It's a Busy, Busy World

Author	Laura Krauss Melmed
ISBN	0688151132

A happy couple find themselves becoming old (though they look like all of the middle-aged parents at our daughters' elementary school), and their hearts hold one regret: they never had children.

One enchanted, moon-lit evening, they wake to find twelve perfect toe-sized babies among the...

Author	Beatrix Potter
ISBN	0723247773

The Tale of Tom Kitten is set in the cottage garden Beatrix created herself at Hill Top, the farm she owned near the village of Sawrey. Tom and his sisters look so smart in their new clothes. When their mother sends them outside while she waits for her visitors, she couldn't possibly guess what kind of mess...

Author	Margaret Wise Brown
ISBN	0307021416

My grandmother used to read me this book between puffs of her cigarette. How I loved this story...it's the tale of two kittens, Hush and Brush. They have buckets and buckets and buckets of paint, but none that are the color green. Refusing to have their spirits crushed by the evil paint manufacturing company,...

Author	Cathleen Daly
ISBN	1596434694

Emily wants to be an artist. She likes painting and loves the way artists like Pablo Picasso mixed things up.Emily's life is a little mixed up right now. Her dad doesn't live at home anymore, and it feels like everything around her is changing.

“When Picasso was sad for a while,” says Emily,...

Author	Jill Barklem
ISBN	0689830904

It was Midwinter's Eve and the mice of Brambly Hedge were very busy. That evening, after dark, they would all be gathering round a blazing fire for the traditional midwinter celebrations. A grand entertainment was planned, and Primrose and Wilfred had chosen to recite a poem. They went up to the attics...

Author	Stephen Cosgrove
ISBN	0843176873

How could you refuse those eyes? He just wants to munch those muffins a bit...

Yeah, it's a real book, listed on websites devoted to hilariously inappropriate childrens' book titles. It's also in the Internet Archive for borrowing, and it's a lame book at that. A poor kingdom traffics in great...

Author	Edward Packard
ISBN	0553252968

There are some strange things about time, and you are about to learn what they are. Walk into the Cave of Time and don't turn back. Keep going. I know it's dark and your hands feel clammy. The passageway you're in is getting so it's about half an inch wider than you are. But keep going. You are about to see...

Author	Norman Bridwell
ISBN	0590003429

Norman Bridwell, creator of the popular Clifford the Big Red Dog series, also wrote and illustrated a number of picture-books featuring a friendly neighborhood witch, beginning with this 1969 title. With simple text, The Witch Next Door unfolds the tale of two (unnamed) children, who come to be...

Author	Jean de Brunhoff
ISBN	0394805771

Such joy in Celesteville! Babar and Celeste have had triplets. The smallest, Alexander, has a knack for getting into predicaments. Between getting stuck in the treetops and being chased by a crocodile, he certainly keeps Babar on his toes, but the king readily admits, “Truly it is not easy to bring...

Author	Annette Tison
ISBN	2878812301

This is charming and weird but not as weird as the rest of the series. I like when the rest of the Barba family is in play, doing bizarre semi-human things together with their giant shapechanging bodies.

So, the early picture of Barbapapa growing in the earth as he's watered like a flower and then...

Author	Adrien Stoutenburg
ISBN	0140309284

My new student and I listened to this book on audio. The narration was excellent and most of the stories were fun too. A few of them bogged down but this is a great introduction to American stories. I don't often do audio with students but I am happy we did with this book, the voice helped to make the book more...

Author	Stan Berenstain
ISBN	0394800524

Stan and Jan Berenstain take readers on a fun-filled trip to the beach in this classic Beginner Book, edited by Dr. Seuss. “Hooray! Hooray! We’re on our way! Our summer vacation starts today!” School’s out, and the Bear family is ready for a vacation at the beach. Whether the Bears are sailing,...

Author	Helen V. Griffith
ISBN	0062032852

Rabbit waits for the moon.
But the moon takes its time,
so Rabbit hops back to his burrow and goes to sleep.
What happens in the world when Rabbit isn't looking?
Well . . . magic.
And moonlight. . . .
The goats on the mountainside see it.
The deer, birds, and raccoons see it.
...

Author	Bill Peet
ISBN	0395361710

“Cowardly Clyde” is another classic story from the mind of Bill Peet. This is the story of a cowardly horse named Clyde who must put aside his fears to save his master from a ferocious ogre. “Cowardly Clyde” is one of the greatest stories ever told about conquering your fears to save the people...

Author	Gyo Fujikawa
ISBN	0448043041

I simply don't understand why some terrible children's books become famous, while others, which are quite brilliant, are virtually unknown. This was one of our kids' favourites when they were very small, and it is terrific. Most children's books that attempt to instil wisdom and moral principles...

Author	Steven Kellogg
ISBN	0803727224

Pinkerton, Behave, by Steven Kellogg is about a dog named Pinkerton, who is trying to be trained by his owners. They take him to a dog school to learn how to fetch and attack a burglar, but he has problems learning these skills. At the end of the book though, a burglar comes to their house and Pinkerton does...

Author	Jean Marzollo
ISBN	0590481371

This picture book review was originally shared on Lazy Day Literature.

'Tis the season for spooky and I SPY has given us a wonderfully creepy look-and-find to fill our dark and dreary (rainy) days.

I remember borrowing as many of these I SPY books from the library as I could as a kid. A...

Author	Wendy Cheyette Lewison
ISBN	0803710968

This is a delightful story that shares a conversation between a little boy and his father at the end of the day. The boy is still playing on the floor as he asks his questions. The dad is right there telling him a story about how the animals sleep. Heartwarming and cozy to read to little ones.
Every time...

Author	Carin Berger
ISBN	0062250191

Instead of hibernating as he should, a little bear cub goes out in search of spring—and he thinks he's found it! Gloriously illustrated with dioramas and cut-paper collages by the award-winning designer and illustrator Carin Berger, this stunning picture book celebrates the changing of the seasons.

A...