Books for Kids

Smiley Shark by Ruth Galloway

 This is a fun, humorous story about an unlikely hero named Smiley Shark. He is a nice happy shark who wants nothing more than the simple pleasure of friendship with his fellow ocean dwellers. To his dismay, his big teeth and species reputation frighten them all. It’s not until Smiley uses his big white chompers to successfully rescue the ocean creatures from a fisherman’s net that he’s able to shed the scary stereotype and receive the respect and friendship he desires.

Lettice The Dancing Rabbit by Mandy Stanley

 It was the cover art that drew me to grab this book off the shelf the moment I saw it. A sweet little rabbit dressed in dance clothes set amongst a backdrop of yellow, pink and green. At the time, “bunnies in a garden” was the theme of my daughter’s bedroom. And the color scheme matched perfectly, right down to the pink gingham. And as I flipped through the book, it seemed as if it were written entirely for her. Needless to say, I bought it. We love everything about this book. From the adorable main character, a little bunny named Lettice, to the story line, illustrations, soft color scheme and choice of font. The fact that bunnies are our favorite pets didn’t hurt either. If your daughter has ever dressed up as or dreamed of being a ballerina, this book is a must have. But for those of you that don’t share the connection we possess, it’s still a fabulous book. Lettice wants to try something new and unfamiliar. She overcomes several obstacles through practice and determination, becoming the star of the show. Although it was a wonderful experience supported by her family, she ultimately concludes that being her shelf is even more spectacular. 

Giraffes Cant’ Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees

 This is a wonderful rhyming story about Gerald the Giraffe who, like his fellow jungle mates, wants to dance at the annual Jungle Dance in Africa. Although he’s aware of his lack of skills in the dance department, he bravely takes the dance floor. Before he can begin, he is teased and tormented by the other animals because he’s different. He buys into their misjudgment and sadly sneaks away. While staring at the moon, he faces his truth aided by a friendly cricket that states, “But sometimes when you’re different you just need different song. Listen to the swaying grass and listen to the trees. To me the sweetest music is those branches in the breeze. So imagine that the lovely moon is playing just for you – everything makes music if you really want it to.” Fueled by those words and lack of judgmental onlookers, Gerald finds his own rhythm. With it, he finds confidence and joy. One by one the animals in the jungle come to see Gerald, and realize they were wrong in believing, “Giraffes can’t dance”.  The rhyming flows smoothly and effortlessly, carrying the reader through the story without missing a beat. The colors and illustrations are great too. But our favorite thing about this book is the valuable lessons it teaches. There will always be people who judge you for being different. Ignore them and celebrate your uniqueness. There may be others who tell you that you can’t do something or that you’re not good enough. Don’t believe them; instead believe in yourself and give your best. Everyone has a calling; you just need to find yours. If your child understands and embraces just one of those points, they’ll benefit substantially.

Little Pea written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; Illustrated by Jen Corace

 This story is too cute. It’s about a little green pea that reluctantly eats his dinner (candy) in order to be rewarded by his favorite dessert (broccoli). The battle with food: It’s a familiar scene to which any parent or child can relate. The added twist of reversing the favorable and unfavorable food is not only clever, but down right humorous. The artwork is clean and simple which is easy to swallow and very appetizing. A simple story, with simple illustrations is a simple pleasure you and your child I are sure to enjoy.

Arnie, the Doughnut cooked up by Laurie Keller

 This is a book I picked up for a birthday party my daughter was invited to. She saw the book and begged to keep it. So silly in nature, the story earns major points for uniqueness.  It’s about a chocolate sprinkled covered doughnut, named Arnie. He’s excited when he’s finally chosen and purchased by a patron, Mr. Bing. He leaves behind the other doughnuts at the bakery and sets out to fulfill his destiny. The problem being, he’s confused about what that purpose is. When he learns that doughnuts are meant to be eaten, he’s horrified and makes it known. Mr. Bing doesn’t have the heart to eat him, so they work together to come up with a compromise. The conclusion being that Arnie will fill the role as man’s best friend and be the first ever doughnut dog. The story is both cute and clever. The artwork is unique in style, although a bit cluttered. In addition, there are multiple changes to the text size, font and color (I counted as many as six on a single page), which I found to be very distracting. But for what it lacks in the design department, it more than makes up for in imagination. My kids love this book. And after you read it, you have a hankering for a doughnut that you can’t ignore.

Poodlena by E. B. McHenry

This story is about Poodlena a pink poodle who is very sophisticated. She is pink from head to toes nails and has a gigantic poof ball of hair on top of her head. She is truly over the top. She lives in a high rise apartment in a big city. Her daily ritual includes primping and poofing herself up then parading around a dog park so everyone can see her flawless grooming. She doesn’t play or interact with the other dogs that are running in the grass and rolling in the dirt for fear she might get dirty. After several days of heavy rains and staying indoors, she uses the time to fluff, powder and pink herself up even more. When the rain subsides and it’s finally time to venture out, Poodlena returns to the dog park, which has become a giant pool of mud spilling out of the confines of the grass and on to the sidewalk. As she walks carefully, she feels an itch. Heaven forbid, she suddenly has several fleas. As she stops to scratch, another mud covered dog slides into her and knocks into mire and her perfectness was lost. A little dirt didn’t hurt. Instead of getting upset, she began to play. On that day, she learned the value of being a little less perfect in favor of having a lot of fun.

 Little Granny Quarterback by Bill Martin Jr and Michael Sampson and Illustrated by Michael Chesworth

This is very cute rhyming story about a little old granny who comes back to the game to relive the glory days her youth as a football hero. She jumps out of bed, into the TV set and joins the game. It is a fun story about an unlikely football star with a happy ending. You’ll be cheering on Granny the whole way through the book.

 Lettice The Flower Girl by Mandy Stanley

Lettice is asked by her Dance teacher to be a flower girl in her wedding. The story takes the reader through some of the pre-wedding planning like receiving an invitation, learning her flower girl duties and selecting a dress. Decked out in her special outfit, she feels as beautiful as a princess and is honored to take part in this special event. Every little girl dreams about the day she will become a bride, so this story hits on that fantasy. Well written and beautifully illustrated, it will be adored by any little girl who has ever dreamed about being in a wedding.

Lettice The Flying Rabbit by Mandy Stanley

Lying with her back on the grass staring at the blue sky above, adorable little Lettice watches a bird and dreams about flying. As she is hopping around the meadow flapping her arms, she spots a little pink airplane. When in lands, she jumps in and her adventure begins. After crashing into a tree, she learns flying more difficult than she imagined. But, she is quickly rescued by a little girl seeking to recover her lost toy plane. She agrees to fly Lettice back home to her meadow. She is welcomed home safely to her family where she tells them all about her experience and states how dreams really can come true.


Books for Toddlers

Ten Little Lady Bugs by Melanie Gerth

This wins the award for our favorite counting book. It starts at ten and works its way down to one. With the turn of each page, through a sequence of flawless rhyming one ladybug disappears with a fellow insect, reptile or animal creature until the end when they’re all reunited for one big happy party. It sets itself apart from many books because it has three-dimensional plastic ladybugs protruding through holes in the pages and front cover. Toddlers can’t resist touching the spotted bugs and poking their tiny fingers through the circular openings. And who can blame them, since they are set in the midst of pages bursting with brightly colored illustrations. It’s a simple, fun and happy book your child is sure to pick up again and again.

Piggy’s Belly Button by Keith Faulkner; Illus by Jonathan Lambert

The subtitle reads, “A Hilarious Story with a Surprise End!” and that sums up this book perfectly. Piggy is an adorable little swine who is told by his mother not to push on his belly button, but she doesn’t say why. Piggy travels through the farm asking the other barnyard residents what would happen if he pushed it. Each one echoes his mother’s advice, telling him not to. Not given a sufficient reason as to why not, his curiosity gets the better of him. With the push of a little finger, his outy bellybutton pops out the back of the book. My one year old laughs hysterically when this happens. She’ll push it repeatedly and chuckles every time. A year later, it’s still one of her favorites.