The Dark by Lemony Snicket - - ESSENTIAL

Snicket, Lemony The Dark, 40 pgs. 2013 Little Brown; $16.99. Content: G. 

Lazlo is afraid of the dark.  It’s in lots of places in his house but it lives in the basement.  The dark isn’t afraid of Lazlo!  

In the a little bit creepy way that Snicket tells his stories, this mesmerizing picturebook even had me a little scared.  Illustrated by Caldecott medal winner Jon Klassen, wonderfully written and simple, this book about facing your fears is a must have.  

EL ESSENTIAL Lisa Librarian

Baby Parade by Rebecca O'Connell- ADVISABLE

 

O’Connell, Rebecca Baby Parade.  Illustrated by Susie Poole.  24 pgs. Albert Whitman & Company, 2013. $15.99.  PICTURE BOOK.  Here come the babies!  Wave to them as they go by.  Each page focuses on a new baby and a particular color: red, then orange, yellow, green, blue, and finally purple.  The babies then crawl, stand, and all walk in the baby parade.  There are few words on each page, but the illustrations tell the story perfectly. The illustrations are absolutely unique and adorable.  Pre-K.  ADVISABLE. Reviewer: SL.

100 Animals on Parade by Masayuki Sebe- ESSENTIAL

Sebe, Masayuki 100 Animals on Parade! 24 pgs.  Kids Can Press, 2013. $16.95. PICTURE BOOK.  No one illustrates fun-loving animals quite like Masayuki Sebe!  We love all books published by Sebe-especially the search-and-find books.  His illustrations are brightly colored and humorous.  This story has the reader join a parade of fun-loving characters as the reader explores 100 pigs, 100 beetles, 100 rabbits and much more.  Each page contains search-and-find elements such as “counting rabbit number 13 and finding what is on his head”.  The illustrations are small and the font next to some of the characters is tiny so this would not make a good group read-aloud-book, but a prefect snuggle book.  Pre-K.  EL (K-3).  ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: SL.

Franklin in the Dark: 25th Anniversary Edition by Paulette Bourgeois-ESSENTIAL

Bourgeois, Paulette Franklin in the Dark: 25^thAnniversary Edition.  Illustrated by Brenda Clark. 48 pgs. Kids Can Press, 2011. $18.95. PICTURE BOOK.  The classic story of Franklin in the Dark has been printed yet again in this 25th Edition copy. A little turtle named Franklin is afraid of the dark.  This poses a problem since Franklin is supposed to sleep in his small, dark shell.  He is sure that creepy things, slippery things, and monsters live inside his small, dark shell. After searching high and low help from Duck, Lion, Bird, and Polar Bear, Franklin soon learns that he is not alone and that everyone has a fear of one sort or another.  In addition to the original story and illustrations, readers can also get behind-the-scenes information about this great story.  Author Paulette Bourgeois and illustrator Brenda Clark write letters in the opening of the book to describe their experiences and the beginnings of this story.  They have even included a photo copy of the first pages of the original manuscript and story board. At the end of the book additional Franklin books are introduced so readers who enjoyed this original can fill their bookshelves with more fun and adventure starring Franklin.  Pre-K.  EL (K-3).  ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: SL.

Tiptoe Joe by Ginger Foglesong Gibson-ESSENTIAL

Gibson, Ginger Foglesong Tiptoe Joe. Illustrated by Laura Rankin.  32 pgs.  Greenwillow Books, 2013. $17.99.  PICTURE BOOK.  We loved this book!  The illustrations are adorable and the story is fun and sentimental.  Tiptoe Joe has a surprise for all of his forest friends.  What is it?  Shhhhh.  It’s a secret.  With predictable rhythmic text, children will laugh and enjoy this surprise book.  “Turkey, Turkey, come with me. I know something you should see.”  This phrase is repeated with each animal that Tiptoe Joe invites to see his surprise.  After the invitation to come with Tiptoe Joe, each animal follows by thudding, swishing,  or clopping in a line behind him.  But Tiptoe Joe continues to whisper, “Shhhhhh” along the way.  Thud, thud.  Swish, swish.  Flap, flap- all the forest friends tiptoe soft and tiptoe slow to see the most wonderful and unexpected surprise of all! Pre-K.  EL (K-3). ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: SL.

Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Thomas - OPTIONAL

Thomas, Jan  Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy  Beach Lane Books, 2012.  $12.99  PICTURE BOOK  Content: G.  

Cowboy is trying to sing a sweet lullaby to help his cows go to sleep, but every time he gets to the end of this song he screams “eeek” and scare the cows.  At first he stops the song because he thinks that he sees a spider, then he thinks he spots a snake and then he thinks it’s a bear.  Each time the spider is actually a flower, the snake a stick and the bear another cow.  He finally convinces himself that everything is fine, when actually there is a wolf.  Thank goodness wolves really like lullabies.  In the end the wolf snuggles in with the cows and the cowboy to say goodnight.  

This is a cute book that young readers will find funny.  The illustrations are very basic, but they are bright and the cowboy and cows faces are animated.  The wolf going to sleep with the cows seemed like a really bad idea to me, but that was the ending of the story in which everything was all right.  

EL (K-3)-OPTIONAL.