The Very Hungry Caterpillar Board Book
Perfect spring reading!

This is one of my all-time favorite childrens books. One sunny day, a caterpillar pops out of an egg. He is very hungry and begins searching for food. Now, many of Eric Carles books have gimmicks--the tactile web in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER and the chirping in THE VERY QUIET CRICKET, for example. The gimmick in this book is that the caterpillar eats holes through all the food, holes that are actually punched into the pages of the book. Its a good gimmick, actually. Also, many of Carles books teach conventions--telling time in THE VERY GROUCHY LADYBUG and animal sounds in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, for example. This one teaches the days of the week. On Monday, the caterpillar eats this, on Tuesday he eats that, and so forth. Very cute. Eventually, he becomes a fat caterpillar. He then spins himself a cocoon, where he rests for two weeks. And when he emerges...well, you can guess the results. Its a wonderful story. Best of all, the text is very simple as are the illustrations, so the book will appeal to toddlers as well as the pre-K and kindergarten crowd. In fact, it may appeal more to toddlers, because the story is so very simple. I know I read it as a kindergartener. I loved the holes but found the story rather boring. I read it to my two-year-old this spring, however, and he went nuts over it. The days of the week were lost on him, but he was fascinated by the caterpillar turning into a butterfly--he had no idea! Cant tell you how many times we read it. We also re-enacted it, crawling on the floor and eating, spinning ourselves into cocoons, and popping out with fluttery wings. In fact, he was so taken with the caterpillar-to-butterfly phenomenon that I ordered some caterpillars (I used "Insect Lore"--they are on-line--but Im sure there are lots of other places to get them). We read THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR at each stage of their development and then right before we released them as butterflies. It was the highlight of our spring.
kids-knowledge
Animal Kisses 
Terrific tactile tale!

Saltzberg has definitely created a "winner" in this his first book on Animal Kisses. From the outset, this book captures childrens attention with vibrant colors and simple images, add to that, the appeal of differing textures and beginners text for easy comprehension. "Do you like scratchy cat kisses?" The reader sees a large yellow cat, highly contrasted, on a red and violet background with its tongue sticking out, SANDPAPER - scratchy texture. Children find "touch and feel" books irresistible and love the expedition through tactile territory. Additional textures include: FELT - velvety cows nose, STICKY - dogs tongue, FUR - fuzzy bear kisses, PLASTIC - rubbery fish kisses, and VELVET - squeaky pig kisses. Oh, and Saltzberg earns BONUS points for placing an actual squeaker in the pigs nose! Terrific tactile tale! One-year and up.

kids-study
Where the Wild Things Are 
Classic story, classy art from a classy illustrator.

Not much can be added to the accolades of so many people concerning the books and art of Maurice Sendak. I grew up with his work, I read his books to my children, I am reading them now to my grandchildren. ... And so will send for a hardback edition this time around. When children ask to read a book over and over again, you know that that book has found a place in their imaginations. This is one such book. When I think of a classic picture book, there are two such Maurice Sendak books that come to mind. His work is beyond mere illustration, it is an artform. The pictures require close attention to catch all the visual nuances.

Max is a typical little boy, who dons his wolf outfit and becomes a wolf in his active imagination. In sending him to bed without dinner, he uses his imagination to turn his room into a wild forest inhabited by humongous monsters. He asserts his powers over the monsters, and becomes their rightful king, for he is surely a monster himself! Yet, his mother loves him in spite of his monsterism...and eventually he comes home to find that mother has relented and brought in his dinner...

This winter, get this book, this classic and sit down in a big chair with a child and read and pore over this book together. Every time a child is read to, it expands their imaginations, helps to determine their life course, aids in getting them ready for school and the real world. Our children are not getting the aural and visual stimulation that is our right as chldren. My parents read to me, and Ive never stopped reading because of that...in spite of captioned television and computer access. Our children have a right to be read to by someone they love and someone who loves them. Turn the television and computers off, and use a rainy evening to spend time with your own monsters. Maybe someday they will become the next Maurice Sendak!

Karen Sadler,
Science Education,
University of Pittsburgh

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Oh, the Places Youll Go! 
Perfect High School or College Graduation Gift

Dr. Seuss isnt just for the pre-school set, but you probably already knew that. This book of brightly colored illustrations and whimsical rhymes makes the perfect gift for anyone setting out on a new adventure, so buy copies for every high school and college graduate on your list. As Seuss tells us "There is fun to be done!" and this joyous ode to personal fulfillment tells you how to meet up with it while combating fear, loneliness, and confusion. After all, what better advice could anyone give a new grad than to say "You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." This is inspired good fun, sure to please everyone.

kids-places
The Giving Tree 
Wonderful lesson about giving and taking.

This is one of my favorite childrens books to read aloud to the preschool lab at My High School. The children love it so much and have begged me to read it again and again. There are other great Silverstein Books, but this is certainly one of the best. My friend Miss Elliott, hates this book because she feels that the boy took everything from the tree to be selfish. She has dubbed it "The Taking Boy." I totally disagree with her because the tree was happy to give. When the boy wants money, the tree gave him her apples to sell in the city for a living. When the boy needs a house, the tree gave him her branches to build one with. Although a tree cant live without her branches, a person cant live very easily without a house. Even after the tree is nothing but a dead stump, she tells the boy to sit on her when he is tired. I am writing this review in memory of Shel Silverstein, who was just as generous as the tree itself.

young-readers