THE NIGHT BEFORE COLLEGE by Sonya Sones and Ava Tramer. Grosset and Dunlap, 2014.

College tours, dorm rooms, admissions essays: all of the hoopla associated with college is here in a jaunty rhyme.

Row the Boat

ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT by Jane Cabrera. Holiday House, 2014.

Row down a river
What animals can you spot?
Join the adventure.

If you were...

IF YOU WERE A PANDA BEAR by Wendell and Florence Minor. Katherine Tegen, 2013.

Using the same stlye as IF YOU WERE A PENGUIN, the Minors explore the different types of bears focusing oin their color, size, and habitat. Rhyming text provides plenty of facts for young readers.

Animal Fare

UH-OH, DODO! by Jennifer Sattler. Boyds Mills Press, 2013.

Poor, Dodo is having a tough day. He keeps getting sidetracked and distracted by the things going on in the world around him. A run-in with a skunk is the last straw! Minimal text but plenty to read in the expressions of the baby Dodo, this is one young kids will appreciate as things go wrong in their world, too.






HOW MUCH DOES THE GRAY IN AN ELEPHANT WEIGHT? by Elle Van Lieshout and Erik Van Os with illustrations by Alice Hoogstad. Lemniscaat, 2013.

On a visit to a zoo, Grandpa and child wonder about the different animals. Do polar bears seek out frosty treat3es when the temps climb? How does someone tame a lion's mane? Lots of wondering questions will delight readers.

Head to toes

I LOVE YOU, NOSE! I LOVE YOU, TOES! by Linda Davick. Beach Lane, 2013.

From the top of the head to the tips of the toe, this book features children who love their bodies. Different hair, skin, sizes, shapes: all are happy for all their body parts. Gently rhyming text conveys an important message about self acceptance without being didactic in the least.

Picture Books and Animal Romps

SCOOTER IN THE OUTSIDE by Anne Bowen with illustrations by Abby Carter (Holiday House 2012) will delight readers as they follow Scooter the dog on an adventure outside on his own. At first, life is quite good as he bounces merrily down the street and crosses to the "other side." Soon, though, he is lost and frightened. His owner comes to his rescue, thankfully, and Scooter has learned a valuable lesson about the outside. <675>




ZOO AH-CHOOO by Peter Mandel with illustrations by Elwood Smith (Holiday House 2012) is a comical look at what happens one day at the zoo when the sneeze of a snow leopard seemingly triggers a chain reaction with all the animals in turn sneezing and causing quite a bit of mess and mayhem. <676>



AUNT ANT LEAVES THROUGH THE LEAVES: A STORY WITH HOMOPHONES AND HOMONYMS by Nancy Coffelt (Holiday House 2012) is similar to The Little Red Hen. Monkey has a ton of bananas and wants to make pie. The animals, though, are all in too much of a hurry to help, at least at first. Aunt Ant comes to the rescue and eventually the other animals follow suit. Part of the word play here is the inclusion of homophones and homonyms. <677>




LET'S HAVE A TREE PARTY by David Martin with illustrations by John Manders (Candlewick Press 2012) is a rollicking rhythmic rhyming story of animals having a party in the tree. There is even a game of Simon Says to add to the fun. Join Crow and Bear and the others for the tree party. <678>