April: Around the Block with Sesame Street

One of my favorites! I'm sure Joan loves these cats and dolls as much as me. Enjoy, totz! One, two...

I Love You, Little Bear: Scholastic

Isn't there just something so sweet about straight forward texture books? Add images of plush bears, a squirrel,  and a fish and the "ah factor" is guaranteed. I Love You, Little Bear delivers with the dearest collage, textures, and photos along with a simple rhyming text.

"Little Bear, Little Bear,
look up high.
Hello,
says Bird in the sky."

Find more about the bears at www.woudours.com and www.ebulobo.com.

I Love You, Little Bear
Scholastic, 2012

Poetry Friday: An Awesome Book

Encourage your totz to dream with An Awesome Book. The illustrations will captivate you for hours. Happy Poetry Friday!

"Please dream for those
who've given up
for those who've
never tried
Please use your dreams
to make new dreams
for all the dreams
that died"

An Awesome Book
by Dallas Clayton
Harper

Giraffes Can't Dance: Giles Andreae

How about a rhyming board book to illustrate that everyone can dance? Even a giraffe? That's exactly what Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees offer in Giraffes Can't Dance.



As all the animals turn out for the Jungle Dance, the giraffe is mocked for being clumsy and a silly fool. But when the giraffe departs and comes across the cricket, the former listens to the latter:

"Listen to the swaying
grass and listen to the trees.
To me the sweetest music is
those branches in the breeze."

Gerald the giraffe breaks into a dance that everyone can appreciate. "We can all dance," he said, "when we find music that we love."

Add this reprint, now in board book format from Cartwheel Books, to your totz' library and kick up your heels together.

Giraffes Can't Dance
by Giles Andreae
illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees
Cartwheel Books, Scholastic

Poetry Friday: Demolition

Here's an awesome book for Poetry Friday. Get ready to demolish!

"Swing the ball. Swing the ball.
Thump and smash and whack.
Bring the top floors tumbling down.
Bang! Clang!
Crack!"

Brian Lovelock's spattered ink illustrations set the tone for Sally Sutton's poetry. Super fun, right?

Demolition 
by Sally Sutton
illustrated by Brian Lovelock
Candlewick Press

Link of Awesome: FindTheData

It's a joy to share Links of Awesome. I encourage you to check out FindTheData. Click here to see the library comparison. What a cool tool! The site provides unbiased data-driven  comparisons. Definitely check them out. There are a billion things to compare even beyond libraries, right? So many things for your totz...

First Time Series: Hospital, Vet

Child's Play just gets it so right. Today I recommend their series, First Time. Included are: Doctor, Dentist, Hospital, Vet, Baby Sitter, Sleepover, Nursery, and Big Day Out.



The stiff paper books are illustrated by Jess Stockham, who has taken the care to portray these new experiences without fear. There's a real honesty in this series which will benefit your totz on multiple levels.

Following several children through each experience, a number of situations are covered to offer familiarity and comfort. In Hospital, one child is having a cast put on, while another has surgery. In Vet, children bring in their various animals. Here is an example of appropriate forthrightness when the boy brings his sick rat to the vet:

"She's quite unwell. She has a lump on her side. (child)
I'm afraid she might not live much longer." (vet)

How helpful to open discussions. Overall, the series remains positive and appealing. It will answer questions your totz may have before their first time visits.

First Time Vet
First Time Hospital
illustrated by Jess Stockham
Child's Play

Poetry Friday: Water Sings Blue

Happy Poetry Month and happy Poetry Friday! What a perfect day to read Water Sings Blue.



Well-crafted, insightful fun poems are joined with Meilo So's free-spirited watercolors. A great match!

Jellyfish

Deep water shimmers.
    A wind-shape passes,
kimono trailing.

Water Sings Blue, Ocean Poems
by Kate Coombs
illustrated by Meilo So
Chronicle Books, 2012

April Community Service: Rock the Drop, 2012

Grab your totz' little hand and run to leave a young adult book in a public gathering place! Right now!

 

How are you rocking the drop? Which book are you leaving for another to find? Post your photo at the readergirlz facebook page and tweet #rockthedrop. It's a perfect day to share your love of YA lit!

If you discover a book left in a public gathering place, nab it and tweet your fabbity find.


Your totz will love this act of kindness.

April Pick For the Older Sibling: Paul Thurlby's Alphabet

Begun as a project to keep himself busy at the start of the recession, Paul Thurlby delivers his rendition of the alphabet. His goal was to join the object featured with the specified letter. Each letter can be found online, where he uploaded them upon completion. Thankfully, an agent discovered Paul and Templar Books brought this collection to life, both book and included poster.

The retro-modern style will appeal to all readers in the family. The imagery stimulates me to create. How about you?





Paul Thurlby's Alphabet
by Paul Thurlby
Templar Books, 2011

Sushi Touch and Feel Stroller Cards

Let's go to the youngest reader format. How about stroller cards? And some sushi? Seriously! There cute cards from Chronicle introduce babies to sushi with assisting touch and feel textures. Sticky rice and crinkly seaweed are included, of course.

I was charmed by this little set, with text labels on the back of each of the ten cards. Snap these onto your diaper bag or stroller for your totz. Before you know it, you may be headed for sushi for lunch...

Sushi Touch and Feel Stroller Cards
Chronicle Books, April 2012

Photo Friday: Chubby Peep

Here's a chubby peep for your holiday weekend. Happy Photo Friday, totz and parents!

More, More, More: There Are No Cats in This Book

There Are No Cats in This Book is Viviane Schwarz' title. No cats. But wait. When you open the book you find the cats are present. They are trying to go on vacation, but they need your readers' help. They can't push themselves out, or jump from the book. Rather, they need your imagination. That said, they'll send a postcard, and if you wait around long enough, they may return...with a few friends. But the title stands: There Are No Cats in This Book.




Your readers are going to love the exuberant line, fold out portions, and the collage used to make this fun book. Certainly a giggle will call for another reading. Well done, Viviane!

Be sure to check out her first work: There Are Cats in This Book. :~)

There Are No Cats in This Book
by Viviane Schwarz
Candlewick Press, 2010

Yumi and Aoki: Annelore Parot

My most adorable recommend today is the Kokeshi series from Chronicle. The cuteness combined with the rich presentation are irresistible!

With art and text by Annelore Parot, your totz can follow Yumi on the way to a party and Aoki as she visits Tokyo. The flaps are inventive and fun. Totz will help the Kokeshi, little wooden dolls, choose a kimono, help the kites blow in the wind, and visit favorite stores.

There's an air of sophistication to this collection while it remains accessible. Every detail is designed beautifully, from the padded cover with applique stitching to the endpapers covered in joy.

Watch the video for interior imagery. Before you know it, you'll be going Kokeshi crazy, too!



Grab the headband, room sign, or thank you!

http://www.chroniclebooks.com/landing-pages/kokeshi/images/Kokeshi_ActivityKit_consumer.pdf

Aoki and Yumi
by Annelre Parot
Chronicle Books, April 2012

Poetry Friday: Current Totz Playlist

Enjoy these tunes, full of poetry with your totz today! Happy Poetry Friday, everyone!

Hop, Skip, and Jump, Maisy! Lucy Cousins

It's no secret that I'm a Maisy fan. I like the bold, bright colors and fat black outlines in these books. This is a hardcover book, but it's geared young like all Maisy books, and could easily become a board book. So it seems perfect for readertotz.

The pop-ups enhance the energetic movements here--kicking a ball, touching toes, and jumping rope, among others. The pop-ups move really well and are cute and clever. Although it's not as sturdy as a board book, it should hold up to use.

In the afternoon, Maisy skateboards and skips and jumps rope, like this.
Sidebar: Who else can skip?

Perfect to get your energetic totz going!

Hop, Skip, and Jump, Maisy!
Lucy Cousins
Candlewick Press, 2012

Poetry Friday: Little Bobby Snooks

 

illustration by Blanche Fisher Wright

. 

Little Bobby Snooks

Little Bobby Snooks was fond of his books,

And loved by his usher and master;

But naughty Jack Spry, he got a black eye,

And carries his nose in a plaster.

Happy Poetry Friday! May we be like Bobby, rather than Jack...

More, More, More: Little Owl Lost

Sometimes an illustration will just grab you. This was the case for me when I saw Chris Haughton's Little Owl Lost. Those big eyes just pull you in, right?

Little Owl falls from the nest and with the help of forest friends, he is reunited with his grieving mother. Are You My Mother comes to mind, but this work conveys so much simply with it's imagery, it deserves a place on your shelf. It will be loved.




So cute I can hardly stand it!

Little Owl Lost
by Chris Haughton
Candlewick Press, 2010

Jane Eyre: Jennifer Adams

As a literacy advocate, I have to recommend Little Miss Bronte, Jane Eyre for your totz! The BabyLit series is "a fashionable way to introduce your child to the world of classic literature." Yes, it's highbrow, but how can you resist a counting book featuring 1 Governess, Jane, and 4 towers, Thornfield Hall? The list includes chalkboards, trees, trunks, and pearls. An occasional quote is included: "I have as much soul as you--and full as much heart."

Author Jennifer Adams' text is paired beautifully with art by Alison Oliver. With colors that capture the time period, and delicate lines around printed forms, Jane Eyre is a visual delight in board book format.


photo from Guiltless Reading

Add a first copy of Jane Eyre to your totz' reading collection. "This book I had again and again perused with delight."

Little Miss Bronte, Jane Eyre
A Counting Primer
by Jennifer Adams
art by Alison Oliver
Gibbs Smith, 2012

Poetry Friday: The Lost Shoe

It's always fun to find an unfamiliar Mother Goose rhyme. Happy Poetry Friday!

 

Cute pattern at Crafts Crazy

The Lost Shoe

Doodle doodle doo,

The Princess lost her shoe:

Her Highness hopped,

The fiddler stopped,

Not knowing what to do.