Tag Archives: picture book

My Adopted Family

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Lenny visits his classmate, Adam, and his family to report on this Student of the Week. Along the way, he discovers that Adam and his sister are adopted and are part of a loving, normal family, much like his own.

This book is part of a series on different types of families and the story introduces this particular family type in a very natural way. The illustrations are somewhat cartoon-like and colorful. My Adopted Family, along with the rest of the books in the My Family series would be a sweet introduction to units on families in the primary grades. Recommended

Rhymes with Doug

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Doug receives a mysterious package in the mail and opens it to find a magical rhyming parrot. Everything is great while the parrot rhymes ‘Doug” with “mug” and Doug gets hot chocolate and “Doug” with “pug” and a puppy appears. But things get crazy when the rhyming words are “slug” (Doug turns into one) and “bug” (ditto). The rhyming mayhem continues until the end when the word is “snug” and Doug is pictured in his bed. Uh-oh, did the bird just add “…as a bug in a rug”? No wonder the last page shows the same mysterious package near his friend’s car. A gift, perhaps?

Cartoon like characters and a mix of word bubbles and narrative text make this book an enjoyable tool in teaching rhyming. It is one of many out there (Seuss, et al). So, buy it if you have extra money to spend to freshen up your collection of rhyming books.

A world of cookies for Santa : follow Santa’s tasty trip around the world

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This is a delectable collection of Christmas traditions around the world, some of which include cookie recipes. Each short description is on a page with colored illustrations of children from that particular country. Young readers will enjoy learning the names and traditions surrounding Santa on his travels around the world. Endpapers have maps of Santa’s path around the world and the end of the book includes recipes for several of the cookie recipes.

This book will be a fun addition to holiday collections. And, BONUS! Students might bring you some cookies from the recipe collection in this book! Recommended

Pen Pals

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Oscar the ant and Bill the octopus become pen pals through their respective school and enjoy a year of writing letters to each other (and sometimes sending little gifts as well). Each animal is pictured sitting at his desk with the letter to his new friend on the opposing page. Oscar’s letters are blue and Bill’s are yellow, helping the reader keep track of who’s writing which letter. Along the way, the pen pals send each other little gifts that show up in the other’s room on the next page. And the surprise at the end…read it and find out!

This book brings reminds us of the fun of writing and sending letters. There is a wondrous pleasure in eagerly waiting for the response from your pen pal. The drawings are simple and clean with pops of color. All in all, this is a fun story that will encourage readers to consider writing some letters of their own.

Be Brave, Little Penguin

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Pip-Pip is a nervous little penguin and very anxious about the idea of swimming in that absolutely HUGE ocean! Who knows what might be out there that might want to eat him? So, Pip-Pip plays alone, hearing the words ‘scaredy Pip-Pip’ from the other little penguins. Daddy penguin thinks this is silly, but mommy penguin takes a gentler approach. His family’s encouragement works and Pip-Pip overcomes his fear and discovers a world of wonder under the sea.

The lovely illustrations coordinate well with the lyrical prose. This story might just help a small human reader overcome a fear. Besides, who doesn’t love penguin chicks? Recommended

Percy, Dog of Destiny

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Percy, an energetic little dog with a cute black eye-patch, is on his way to the dog park with his beloved ball. There, he meets up with his friends: Molly, Fluffy and Oatmeal Raisin Cookie and they do all kinds of doggie things. What can be more fun than running along a fence, digging holes, sniffing and peeing on trees with your best friends? There is a problem…a terrible squirrel, who steals Percy’s ball. But, what ho! Fluffy puts his bone down long enough to save the day and save Percy’s ball. The day is saved as the four friends, special toys in mouths, walk away and the end.

This story uses spare text and lots of white space around the penciled drawings to engage the youngest readers. The energy of Percy and his friends is apparent in the illustrations and readers will enjoy the silliness of these canines as they spend their day at the dog park. Recommended

The Little Red Fort

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This endearing version of the classic “Little Red Hen” centers on Ruby and her efforts to build a fort. She asks her brothers (Oscar Lee, Rodrigo and Jose) for help along the way and we know how that goes! Ruby perseveres, with a tiny bit of help from her dad, mom and grandma and makes a beautiful fort. And, as in the Red Hen’s case, the brothers want to play in the fort now. They feel guilty about their lack of initiative though, and proceed to paint the fort, plant flowers and build a mailbox. “Ruby was delighted” and invited them in to share freshly baked cookies at her fort-warming party.

This book employs a similar cadence and spare text of the original tale – “Not me,” said Oscar Lee. ‘I don’t think so,” said Rodrigo. “No way,” said Jose. But, this plucky little girl doesn’t let that stop her as she plans, measures, cuts and hammers her way to a lovely little fort. Her multi-generational family pitches in to encourage and give a little aid, when needed.

The illustrations are two page spreads with colorful depictions of Ruby and her family. The mixed-media presentation adds depth to the illustrations, which are simple and fun.

Pick up this book and add it to your read-aloud collection, because everyone will love to read about Ruby and the fort she wanted to build…and she did! Highly Recommended.

David, Fish & Penguins…

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 This simple story is about one little boy’s vivid imagination as it plays out from his waking in the morning, until his settling in for sleep at night. Each two page spread is awash in beautiful, rich colors that depict different animals.  The main character, David, is a cartoon outline with no color, while the animals from his imagination appear more alive than David with their lively color.  This book is a visual feast and children will find the illustrations engaging.

Translated from Spanish.