Kevin Henkes: Little White Rabbit

Don't you love it when publishers convert fabulous authors' picture books into fabulous board books? Take Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes. It was released in 2011 and now is available in a small format for the youngest totz.
 
Little White Rabbit hops into his day with wonder and his imagination. Readers will be challenged to think outside themselves by Rabbit's example. What would it be like to be tall, green, or flutter? Frightened, he hops home where he doesn't have to wonder who loves him.

Kevin's thick green outlines surround soft pencil colors. There's almost a sophisticated coloring book feel to the final art. The board book is the perfect format for text and image. Hop on over and find it at your local indie store or library.

Little White Rabbit
by Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow Books, 2014

Poetry Friday: It's Valentine's Day by Jack Prelutsky

For the older siblings, this Poetry Friday, check out Jack Prelutsky's new release. In the I Can Read! 3, he's collected valentine poems which are funny, dear, and push the envelope just a tad.

"I only got one valentine,
and that was signed,
Love, Frankenstein.

Happy Valentine's Day and Poetry Friday!

It's Valentine's Day
by Jack Prelutsky
illustrated by Marylin Hafner
Greenwillow, 2014

A Good Day by Kevin Henkes

A Good Day by Kevin Henkes is a delightful addition to the board book market. How refreshing to read a tale for the youngest reader that has a multilevel plot. Whether it is a bad day for a yellow bird, a white dog, an orange fox, or a brown squirrel, there is a solution around the corner to uplift everyone's spirits. I especially liked the bird who merely forgot his problem and chose to fly higher than ever. And then the bird's mishap is what touches a little girl causing her to announce, "Mama! What a good day!"

Kevin's thick-lined, realistic watercolors occupy the right side of the spread during the bad day litany. A striped page signals the story's turn and then all the illustrations sit on the left side, until the last page turn when text and image share a space together.

Subtle imagery placement, teamed with the tightest word structure, yields a beautiful board board. First released as a picture book, The New York Times Book Review called A Good Day, "a masterpiece, an almost perfect picture book." And maybe they were right, because maybe A Good Day is a perfect board book.

A Good Day
by Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow Books, 2010

Older Sibling Pick of the Month: An Amelia Bedelia Celebration

This 214 page hardcover book contains four complete books, a CD of the stories for listening as you read, eight brainteasers and puzzles, two tasty recipes, and four crafts, and is priced at $19.99. Peggy Parish was a third grade teacher when Amelia Bedelia was first published in 1963. She passed away in 1988 and fans still begged for more. Her nephew, Herman Parish, has written 15 more Amelia Bedelia stories.

I was a big fan of Amelia Bedelia as a girl. It was one of the books that made me laugh and made me want to read. I'm glad the books continue.

An Amelia Bedelia Celebration
Authors: Peggy Parish and Herman Parish
Illustrators: Lynn Sweat and Fritz Siebel
Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins)