A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black, illus. by Kevin Hawkes

You might think that a pig parade would be a wonderful idea. If so, you have clearly not read A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea. You’re probably imagining pigs in majorette uniforms standing on floats and marching to music as huge pig balloons bob up and down the parade route. After reading this book, [...]

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Moo Who? by Margie Palatini, illus. by Keith Graves

Margie Palatini is always a sure thing for funny picture books, and Moo Who? just might be my favorite of hers. Hilda Mae Heifer is practicing her (off key) singing, when a flying cow pie suspiciously hits her in the head and knocks her unconscious. When she revives, Hilda has lost her memory and is [...]

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The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill, illus. by Russell Ayto

Poor Marjorie is feeling inadequate. The other cows on the farm can ride bicycles and do handstands (yes, really), but not Marjorie. The chickens decide to help her feel special, and one morning Marjorie wakes to find an egg in her bed. “‘I’ve laid an egg!’ shrieked Marjorie.” As you can imagine, none of the [...]

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Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier

We’ve all heard tales of dogs antagonizing the mailman. But what if, instead of a dog, it was a cow doing the antagonizing? In Millie Waits for the Mail, Millie’s favorite activity is scaring the mail carrier. She finds a new place to hide each day and when the mailman arrives, she leaps out and [...]

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Gilbert Goldfish Wants a Pet by Kelly DiPucchio, illus. by Bob Shea

Gilbert wants a pet. That’s not so unusual, until you know that Gilbert is a goldfish. Not realizing that he IS a pet, he dreams of a companion of his own. His dream seems to come true when a dog appears outside his bowl. They get along fine at first, but a dog is not [...]

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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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Fall is Not Easy, by Marty Kelley

Trees have hard lives. They go through so many changes every season, every single year. As the tree in Fall is Not Easy explains, winter, spring, and summer are easy. Fall is not. This poor tree is having difficulties with its changing leaves. Instead of turning red or yellow, orange or brown, its leaves are [...]

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Ducks Don’t Wear Socks by John Nedwidek, illus. by Lee White

Emily is not a girl particularly prone to laughter. She’s what you might call “serious”. Duck does not particularly try to be funny, but in the course of his daily life he definitely is. One day, Duck rides by Emily on his unicycle. The mode of transportation isn’t the part that Emily finds strange, it’s [...]

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Once Upon a Time, the End by Geoffrey Kloske, illus. by Barry Blitt

With the current popularity of picture books that are really only suitable for adults, perhaps parents could use a bedtime story which can actually be read to children. Once upon a time, the End (asleep in 60 seconds) is essentially a compilation of fairy tales and mother goose rhymes, altered to make them as short as [...]

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