Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau, illus. by Scott Magoon

Ugly Fish enjoys the simple pleasures in life and when a new fish arrives in his tank, he is extremely reluctant to share.  So reluctant, in fact, that he has a particular method of dealing with the arrival of any new fish. He eats them. “‘I am Ugly Fish’, said Ugly Fish. ‘And there’s only [...]

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Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian, illus. by Tim Bowers

You wouldn’t think the life of a goldfish would be particularly eventful. Indeed, Memoirs of a Goldfish starts out just as you might expect: “Day One I swam around my bowl. Day Two I swam around my bowl twice.” But things start to get interesting when Mr. Bubbles, the first of many guests, joins Goldfish [...]

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Little Mouse and Elephant: A Tale from Turkey retold by Jane Yolen, illus. by John Segal

“Some must learn by seeing for themselves.” In this Turkish folk tale, Little Mouse suffers from a case of pride. He is told by his grandfather that the master of the forest, Elephant, is the strongest animal around. Little Mouse goes off to meet many different animals, each telling him that Elephant is the Master. [...]

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Friends by Rob Lewis

Anyone who has had to move and make new friends can easily relate to the book Friends by Rob Lewis. Making new friends can be a scary experience especially when it seems like nobody likes the same things you do. Oscar, a rabbit, recently moved to a new part of the woods and he wants [...]

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Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates

This whimsical book is great for the younger crowd. The main character, Dog, decides to open a bookstore. After many failed attempts at attracting customers, dog discovers how reading a book can take him far away and make the time fly! The pictures are very cute and comical. This book encourages readers to pick up [...]

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In the Time of the Drums by Kim L. Siegelson, illus. by Brian Pinkney

In the Time of the Drums is a retelling of an African-American folktale in which Africans walked off a slave ship and into the water of Teakettle Creek near Georgia’s Sapelo Island. Kim L. Siegelson’s narrative centers on a little boy named Mentu who lives with his grandmother, Twi, an “Ibo conjure woman.” Twi keeps [...]

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Zoomer’s Summer Snowstorm by Ned Young

In Ned Young’s Zoomer’s Summer Snowstorm, the lovable pup Zoomer returns to help readers cool down on an unbearably hot day. A wonderful summer read, Zoomer decides to defy the thermometer when his snow-cone machine overflows out of his kitchen and into the yard! Younger siblings will appreciate Zoomer’s interactions with his older brothers, Hooper [...]

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Come Along, Daisy! by Jane Simmons

Daisy, an adorable yellow duckling, has difficulty listening to and sticking with Mama Duck in Come Along, Daisy! by Jane Simmons. When leading a duck-themed storytime at the library, I found that the Daisy books were very popular with the children. The illustrations are beautiful and the words simple, but the moral of the story [...]

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Tuck Me In! by Dean Hacohen & Sherry Scharschmidt

This splendid little book caught my eye with its great opening line “It’s time for bed.  Who needs to be tucked in?”  I feel one of the greatest pleasures in life is getting tucked into bed…who doesn’t love it? This very simple book is reminiscent of Goodnight Moon. The repetitious refrain of “Who else needs [...]

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We’ve All Got Bellybuttons! By David Martin, illus. by Randy Cecil

I think I love Randy Cecil.  This man seems to have an instinctive understanding of how to illustrate a picture book.  His pictures are endearing and whimsical with crisp clean lines that are easy to see from a distance (a MUST for storytime sharing!).  His ability to convey emotions with a line for a mouth [...]

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