The Big Storm is indeed a very soggy counting book. One by one, animals try to escape from the dark black clouds. Bird flies to the hill hollow. He is number one. He is followed by Mouse who is number two. Lightning starts to crack and Rabbit runs for cover making three animals seeking refuge together. Thunder starts to rumble and grumble – Woodchuck, Raccoon, Opossum and Red Fox all run for cover. The children at story time enjoyed calling out the various animal names. Finally the number ten animal joins them. It is skunk!

“10 Critters huddled together” are escaping from the storm. Suddenly there is a different Rumble and Grumble and they all realize at once that some other creatures are in the cave with them. Can you guess what they are?

The story is great for a large group reading as are her other books including The Very Busy Little Squirrel and Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails. A good enrichment activity addition for this book would be a little flannel board of the hill hollow and figures of the ten animals. The flannel board could be demonstrated as the story is told or demonstrated after the story is told.

Move Over, Rover by Karen Beaumont has a similar storyline with a very different surprise ending. You might consider programming them a week apart. Encourage the children to identify things that are the same or different.

Check the WRL catalog for The Big Storm: A Very Soggy Counting Book.

This is a good addition to a weather-themed story time!

Bonnie Bumble is the star in these other humorous books by Phyllis Root: Meow Monday, Turnover Tuesday and One Windy Wednesday. They are all illustrated by Helen Craig with her playful, signature illustrations.

Check the WRL catalog for Soggy Saturday.

Pip Pip Pip Pip
Drippy drop drop drip

The well known illustrator, Steve Bjorkman draws large happy, smiling faces of children and dogs as they are running in puddles with raincoats and umbrellas and mud! The rain does not bother these kids.

A no-shoes, toes-ooze,
Slip-slap-and-thud song.
Oochy sploochy woochy woosh!

The kids will love this one and will recite the words back to you.

Check the WRL catalog for Split! Splat!

On the first page, we meet Mr. Putney, a balding, middle-aged guy with a mustache. He owns a veritable menagerie, whose names the reader is invited to guess. For instance, an armadillo stands on the bedside table next to a snoozing Mr. Putney. “Who wakes Mr. Putney up in the morning?” the book asks. The answer: An alarmadillo.

Mr. Putney holds a (somewhat worried) small boy next to a gorilla. “Who does Mr. Putney use to see how tall his nephew is?” A goruler.

You get the idea. Agee’s illustrations are huge and well-defined, so they are easy to see from the back of the room. And after the first few riddles, kids will be eager to guess the rest. I’ve used this with kindergarten through fourth grade, and it was a hit. And it’s a good one to slip between stories.

Check the WRL catalog for Mr. Putney’s Quacking Dog.

Press Here is the pop-up book that isn’t a pop-up book. On the first page, readers are instructed to “Press here” on a painted yellow dot and then turn the page. On the next page, a second yellow dot has “magically” appeared. On ensuing pages, the reader is instructed to press dots, shake the book up and down or turn it sideways. In response, the dots change color, slide to the edge of the page, or change size. Pressing a whole row of dots “turns out the lights,” making the background turn black. Blow on the book and the black ink gradually (with more blowing), flows back off the page.

It’s irresistible.

This book is particularly fun to share with a group of about 20, because you can carry it around and let the kids can take turns following the directions. If you have more children than pages, it’s okay, because a couple of the instructions—clapping and blowing—can be done by the whole group. You’ll get spit on when everybody blows, so maybe don’t try it during flu season.

Check the WRL catalog for Press Here.

“Is it Yellow?” he asks. “Yellow is the sand on the sunny beach.”

“Is it Red? Red is the rug where I snooze by the fire.” The simple text on these double-page spreads is always accompanied by the cheery cat and another sort of animal. A mouse naps next to the cat on the red rug. Crabs scoot along yellow sand. Bats swoop through a black night sky.

The book bounces along easily, with just enough going on to generate a conversation with toddlers. Cabrera’s illustrations are big and bright, so this is a great book for storytime. And the simple conclusion is satisfying and perfect for little ones.

Check the WRL catalog for Cat’s Colors.

Memoirs of a Goldfish is a book about a little fish who lived alone in his fish bowl  happily swimming around all by himself. Then things started to be added to his fishy home, a bubbly man, plants, a cranky crab, a slime eating snail and even a pirate ship! What is a poor fish to do?

Devin Scillian and Tim Bowers have teamed up to make the book Memoirs of a Goldfish a keeper. This book is a fantastic read aloud for all ages. Anyone who has ever stood in the fish tank section at a store and thought “I need more stuff!” this book is for you.

Check the WRL catalog for Memoirs of a Goldfish.

This book is about the friends you find when you were not looking and how your life is richer for them, have fun.

This is a book about acceptance and how to be a friend to someone different then yourself.  This would be a great book for teachers or parents to read as a back to school book.

Check the WRL catalog for Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School.

Peanut Butter and Homework Sandwiches

Read this with your favorite school age child. Have fun!

Check the WRL catalog for Peanut Butter and Homework Sandwiches.

Baby Pie

I plan to read this book to school age children, they will be able to be a little scared and then laugh at what happened to the trolls at the end of the story.

Check the WRL catalog for Baby Pie.