Monday, December 28, 2020

Richard Scarry's Good Morning, Busytown!


 













Why not introduce your first readers to Richard Scarry's Busytown? You can now do that easily with the Good Morning, Busytown! board book, available January 6, 2021. All the familiar characters are running around town: Huckle Cat, Firefighter Smokey, Lowly Worm, and more.

Pages feature the residents depicted on the tabs. Join Huckle Cat and Lowly as they make their way across town to school, giving and receiving greetings along the way.

"Good morning, Postman Pig!"
says Huckle.

"Why, good morning, Huckle!"
says Postman Pig. "Have a
wonderful day!"

Take a visit to Richard Scarry's Busytown! There's so much to explore. 

Richard Scarry's Good Morning, Busytown!
by the Richard Scarry Corporation AG
Golden Books, 2021

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

More, more, more: Lilah Tov Good Night: Ben Gundersheimer

 

This precious book is not to be missed. The main character is saying good night to all around her after a "long and beautiful day." 

"Lilah Tov to the roosters and hens
Lilah Tov to the bears in their dens"

The depth of the work is in the secondary story, or actually the main story. The family is leaving their home in the night and traveling on foot to a new land. She says good night to the creatures she passes, the beach, and the waves. She speaks to the stars at sea, and the fish. Finally, reaching land, the journey continues until she is in a new home. There she snuggles down and wishes the reader, and all, a good night. The family menorah has traveled the distance from one window to another.

Brilliant beauty. The art was done in pencil and digitally rendered. Noar Lee Naggan's paintings are luminous. The best of the best from publisher Nancy Paulsen, as usual. 

by Ben Gundersheimer
illustrated by Noar Lee Naggan
Nancy Paulsen Books

Monday, December 21, 2020

'Twas the Night Before Christmas: Sandra Magsamen
















Here's a tiny tale from the classic poem by Clement Clarke Moore, "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Shortened for first readers, Sandra Magsamen's work, which is illustrated to look like stitched cloth pieces, illustrates phrases from the quiet mouse to the reindeer pulling Santa through the sky, the night before Christmas. 

"Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
everyone was quiet, including the mouse! 

Join this little community of animals ready to celebrate Christmas!

by Sandra Magsamen
Scholastic

Music: Jill McDonald



























Here's another title in the Hello, World! series. Music by Jill McDonald is the best of nonfiction for your readertotz. You can introduce musical instruments with what resembles cut paper illustrations. Large sound words accompany main text entries and smaller printed facts. 

"HOOT!
A harmonica is small enough to fit in your pocket.
You make a sound by breathing in or out through the holes. 

*A harmonica is sometimes called a mouth organ or a blues harp."

Familiarize your first reader with the instruments and consider which to try first!

Hello, World!
by Jill McDonald
Doubleday 

Monday, December 14, 2020

Christmas Cheer: Ingela P. Arrhenius
















How about a Bookscape Board Book for the holidays? Christmas Cheer brings a little scene of the holiday to your readertotz. 

"Christmas cheer is everywhere.
Inside, gingerbread cookies are decorated.
Outside, snowmen are built."

The charm of the work is the soft palette of shaped pages. Big-eyed characters celebrate the season together. Happy holidays to all!

a Bookscape Board Book
by Ingela P. Arrhenius
Chronicle Books, 2020