Ages 3 - 6 yrs.
Goodnight Moon
Written by Margaret Wise Brown, Illustrated by
Clement Hurd
HarperCollins: 0060275049: $19.95
Everyone for generations has grown up with this, the classic good night
book. Fifty years and still going strong, this is a great read aloud for
youngsters even if it isn’t bedtime.
Cat's Colors
Written and Illustrated by Jane Cabrera
Dial Books for Young Readers: 0803720904: $14.99
Cabrera’s cat asks if readers can guess his favorite color, and he takes
them through each hue of the rainbow. But everyone knows a cat’s favorite
color is his mother’s color. Warm and fuzzy with a little learning thrown
in.
Bear Snores On
Written by Karma Wilson,
Illustrations by Jane Chapman
Margaret K. McElderry Books: 0689831870: $16.00
Bear’s cave is warm and dry, and one by one, the forest animals creep in.
They have a quiet little party until the bear wakes up. He’s mad, MAD! But
not for the reason you might guess. Chapman’s soft, warm illustrations help
make this a great book to cuddle up with.
Frank was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance
Written and Illustrated
by Keith Graves
Chronicle Books: 0811821692: $12.95
Frank (N Stein) just wants to dance, so he puts ants in his pants and
jumps out on stage. The audience loves his gyrations until he starts to
fall apart. This is silly (goopy) rhyming fun that you won’t be able to
read just once.
Ginger
Written and Illustrated by
Charlotte Voake
Candlewick Press: 076360108X: $16.99
Cat lovers especially will appreciate Voake’s story of kitty sibling
rivalry. Ginger, the older cat, will have nothing to do with the new little
kitten. With some coaxing, though the two do get along. Voake’s
illustrations perfectly capture cats in this charming story.
Noisy Nora
Written and with all new Illustrations by Rosemary
Wells
Dial Books for Young Readers: 0670887226: $15.99
Nora just wants some attention, but her baby brother Jack occupies one
parent and her sister Kate occupies the other. Nora knows what to do…make
NOISE! Wells’s book was so good she illustrated it twice.
One Day in the Jungle
Written and
Illustrated by Colin West
Candlewick Press: 1564026469: $9.95
Jungle animals pass around a cold from smallest to largest in this silly,
sniffley, funny read aloud. It offers the extra added bonuses of learning
size words and the importance of covering your mouth.
Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Written and Illustrated by Mo
Willems
Hyperion Books for Children: 078681988X: $12.99
This Caldecott Honor book (from this year) is simply hilarious. The bus
driver asks the reader to please keep the pigeon from driving the bus. Once
the driver’s gone, the pigeon tries every toddler tactic to get to fulfill
his dream. When the driver comes back before he can get his way, the pigeon
just dreams a new dream.
Trashy Town
Written by Andrea Zimmerman
and David Clemesha, Illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
HarperCollins Publishers: 0060271396: $15.99
Mr. Gillie makes his way around Trashy Town with his truck emptying all
the garbage bins. Your audience will chant along with you by page two.
Yaccarino’s signature simple illustrations are a perfect complement to this
good clean story.
Ages 6 - 9 yrs.
Why?
Written by Lindsay Camp, Illustrated by Tony
Ross
G.P. Putnam's Sons: 0399233962: $15.99
Lily is ALWAYS asking “Why?” Nearly every word out of her mouth is “Why?”
It’s driving her dad MAD. Who could guess one day that her inquisitiveness
would save the world? Initially this might look difficult to read since it
is laid out like a graphic novel. However, if you take a little time with
it, you’ll have a story children will be begging for every storytime.
The Fungus That Ate My School
Written by Arthur Dorros,
Illustrated by David Catrow
Scholastic Press: 0590477048: $15.95
Mr. Harrison’s class was growing fungus in a jar before Spring Break…but a
wet Spring Vacation makes it grow out of control! It takes over the school!
The Fungus unit must be called in. Catrow’s wild and wacky illustrations
will have listeners itching to do their own science experiments.
The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down
Written and Illustrated by Paul
Brett Johnson
Orchard Books: 0531086313: $14.99
Miss Rosemary’s cow Gertrude is flying around the house. What will the
neighbors say? Crafty Miss Rosemary comes up with a perfect way to entice
the jealous Gert down from the tree tops.
Something Wonderful
Written by Jenny
Nimmo, Illustrated by Debbie Boon
Harcourt: 0152164863: $16.00
Little Hen has never won a prize like all of her coup-mates. But one
stormy night, when she doesn’t return to the coup, she proves herself more
than worthy when she leads the next chicken generation home. The best
chicken story since Minerva Louise!
Piggie Pie!
Written by Margie Palatini, Illustrated by Howard
Fine
Clarion Books: 0395716918: $14.00
Gritch the witch has a hankerin for piggie pie and she knows just where to
find them piggies. Old MacDonald’s Farm usually has plenty of piggies, but
she talks to the geese, the cows, the chickens, and the farmer himself (all
really piggies in disguise) and there are no piggies. Where are the
piggies?
We Were Tired of Living in a House
Written by Liesel Moak
Skorpen, Illustrated by Joe Cepeda
G.P. Putnam's Sons: 0399230165: $15.99
Three siblings are tired of living in their house, so they pack up and try
living in a tree. They love it until they fall out. On they trek to a pond.
There is just something wrong with each place. It’s a good thing home is
always there to return to!
Oh, Ducky!: A Chocolate Calamity
Written
and Illustrated by David Slonim
Chronicle Books: 0811835626: $15.95
Johnny loves his Ducky and he loves his job in the chocolate factory…but
one day he doesn’t know what to do when Ducky gets caught up in the works.
The factory owner comes to the rescue. This will make you hungry and make
you laugh!
Possum Come A-knockin'
Written by Nancy Van Laan, Illustrated by
George Booth
Alfred A. Knopf: 0394822064: $15.99
Possums are tricky critters, and this one likes to knock while the family
isn’t looking and then run and hide. Rhythmic, rhyming fun that will have
the audience chanting along.
The Dirty Cowboy
Written by Amy Timberlake,
Illustrated by Adam Rex
Farrar Straus Giroux: 0374317917: $16.00
Cowboy needs a bath. He sets his mostly blind dawg to guard his clothes.
Of course, when he comes back, he doesn’t smell like himself. Dawg won’t
let him near the clothes and a tussle ensues. After a roll in the mud and a
wrestle with Dawg, Dawg finally recognizes the cowboy…but it’s too late,
the clothes are destroyed. One of 2003’s best books by two newcomers. We
can only hope they work together again!
Ages 9 - 12 yrs.
Riding the Tiger
Written by Eve
Bunting, Illustrated by David Frampton
Clarion Books: 0395797314: $16.00
Danny is bored and lonely when he climbs on the back of the exciting and
somewhat dangerous tiger who offers him a ride. But it's easier to get on
the tiger than it is to get off. Frampton’s woodcuts are excellent for this
allegory for dealing with one’s anger.
Miss Alaineus: a Vocabulary Disaster
Written and Illustrated by
Debra Frasier
Harcourt: 0152021639: $16.00
Spelling and word definitions are a pain in the head for Sage. It’s
embarrassing. Then she uses her mistake as an inspiration for a fun and
exciting vocabulary parade.
And to Think That We Thought That We'd Never be
Friends
Written by Mary Ann Hoberman, Illustrated by Kevin
Hawkes
Crown Publishers: 0517800683: $15.95
Siblings learn how easy it is to end a fight, and they take their message
to their friends, their street, and the world. A wonderfully timely story
in rhyme.
Pink and Say
Written and Illustrated by Patricia Polacco
Philomel Books: 0399226710: $16.95
Polacco’s now classic book, based on a true story about her
great-great-grandfather is a Civil War story both exciting and poignant.
Say, a Union soldier, is left for dead, but he is rescued by Pinkus a black
Union soldier. The two become friends and struggle to rejoin their
units.
Amelia and Eleanor go for a Ride: Based on a True Story
Written
by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Illustrated by Brian Selznick
Scholastic Press: 059096075X: $16.95
Based on the true story of two amazing women, Amelia Earhart and Eleanor
Roosevelt sneak away from the White House and have an adventure in the
skies. Magical illustrations!
Mailing May
Written by Michael O.
Tunnell, Illustrated by Ted Rand
Greenwillow Books: 0688128793: $15.89
In 1914, May’s family can’t afford to buy her a ticket to see her
grandmother, but they can afford to mail her! A true story and Rand’s
illustrations are, as usual, expressive, gorgeous watercolors.
A Fiddler's Voice
Renowned author Lloyd Alexander describes the process of learning to
read-aloud with vitality, clarity, and conviction.
photo by:
Fabio 
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