with Ed! We have been very lucky at our house....we know this...our 3 year old has only ONCE left his bed in the middle of the night and come to our bedroom. That is NOT to say we have not been called into his room. THAT has happened often. I really hope that reading this book to Adam won't give him the idea to come to our bed...ha ha! What I like the most about this book is the sounds Ed makes as he gets ready for bed. "Clip clop. Sip sip. Splish splash." All fun for kid's to use in their own language to describe things. Great bedtime book....and may help plant the idea in some little kiddo's head to stay in bed!

Text: 3 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 3 Buckeye leaves

Froggy Goes To Hawaii by Jonathon London

Froggy can't wait to go on vacation...to Hawaii. While on vacation, Froggy visits a volcano, which he almost falls in; hula dance lessons where even the mynah birds laugh at him; surfing with Dad, wipeout; and on and on. As is usually the case, trouble just finds Froggy, even in Hawaii. Fans of Froggy will love this newest book in the Froggy series.