The Monster at The End of This Book

One of my favorite Little Golden Books from childhood, “The Monster at the End of This Book” is a wonderful children’s book. Sesame Street’s famous Grover is very frightened by the idea of a monster and begs the reader at every page not to turn the page and get any closer to the end of the book. He is so afraid that he builds walls and ties ropes to try to keep you from turning pages! Of course the end is not so scary and maybe you can guess who the monster at the end of the book is, but children will love this story and laugh from beginning to end!

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Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!

If you haven’t read this incredibly popular book yet you

need to get it right away! “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is an alphabet story with a rhythm that will capture the attention of every child in hearing distance. All the letters of the alphabet are running to the top of the coconut tree but “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, will there be enough room?” What happens when all the letters reach the top? Read this delightful children’s book to find out! To add to the rhyme, the illustrations of Lois Ehlert wil draw young eyes to the page as you read to children.

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Ouch!

The storybook “Ouch” is a retelling of a Grimm story. Natalie Babbitt, author of “Tuck Everlasting”, “The Devil’s Storybook”, and “The Eyes of the Amaryllis” tells this story in a very conversational tone, as if she’s talking to children during a kindergarten circle time.

A baby boy is born with a crown birthmark, which means he will marry a princess. The boy’s parents are thrilled, but the King is not so excited. The King goes through a series of acts to try to keep this “nobody special” from marrying his precious daughter.

He ultimately sends the boy to get three golden hairs from the devil so he can marry the princess. For a “nobody special” the boy turns out to be confident, kind and wise and outsmarts the king and the devil.

This HarperCollins hardcover is beautifully illustrated by Fred Marcellino and children will love following along with the illustrations when the story is read to them. Older children will enjoy reading this for themselves as they learn more difficult words.

HarperCollins 2008 32 Pages

No David!

“No, David!” written an illustrated by David Shannon is based on a book that he first wrote as a child. The first two words he learned to write were “No” and “David”. He made a book that was filled with pictures of him doing things he wasn’t supposed to do and “No David” written across the pages.

David Shannon turned this concept into a delightful children’s book that young children as well as adults reading to children can easily identify with. Shannon’s childlike pictures make each page more interesting than the last. The simple words (there are a few more than just “no” and “David”) will be easy for new readers and listeners to sit through.

This is one of my favorite books because it comes straight from a childhood creation and is written from a perspective of a child. The end of the book shows that David learns some news words, “Yes, David, I love you.”

The Little Squeegy Bug

“The Little Squeegy Bug” by Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by Patrick Corrigan is a very cute tale about how a firefly came to be. He starts out as a tiny bug that no one knew where he came from, he’s not an ant or a cricket or a flea. With the challenge of Buzzer the Bumble Bee and the help of Creepy the Caterpillar and Haunchy the Spider, he becomes Squeegy the Firefly and goes on to light up the night sky.

This delightful story is entertaining for older children, but with lots of details and pages of dialogue, it may be difficult for younger attention spans. The illustrations are very colorful and the large scale often gives us the bug’s perspective on life.

A very cute children’s book!

Mommy Mine

“Mommy Mine” written by Tim Warnes and illustrated by Jane Chapman is a poem about Mommies in the animal world. Each page shows a different Mommy and Baby animal and sweet pictures of “Mommy kisses”, “Mommy cuddle” and “Mommy chatter”. With alligators, mice, monkeys, birds, elephants and giraffes young children will enjoy learning about “Mommy spiney”, “Mommy tiny” and “Mommy loud”.

This is one of very very few books that my 9 to 18-month-olds in my class will sit through and listen to every word. The rhyme keeps their attention and the pictures give them something bright and colorful to look at. The message of the book is simple “The best mom in the whole world is Mommy Mine”. A very precious children’s book, especially for the youngest listeners.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Eric Carle is one of my favorite children’s authors. I would recommend any children’s books written by him. One of my particular favorites is “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. Carle’s brightly colored illustrations are not only very eye-catching, but they are also very childlike. He does most of his artwork as individual objects on blank white paper to leave some things to the child’s imagination. This story is about a tiny caterpillar that is very hungry. We read about what the caterpillar eats on each day of the week, but he is still hungry! Finally on Sunday he eats and eats and eats…and then he is not such a tiny caterpillar anymore.

As a teacher of young children, I can say that even my youngest kids will sit and listen to this story. The pictures really capture kids attention and the story is very fun and the simple words make it easy for young readers to understand.

Other children’s books by Eric Carle include “1,2,3, to the Zoo”, “Do You Want to Be my

Friend?”, “The Grouchy Ladybug”, and “The Very Quiet Cricket”

Click, Clack, Moo:Cow That Type

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin Pictures by Betsy Lewin

Farmer Brown is a little upset when he finds that his cows have learned to type, but it is just too much when they type a note requesting electric blankets for the cold barn. When Farmer Brown won’t give the cows what they want they type a note to let him know they are on strike.

This delightful book with lots of repetitive lines of “Click, Clack, Moo. Click, Clack Moo” will work well with young children to repeat along with the reader, and also for children who are starting to read on their own. Will Farmer Brown give in to the cows’ demands? With the chickens coming to stand alongside the cows and the duck delivering messages for the farmer you and your children will love the farm animals and their story.

Also in the series are “Dooby Dooby Moo”, “Giggle, Giggle, Quack” and “Duck for President” all of which are part of a great group of children’s books!

Scholastic 29 Pages

Five Little Monkeys Reading in Bed

What a wonderful twist on the Five Little Monkeys in a children’s book. The series by Eileen Christelow includes The Five Little Monkey Go Shopping, Play Hide-and-Seek, Wash the Car, and With Nothing to Do. In this story the Monkeys are no longer jumping, but are going to bed. After a bedtime story (hopefully a classic children’s book!) they want to keep reading, but when they laugh too loud Mama comes back to tell them lights out. Then the Monkeys read a scary book and they scream so loud Mama comes back and takes the book away. In the end the little Monkeys get out of bed because Mama is screaming from reading the scary book. I love this story because it is so short and sweet. Children of any age will enjoy reading it. And the full page, cartoon-like illustrations will keep children’s eyes on the page from beginning to end. A very fun read! Scholastic 2007 8 Pages

A Word on Wordless Books

As a writer, I was very skeptical the first time I heard the term “Wordless book”. I was also very surprised to discover that these books had, not only an illustrator, but an author! I remember thinking, “What kind of writer writes a book with no words?”

The answer to that question is, a GENIUS one!

Wordless books allow children to see a story with their own eyes and use their imagination to fill in the details. This means that each child that “reads” the book will come away with a different take on it. Wordless books allow young readers to sort of become writers themselves as they look at the pictures and create their own character ideas, sounds, dialogue and actions. This is not to say that wordless books do not have a story, indeed they do have an exact plot they are trying to portray, but a lot of the components are left to the viewers imagination.

When I think back to my own childhood and then to my years of babysitting, I think about books that children “read” before they actually know how to read. Many times I have seen a young child open a book and begin to tell a story that does not match the words of the author. They simply look at the pictures and tell what is happening in their own words. Young readers are very creative this way with their characters and their plots.

So really children have had this idea for a long time. Now we’re just removing the words of these books for young children and allowing their imagination to get a work out. To hear a podcast of one of my favorite wordless books click here....ha ha just kidding!

Sidewalk Circus

Yes, I’m reviewing a wordless book…what can I say, I like them now. Sidewalk Circus by Paul Fleishchman is a story about a girl sitting at a bus stop who sees a sign stating that the circus is coming to town. As she sits and waits she reads the scrolling marquee about the circus and begins to see the town around her as the circus coming to life. The construction workers walking on high beams are tightrope walkers, a delivery boy with a load of packages is the strongman and a group of rambunctious boys are circus clowns. The beautiful pictures of the book allow the children’s imaginations to tell the story without the need for actual text (although there are many words in the illustrations). A wonderful book for young children and a concept that can be enjoyed by adults as well. A beautiful children’s book Candlewick 2004 32 Pages

Pinkalicious

My younger sister recently purchased a copy of “Pinkalicious” at the school book fair and we have not stopped reading it since! Pinkalicious is the story of a girl who thinks you can never have too much pink, especially on cupcakes. But when she eats too many pink cupcakes she wakes up with a case of Pinkititus! The only cure is to eat lots of green vegetables and no more pink cupcakes. Will Pinkalicious eat veggies and be cured or will she sneak the last cupcake from the kitchen? This fun and entertaining children’s book is written and illustrated by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann. The words pop off the page and the bright colors catch young readers attention. The wording in Pinkalicious is perfect to read to children and beginning readers will find it easy to read for themselves. Pinkalicious will be a classic around our house for a long time to come.

HarperCollins 2006 40 Pages

Why Children's Lit?

Why do I love children’s books so much?

Well, I have always known that I liked Children’s books, but it wasn’t until I took a Children’s Lit class my senior year of college that I really understood why. The class was one of my favorites of my entire college career, and in class we had many discussions about what things meant in children’s books. After talking about how each illustration represents something in a picture book, and how the theme in an early chapter book teaches young children about life issues, I finally realized something:

The kids don’t know they are learning all of that! Children take the written page at face value and they learn so much from stories that they don’t even realize they are learning. Through picture books and YA Novels children are learning about life, nature, music, culture, friendship, history, growing up and much much more! As adults, we look at literature with a critical eye and talk about what it “means”.

Children hear a story or read a book and tell you whether or not they LIKED it! I love what literature has the opportunity to teach children when they don’t even realize they are learning. But don’t tell them…it will be our little secret.

The Giant Jam Sandwich

The Giant Jam Sandwich is one of my all time favorite children's books. I remember reading it as a child and I recently read it to a kindergarten class for Read Across America Day. It is a very fun story that adults and children will both enjoy.

The story and pictures are by John Vernon Land with verses by Janet Burroway.

The story is set one summer in the town of Itching Down when four million wasps fly into town. The wasps are a terrible nuisance and the townspeople get together to find a way to get rid of the pests. The winning idea is to make a Giant Jam Sandwich. (You can learn about the details in the book, but it includes a giant oven, horses and a flying tractor!)

The pictures are very classic in this book and the rhyming pattern makes the words fun to read.

To me, this children's book is an absolute classic that everyone should ready. It is on my own personal top ten list!