Staff Favorites Books - Page 6

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Pie

Alison Jackson

Amazon Price: $10.87 List Price: $15.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dutton Juvenile Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $6.69

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the awfully silly I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie, children's librarian and author Alison Jackson bypasses pilgrims completely and cuts straight to the stomach of Thanksgiving in America--dinner. A slightly dizzying new spin on the well-loved cumulative rhyming song "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," this madcap picture book stars a ravenously hungry relative who comes to Thanksgiving dinner with a pie. Since she eats the pie in its entirety before she even gets in the house, she has to swallow some cider (that "rumbled and mumbled and grumbled inside her"). If you must know, "She swallowed the cider to moisten the pie, / The Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry, /Perhaps she'll die." The story continues in this vein, as we watch the hosts grow visibly alarmed--and the children visibly delighted-- by the old lady's surreal appetite and supernaturally increasing girth. Illustrator Judith Byron Schachner--creator of the acclaimed Willy and May--has masterfully captured this ludicrous tale in hilariously haywire pen-and-ink drawings, splashed with watercolor. Kids will love this romping, rhyming frolic through a familiar favorite. (Ages 4 to 8)

May I Bring A Friend? (May I Bring a Friend Nrf)

Beatrice de Regniers

Amazon Price: $12.71 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Atheneum Amazon Marketplace: 71 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The King and Queen are most gracious hosts to a certain little boy--and any friend of his is a friend of theirs. When he brings a giraffe to tea, the King doesn't blink an eye and says, "Hello. How do you do?" and the Queen merely exclaims, "Well! Fancy meeting you!" The royal pair continue to invite the boy as their guest for tea, breakfast, lunch, dinner, apple pie, and Halloween, and each time he politely asks if he can bring a friend, waits for their assent, then brings a hippo, monkeys, an elephant, and once even a pride of lions into their elegant home. Beatrice Schenk De Regniers's gentle, repetitive, rhyming story, with the refrain "So I brought my friend," will resonate with young children, who will be pleased to see the well-behaved wild animals wreaking harmless havoc in the palace, and soothed by the unfalteringly open arms and perpetual politesse of the King and Queen. Beni Montresor's distinctive, inky, richly colored drawings earned this book a Caldecott Medal in 1965, and have won the hearts of children ever since. (Ages 3 and older) --Karin Snelson

Mad about Madeline

Ludwig Bemelmans

List Price: $35.00 By: Viking Juvenile Amazon Marketplace: 127 new & used starting at $0.23

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

This elegant volume--perhaps one of the best gift books on the planet--contains all six adventures of the irrepressible, mischievous Madeline (the smallest and spunkiest of the twelve little girls in two straight lines). Ludwig Bemelmans's Madeline was first published in 1939, and its five sequels have all become classics. In Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anna Quindlen's introduction to Mad About Madeline she writes, "Amid a childhood full of children's books, amid glorious pictures and imaginative plots, it is worth wondering why this story is among a handful of books that now-grown children invariably buy for their own more than half a century after Ludwig Bemelmans began writing it on the back of a restaurant menu."

Inside this hefty, richly illustrated edition, you'll find Madeline, Madeline and the Bad Hat, Madeline's Rescue, Madeline and the Gypsies, Madeline in London, and Madeline's Christmas, in addition to Quindlen's splendidly insightful introduction, an essay by Bemelmans on how he invented Madeline, never-before-published working sketches of Madeline, and photos of the Bemelmans family. The perfect gift for anyone who has made friends with--or should be introduced to--the precocious Madeline. (The jaunty verse makes Madeline perfect for reading aloud, and readers ages 6 and older will enjoy sounding out names such as Lord Cucuface.)

Zoom Zoom Zoom I'm Off to the Moon

Dan Yaccarino

List Price: $15.95 By: Scholastic Amazon Marketplace: 13 new & used starting at $6.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

a great book 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

toodlers will love hearing this story over and over agin. i work in a 18 month old classroom to 2 yrs of age, my co teachers and i read this book to the kids all the time.the children and adults love it

Our Toddler's (and Daddy's) favorite bedtime story! 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Easy rhyming, rhythmic phrases, and cool space-related pictures in bright colors lend to repeats of this story almost every night! Our Son liked this book so much that he reached for it over and over for bedtime stories - even before he could talk. (One of his first words was ZOOM!) If you like space stuff, you and your kids will find Dan Yaccarino's "ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM..." a real pleaser!!

A big hit! 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

We found this book at the library last night and it was such an instant hit I'm buying it today. The pictures and big and bold and whimsical and the rhyming is very nice. My 2-year-old daughter doesn't even know what a rocket is yet but she asked me to read this book first thing this morning.

Editorial Review:

Combines short, rhyming text and bold, vibrant illustrations that portray a boy astronaut and his fabulous rocketship as they blast into space for an out-of-this-world adventure."

Mouse Match: A Chinese Folktale

Ed Young

List Price: $20.00 By: Harcourt Amazon Marketplace: 13 new & used starting at $2.29

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Children Learn Diversity 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Mouse Match is a great tool for learning about diversity. The openness of Mama and Papa Mouse to their daughter marrying even another animal race speaks volumes to children who only determine differences between races (as well as species) by their appearance. Those children become more open and tolerant of people of different race, ethnicity, religion, and creed--an essential social skill to success in the world of today and tomorrow.

Great book - in chinese and english, beautiful illustrations 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This childrens book is a delight for children or adults. The story reads two directions;one way in Chinese and the other in English. Great gift!

Editorial Review:

Caldecott Medalist Ed Young retells an ancient Chinese tale of how a father mouse travels to the end of the earth in search of the perfect husband for his wonderful daughter. How could he have known when he set out that his journey would lead him back home? Full color.

The Christmas Crocodile

Bonny Becker

List Price: $16.00 By: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 20 new & used starting at $4.38

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Uncle Theodore is huffing, Aunt Figgy is fretting, and Alice Jayne is tapping her foot--pretty subdued behavior considering the fact that a hungry crocodile has just appeared under the Christmas tree. This eccentric family handles the mysterious reptile remarkably well, even though the beast seems to have an appetite as fierce as its legendary bite. The Christmas Crocodile tears around the house eating everything in sight, whether edible (a roast, five golden oranges, a pineapple upside-down cake) or inedible (a shoe, ribbons, a feather boa, earmuffs, and fruitcake). The family is divided over how to best deal with this unexpected guest. Send him to an orphanage? Pack him off to the zoo? Make him into a pair of shoes? "He's nice," said Alice Jayne. "Maybe we could keep him." Just when it seems the crocodile has eaten all he can stomach, the family awakens to discover that he has consumed nearly all the presents and the Christmas tree too! The one uneaten gift holds the key to this toothsome tale, as well as a surprise that will have kids smiting their foreheads in gleeful anticipation of more mayhem to come.

Author Bonny Becker has crafted a rollicking reptile romp, with an apologetic refrain--"The Christmas Crocodile didn't mean to be bad, not really"--to which children can surely relate. David Small, creator of the Caldecott Honor-winning The Gardener, accompanies Becker's spritely, funny text with equally amusing, expressive illustrations that will have youngsters poring over this book long after the last present has been unwrapped. (Ages 4 to 8) --Brangien Davis

The Piggy in the Puddle

Charlotte Pomerantz

List Price: $15.00 By: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"See the piggy, / See the puddle, / See the muddy little puddle. / See the piggy in the middle / Of the muddy little puddle. / See her dawdle, see her diddle / In the muddy, muddy middle. / See her waddle, plump and little, / In the very merry middle." So begins Charlotte Pomerantz's irresistibly catchy verse story The Piggy in the Puddle. It's the classic "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" tale, as the little she-piggy's father, mother, and brother take turns exhorting her to exit the mud puddle in which she is frolicking, only to have her respond with a happy "Nope!" One by one, they give up and plunge into the puddle where they too discover the joys of the "squishy-squashy, mooshy-squooshy, oofy-poofy" mud.

James Marshall, creator of the George and Martha books, provides the perfect visual accompaniments. True to form, he depicts the admonishing father pig ("See her daddy, / Fuddy-duddy, fuddy-duddy, fuddy-duddy. / 'Don't you get all muddy, / Muddy muddy muddy muddy") as a large, fez-wearing, mustachio-sporting hog, standing on a box of soap. All you can see of the scolded little pig is the end of her snout and the word "Nope!" Young children will delight in the silly, repetitive verse of this Reading Rainbow Book--and of course the forbidden pleasures of being in the middle of a messy, messy muddle. (Excellent read-aloud for preschoolers, but perfect for early readers ages 4 and older) --Karin Snelson

Telephone

K. Chukovsky, Radunsky

List Price: $15.95 By: North-South Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $0.52

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Fasten your seatbelts! Get ready for a wild and wonderful, rollicking romp about a telephone ringing off the hook. As we plunge into the story, our narrator (who apparently runs a bizarre, 24-hour, all-purpose supply house) has just answered a call from an elephant: "What do you want?"/I asked him up front./"If I had my druthers,"/he said in a mutter,/"I'd order some more of your peanut butter." The flood of outrageous phone requests continues, including a crocodile needing galoshes, baboons asking for spoons, and a kangaroo looking for Winnie-the-Pooh. The final affront occurs just as the overworked narrator is drifting off to sleep, when a desperate rhino calls for assistance in dragging a hippo out of a swamp.

In this lively translation of Kornei Chukovsky's classic Russian nonsense poem, Jamey Gambrell keeps the rhyming tempo tapping and the silliness in high gear. The illustrations by Vladimir Radunsky, who also created the brilliantly bold and wacky characters in Yucka Drucka Droni and The Maestro Plays, only add to the fervor--vivid paintings and collage are layered on expansive blocks of vibrant color, including wallpaper and fabric. Adults may never have witnessed a stronger argument for call-screening, but kids are sure to giggle the next time the phone rings. (Ages 4 to 8)

Mama Cat Has Three Kittens

Denise Fleming

Amazon Price: $14.00 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great book to help a beginning reader BEGIN to READ! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Last library visit my daughter chose MAMA CAT HAS THREE KITTENS. One night recently she came to me and said, "Mommy, I want to read you this book." I remember thinking this would be cute because she'd never said that to me before. Opening the book and pointing to the words she READ the book to me! I couldn't believe it. I had only read it to her maybe five times. I called for Daddy to come, ran to get the camcorder and recorded her reading it again. Later, he said he had read it to her some too. Still, she WOWED me.

This a fantastic book by Mrs. Fleming and it appears that all of hers are, judging by the feedback here at Amazon. Her illustration style is unique--"she pours colored cotton pulp through hand-cut stencils which become the images set in handmade paper." The effect is very bright, vivid and dramatic. The active story follows a busy, frolicking day in the sun of Mama Cat and her three kittens--Fluffy, Skinny, and Boris the napper. It's a FUN story and even includes little surprises to find on EACH page. (There are three identical objects as well as a hidden mama mouse.)

Besides all these features, the BEST PART in my opinion, is the frequent use of the same words which helps build listening skills, perhaps some memorization skills and plenty of Confidence for a beginning reader to BEGIN READING! I am going to look into some more of her books next library visit for sure.

Soar!

Editorial Review:

Fluffy, Skinny, and Boris tag along with Mama Cat all day long. Actually, Boris just naps. He snoozes while the others wash their paws, walk the stone wall, sharpen their claws, chase leaves, and engage in other fundamentally feline pastimes. But when the others curl up to nap, Boris stretches, yawns, and comes to life! Denise Fleming, creator of In the Small, Small Pond and In the Tall, Tall Grass, succeeds again with this gorgeous picture book. The bold, exuberant, rich illustrations are artfully crafted with color-saturated handmade paper. Astute youngsters will love finding other creature trios in each picture, plus a hidden mouse! (Ages 3 and older) --Karin Snelson

And If the Moon Could Talk

Kate Banks

Amazon Price: $11.70 List Price: $15.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) Amazon Marketplace: 46 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"And if the moon could talk, / it would tell of evening / stealing through the woods / and a lizard scurrying home to supper." Kate Banks and illustrator Georg Hallensleben's lovely bedtime book spins a sleepy tale of what the moon would say if it could look down at a night-swept Earth and tell us what it sees. The book begins with a cozy inside view of a little pajama-clad girl and her stuffed white rabbit. Then we travel outside to a moon's view of the night world. Back inside, from the familiar objects on the bedside table--"a glass, a wooden boat, a starfish, too"--we move to "waves washing onto the beach, / shells, and a crab resting." Each rich, color-drenched scene complements the next--as Mama hands her child the toy rabbit, a lioness licks her cubs in a faraway den. "And if the moon could talk," the book concludes, "it would tell of a child / curled up in bed wrapped in sleep. / And it would murmur / Good night." From the creators of the beloved Baboon and Spider, Spider, this beautiful book--winner of the 1998 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for best picture book--has become one of our all-time favorite bedtime stories. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustrations copyright © 1998 by Georg Hallensleben, text © 1998 by Kate Banks. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.) (Ages 3 and older) --Karin Snelson