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Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrated by Clement Hurd

Goodnight Moon is the Citizen Kane of children's literature! A young bunny bids a fond "goodnight" to all the important things in his room. From his mittens and kittens to his mom whispering "hush", this rhyming bedtime tale has been a beloved children's classic for over 50 years now!

dePaola's familiar, charming illustrations of chubby, round-faced children carry this book, which teaches an appreciation for the natural world. The text is the epitomy of simplicity. Each page proclaims affection for some element of nature"I love you, flower," "I love you, stars," etc. ending with "And you love me." The bright artwork populated by multiethnic youngsters conveys the environmental message.  Emily Kutler, Summit Free Public Library, NJ Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

I Love You, Little One by Nancy Tafuri

In this tender bedtime book, seven young creatures ask in turn a single, important question: "Do you love me, Mama?" The answer in each case is the same: "forever and ever and always," but it is preceded by different, lyrical similes. Mama Rabbit loves her baby "as the earth loves you, warm and snug around you, giving you a warm place to sleep"; Mama Mouse loves her child "as the wild rye loves you, gently swaying above you, giving you food and cover from harm." As the characters speak, the pictures quietly show the progression of the sun and moon to indicate the passage of time from midmorning to evening.

Nocturne by Jane Yolen

Yolen's short ode to evening touches upon the moon and fireflies, moths, an owl, and small nocturnal animals. Double-page paintings of a nighttime countryside feature flat figures of a boy, his mother, and their dog outside their lighted house. Hunter's simple scenes are nicely textured with cross hatching, and her homely animal portraits a bat in flight, a squirrel asleep in a tree hole, a raccoon, an owl, and a sleeping dog are appealing. The simple scheme of winding down the day ends first in the boy's bedroom" Tucked up under eiderdown/I nestle down, wrestle down/my hullaballooning thoughts/and drift through dark into dreams." The concluding dreamscape places the boy's bed back in the outdoors amid the grasses, fireflies, and night sky. The pictures illuminate the poem and make it more concrete for younger children, adding setting and a cast of characters to tell their own small story. An appealing addition to the shelves of bedtime books. Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A life-affirming look at nature's beings. The lively, rhyming text celebrates different creatures, including "The Feather People" (birds), "The Bubble People" (fish), "The Leggy People" (bugs), "The Purring People" (cats), "The Giving People" (cows), and "The People People" (humans). Finally, the focus is placed on readers: "And here's to you!/The You Person!/You!/Here's to the sweet you,/The messy and the neat you,/The funny-way-you-eat you-. The total and complete you." The effervescent, entertaining cartoons, done in oils, perfectly complement the narrative. Together, the words and pictures create a powerful package that conveys a sense of appreciation for all living things.

It's Okay To Be Different by Todd Parr

For anyone who ever doubted it, Todd Parr is here to tell us all that it's okay to be different. With his signature artistic style, featuring brightly colored, childlike figures outlined in heavy black, Parr shows readers over and over that just about anything goes. From the sensitive ("It's okay to be adopted"--the accompanying illustration shows a kangaroo with a puppy in her pouch) to the downright silly ("It's okay to eat macaroni and cheese in the bathtub"), kids of every shape, size, color, family makeup, and background will feel included in this gentle, witty book. In this simple, playful celebration of diversity, Parr doesn't need to hammer readers over the head with his message.

A hilarious book showing many kinds of animals, their poop, and describing where and how they poop (e.g. while walking). Also reviewed are the ways a baby poops in a diaper, small child in a potty, and older children and adults on a toilet. Hysterical graphics such as rear view of child sitting on toilet with the poop in midair, which we see between the gap in his buttock cheeks. Other scenes demonstrate how the toilet is flushed and the poop is washed down the pipes.

The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle

A cricket is born who cannot talk! A bigger cricket welcomes him to the world, then a locust, a cicada, and many other insects, but each time the tiny cricket rubs his wings together in vain: no sound emerges. In the end, however, he meets another quiet cricket, and manages to find his "voice."

Make Way for Ducklings (Viking Kestrel Picture Books) by Robert McCloskey

It's not easy for duck parents to find a safe place to bring up their ducklings, but during a rest stop in Boston's Public Garden, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard think they just might have found the perfect spot--no foxes or turtles in sight, plenty of peanuts from pleasant passers-by, and the benevolent instincts of a kindly police officer to boot. Young readers will love the mother duck's proud, loving protection of her wee webbed ones, and those with fond memories of Boston will enjoy familiar locales, from Beacon Hill to Louisburg Square, and over the Charles River--often from a duck's-eye view.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit (The World of Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit) by Beatrix Potter

The quintessential cautionary tale, Peter Rabbit warns naughty children about the grave consequences of misbehaving. When Mrs. Rabbit beseeches her four furry children not to go into Mr. McGregor's garden, the impish Peter naturally takes this as an open invitation to create mischief. He quickly gets in over his head, when he is spotted by farmer McGregor himself. Any child with a spark of sass will find Peter's adventures remarkably familiar. And they'll see in Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail that bane of their existence: the "good" sibling who always does the right thing. One earns bread and milk and blackberries for supper, while the obstinate folly of the other warrants medicine and an early bedtime.

Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae

Gerald the giraffe doesn't really have delusions of grandeur. He just wants to dance. But his knees are crooked and his legs are thin, and all the other animals mock him when he approaches the dance floor at the annual Jungle Dance. "Hey, look at clumsy Gerald," they sneer. "Oh, Gerald, you're so weird." Poor Gerald slinks away as the chimps cha-cha, rhinos rock 'n' roll, and warthogs waltz. But an encouraging word from an unlikely source shows this glum giraffe that those who are different "just need a different song," and soon he is prancing and sashaying and boogying to moon music (with a cricket accompanist). In the vein of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Gerald's fickle "friends" quickly decide he's worthy of their attention again.

Flowers Festival by Elsa Maartman Beskow

It is midsummer's Eve and flowers of all categories and sizes come out to celebrate. Children will especially enjoy the 'stories within the story' as part of the festival is a storytelling contest. The illustrations in this book are beyond compare. Elsa Beskow has an amazing ability to bring out the personality of the flowers and plants in her drawings and words.
 

Children of the Forest (Mini Edition) by Elsa Beskow

Adorable tale about a miniature family, mother, father, two daughters and two sons who live in the forest. Children play and go to school with forest animals. The animals and children speak to each other. There are several morals taught in the course of the story. Follows the family from one season through the next. The children help the parents work, harvest food for winter, etc. It is nice to see the children happily working with the family rather than just existing to be entertained.

The Story of the Root-Children by Sibylle Von Olfers

Originally published in 1906, The Story of the Root-Children is a tale of the seasons. Mother Earth (who looks a bit like Old Mother Hubbard) awakens the little "root children" beneath the dirt and helps them fashion colorful new clothes for the spring, an analogy for the spring flowers pushing through the ground. Also the hibernating insects are readied, all told in beautiful and detailed illustrations.
 

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

Wemberly the mouse worries about everything: big things, like whether her parents might disappear in the middle of the night; little things, like whether she'll spill grape juice on her toy rabbit, Petal; and things in between, like whether she might shrink in the bathtub. What she is more worried about than anything else, however, is her first day at the New Morning Nursery School: "What if no one else has spots? What if no one else wears stripes? What if no one else brings a doll? What if the teacher is mean? What if the room smells bad?" Happily, Miss Peachum introduces her to a kindred spirit right away. Jewel doesn't have spots, but she is wearing stripes and holding a doll. As Wemberly plays with her new friend, she still worries, but no more than usual. ("And sometimes even less.")

Julius, the Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes

For children who are facing the arrival of a new sibling, Julius, the Baby of the World makes for great biblio-therapy. At first, big sister Lilly thought it might be fun to have a new baby in the family. But when her parents repeatedly coo, "Julius is the baby of world," Lilly's mouse hackles begin to rise. Soon the jealousy is too much for her, and she embarks on a rejection campaign that is hysterically funny, but also comforting for siblings who probably feel just as much resentment but would never go to Lilly's extremes.

Eloise Wilkin Stories (Little Golden Book Treasury) by Golden Books

Little Golden Books illustrated by Eloise Wilkin are among the most remembered, beloved, and requested by consumers. This collection, which contains nine of her best-loved books, will be cherished by collectors, parents, and children for years to come. It contains Wilkin’s most famous Little Golden Books (such as Baby Dear), as well as lesser-known Little Golden Books, prayers, poems, Mother Goose rhymes, and an introduction written by Wilkin’s daughter.  There are various authors of the books contained in the treasury, including Jane Werner Watson, who edited and wrote hundreds of Golden Books. She called Eloise Wilkin "the soul of Little Golden Books."

When I'm Sleepy (Picture Puffins) by Jane R. Howard

Now available in a large, sturdy board book edition, this enchanting bedtime story will soothe and beguile children and adults alike. As a little girl wonders what it would be like to sleep like animals do--curled up in a basket, or hanging upside down, or lying in a hollow log--the carefully detailed pictures show her peacefully slumbering as she rests on a cat's warm fur, hangs companionably next to a bat, and is lovingly held by a raccoon. Although many of the pictures are funny, the overall atmosphere of the book is tender, dreamy and (yawn) very soporific.

Mama, Do You Love Me? Board Book by Barbara Joosse

This exceptional board-book tells a beautiful and timeless story about a daughter's attempt to find the limit of her mother's love. Barbara Lavallee's exquisite illustrations of Alaska, with their exaggeratedly foreshortened perspective and rich tones of violet, blue-gray, and gray-green, tell of an easy declaration ("I love you more than the raven loves his treasure, more than the dog loves his tail, more than the whale loves his spout") that is pushed, and pushed, and ("What if I put salmon in your parka ... and ermine in your mukluks?") pushed. There's a quiet joyfulness in both the antics of the Inuit mother and daughter and in the animals--including a polar bear and a musk ox--that the daughter imagines she might become. A charming story for mothers and daughters of all ages. (Baby to preschool)
--Richard Farr

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

Based on the popular bedtime story Guess How Much I Love You, My Baby Book is a delightful way to record and cherish the important events of your baby's first two years. Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare return to scamper through the pages, adding just the right touch of whimsy to this charming scrapbook. Divided into sections such as "Up and About" and "On Vacation," the book is enhanced by the well-known declarations of Little Nutbrown Hare. "Guess how often I fell over! Oops-a-daisy!" he says, balancing himself on a tree stump under "My First Step." Anita Jeram's soft watercolors and expressive line drawings are truly heartwarming without ever being saccharine, and the baby-book section ideas are refreshingly innovative. With ample room to record everything from baby's height and weight to the price of a newspaper on the date of baby's birth, and plenty of space to add photographs, My Baby Book is one of the best available. --Aimee Damann

Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff

The old animal counting song. “Numbers for knee highs couldn’t be more fun. . . . Also has music for the song at the end. . . . Feodor Rojankovsky’s charming illustrations are in full color and black and white.”--Kirkus Reviews

 

All by Herself by Ann Whitford Paul

Paul (The Seasons Sewn) surfs through history, emerging with an assortment of 14 plucky young heroines--some famous, some not--to commemorate in verse. In "Ida Lewis," one of the strongest poems, the poet's use of repetition and rhythm mimics the pounding of the waves from which the 16-year-old daughter of a lighthouse keeper single-handedly rescues four men whose boat has capsized. Other poems highlight such galvanizing girlhood incidents as Amelia Earhart rocketing off the toolshed roof in a homemade roller coaster she fashioned from a wooden crate; more contemplative poems reflect cerebral heroines such as nature writer Rachel Carson and educator/activist Mary Jane McLeod (later Bethune).

Pain and the Great One (Picture Yearling Book) by Judy Blume

There are remarkably few authors that have managed to write for almost every single age group. Judy Blume is one of the few. Though admittedly she has yet to write a baby book or large print text for the elderly, Ms. Blume has somehow managed to write picture books, young readers, full chapter books, teen novels, and even an adult title in her day. We all know who Judy Blume is, but we probably know her for very different reasons. As a kid, I knew her primarily as the author of "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing". My husband, on the other hand, associates her with that deliciously forbidden text, "Forever".

Moses Goes to the Circus (Moses Goes to) by Isaac Millman

Having previously tailed young Moses to a concert (1998) and to school (2000), Millman now accompanies the deaf youngster and his hearing family to the circus. Moses uses American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with his parents and little sister, and children looking at this book can easily follow along. The richly detailed double-page spreads and the simple, descriptive text make room for boxed sequences showing Moses demonstrating signs for children to learn. By the story's end, youngsters not only will have enjoyed the circus acrobats, trapeze artists, clowns, and animal acts but also learned how to express much of the experience through ASL. A colorful depiction of a loving family and its entertaining day at the circus that has much to offer in elementary-school applications. Ellen Mandel Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Ages 2-5. Five joyful concept books by gifted artist-writer Hughes--Bathwater's Hot and Noisy and When We Went to the Park (1985) and Colors and All Shapes and Sizes (1986)--have been collected into one big, handsome volume that will give preschoolers hours of fun. In each story the same eager, curious child explores her world, at home and outside, and discovers all kinds of colors, shapes, sizes, numbers, sounds, and experiences. The simple rhyming text makes you savor the words, and each cheerful line-and-watercolor illustration tells a story to talk about. Even libraries that have some of the individual volumes may want to buy this large collection, which is unified by the characters, style, and setting. Hazel Rochman