Tallulah’s Tutu by Marilyn Singer (Illustrations by Alexandra Boiger)
Stars: ****
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2011)
Tallulah learns that there is more to being a ballerina than wearing a tutu. Great book for those little ballet lovers. Tallulah gets mad that she is doing all these ballet lessons without a tutu. She ends up learning that having a tutu doesn’t mean she can dance well, she needs to learn how to dance first, and she does.
Alfred Zector, Book Collector by Kelly Dipucchio (Illustrations by Macky Pamintuan)
Stars: *****
Harper – Imprint of Harper Collins (2010)
Alfred loves collecting books so much he ends up collecting every book in the town and no one else has anything to read but him. He secludes himself in his house. Alfred discovers the true joy in reading books and fixed the problem. I love this book. It illustrates how I feel about sharing books with others. Since I can’t afford to send books to everyone in the world, I choose to blog about them instead.
Dog in Boots by Greg Gormley (Illustrated by Roberta Angaramo)
Stars: *****
Holiday House (2011)
A cute book my kids love. The dog goes to a shoe store to find footwear that is good for a variety of different things dogs do (digging, swimming, scratching fleas) but in the end finds out the best footwear is his own paws! The idea of dogs wearing shoes it what makes it so funny.
The Secret Box by Barbara Lehman
Stars: *****
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2011)
This is a different sort of book, quite different than other picture books. First of all it is wordless which I love. I get to ask my children what they think is going on and I can explain what I see, not read words given to me. It’s not just being wordless that makes it different. It tells the story of a school or orphanage (it doesn’t say remember…) over time, changing with the times. Then some children find a box hidden in the floorboards with items in it that are clearly from the past. They follow the map and find a special place.
Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone
Stars: ****
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2011)
This is a well known folktale, redone by the author. The illustrations are cute and I’ve always loved this folktale and was happy to share it with my children. Well done.
Time to Sleep by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Stars: ****
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2011)
This is a unique picture book that is like nonfiction and fiction in one. It’s a book about how different animals sleep. The when, the where.
e.g. Snoozing on autopilot – the white stork sleeps in flight. Scientists believe it does this by taking a series of naps that last just a few seconds each.
I Am the Book by Lee Bennett Hopkins (Illustrated by Yayo)
Stars: ****
Holiday House (2011)
A book full of poems about books!
What could be better. The poems are by different people but were all selected for inclusion by Lee Bennet Hopkins. For ages 4-8 but children don’t seem to like poems. But yours might!
I Like You the Best by Carol Thompson
Stars: ***
Holiday House (2011)
A cute story about two animal friends who while playing one day, hurt each others feelings. Will they ever be friends again? Shows children that even if they fight with their friends, things will work out.
Love the illustrations!
Astro The Stellar Sea Lion by Jeanne Walker Harvey (Illustrated Shennen Bersani)
Stars: ****
Sylvan Dell Publishing (2010)
A book with real photos, showing the amazing story of Astro, a real sea lion who was found orphaned and was saved. They tried to release him into the wild but he was too accustomed to humans so he moved into the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut.
About Kathleen
