Each year around this time I round up all the awesome new* books I can find, and do a storytime with them. I am lucky enough, through my outreach program, to be able to give all almost 1400 kids I visit each month a brand new book (to keep!) in May, so I do only a short storytime before we get to handing out the books. These are the books we are sharing and loving this month:
*And by “new”, I mean “new to me.” Apparently some of these are more than a year old! But so what, I just found them!
- Schmid, Paul. A Pet for Petunia. Petunia wants, WANTS, WANTS a pet skunk. But when her parents say no, she goes on a rant that librarians like me (i.e. extra goofy) LOVE to perform. “Stink? I’ll show you stink!”
- Bardhan-Quallen, Sudipta. Chicks Run Wild. Apparently one group of preschoolers loved this so much they were still
talking about it long after storytime. After mama puts the chicks to bed, and closes the door, they get up again and RUN WILD! But Mama finally figures out that if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, and manages to wear them out in the process!
- Beaumont, Karen. No Sleep for Sheep! Continuing the sleep theme, sheep is trying to get some sleep. But various farm animals keep coming into the barn, making noise, and waking him up! Lots of repitition, and the illustrations of the extra-fluffy, and super-harried, sheep are wonderful.
- Kemp, Anna. Dogs Don’t Do Ballet. Biff the bulldog dreams of his name in lights. But his person’s father says “Dogs Don’t Do Ballet.” Biff has other plans, and they involve putting on his person’s tutu and following her to a performance of the Royal Ballet.
- Dewdney, Anna. Roly Poly Pangolin. “Roly Poly, very small, doesn’t like new things at all.” Not bugs for dinner, not monkeys who want to be friends. But Roly Poly finally discovers that not every new thing is scary.
- Vere, Ed. Banana! A simple, but expressive book with only 2 words in it: Banana and please. A great narrative skills developer, as kids can help tell the story.
- Foley, Greg. I Miss You, Mouse. A lovely new addition to the Bear books. Now with flaps to lift!
- Gormley, Greg. Dog In Boots. After reading Puss in Boots, Dog decides he wants some boots as marvelous as those worn in the story. But the first pair he gets, while wonderful, are no good for digging. He goes back to the store several times trying to find the perfect pair of shoes in which to do ALL of his doggie activities. We especially loved the picture of dog in high heels, perfect for scratching!
- Nesbitt, Kenn. More Bears! Hilariously meta. And the preschoolers had learned who an author and illustrator were, so were able to understand that concept (mostly). I pointed out the words “More Bears!” on each page and let the kids say them.”
- Hillenbrand, Will Spring Is Here! Mole wakes up and discovers spring has arrived. He tries to wake bear, to no avail. What will he have to do?
- Sayre, April Pulley. If You’re Hoppy and You Know It. A play on the song, offering words like “hoppy”, “sloppy”, “growly”, and “flappy” and the corresponding animals.
I’m looking forward to sharing (I have an ARC but not a hard copy yet):
Foley, Greg (geez, this guy’s talented!). Purple Little Bird Bird works very hard making his purple house perfect. But something’s missing. He travels around the world, meeting animals of every color, looking for the perfect place.
What are your new favorites?
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Tags: anna dewdney, anna kemp, april pulley-sayre, ed vere, favorites, greg foley, greg gormley, Karen Beaumont, kenn nesbitt, new books, Paul Schmid, picture books, sudipta bardhan-quallen, Will Hillenbrand
already planning to use my bedtime stories theme in early October, which of COURSE little llama is a part of. Red Pajama is a delightful rhyming story which accurately reflects a child’s bedtime anxieties. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy getting to read the words “llama drama?”
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