All Aboard: A Traveling Alphabet by Bill Mayer is an excellent book to help teach your child not only about letters, but also ways to get around. The art is fabulous and reminds me of 1940’s era advertisements (the type George Bailey would decorate his house with). On each page you’re treated to something pertaining to methods of transportation, with a corresponding letter “hidden” within the illustration. For instance, the cover image is A for “All Aboard” and the gangplank of a ship makes up the letter. B is for bridge, arches of a bridge making up the letter. C is for cycle, half of a wheel making up the letter, and so forth. You can have fun with your child finding the letters and talking about how people travel around the world.
Recommended for Kids
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy
Meet arguably the most precocious bird in children’s literature, in Mo Willems’s The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, the latest in the ongoing saga of The Pigeon and multiple things he’d like to do. In this book the pigeon would like you to give him a puppy. He’s wanted one forever (or at least since last Tuesday). He promises to water it once a month. Don’t you want him to be happy? You better give him one before he throws a huge temper tantrum! But what happens when the pigeon actually runs into a dog? AAAAHHH!!! “The teeth! The hair! That wet nose! The slobber! The claws! I mentioned the teeth right?” I wonder what he’ll want now instead…
I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato
I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child is perfect for fussy eaters (which rarely a child is not. I remember when I was young I told my parents I never wanted to eat chicken again. They continued to serve it on a regular basis, but told me it was lobster. I thought it was delicious). Charlie has to take care of his little sister Lola tonight, but when dinner time rolls around she has a lengthy list of foods she will absolutely not eat. Charlie plays along however–if Lola won’t eat carrots, perhaps she would eat orange twilgets from Jupiter? She won’t eat mashed potatoes, but will she try a cloud fluff from the top of Mount Fuji? Find out in this hilarious story.
Wonder Bear
Wonder Bear is a breathtaking fantasy told all in pictures. Folks generally tend to underestimate the power of wordless books. Stories without words allow children to narrate their own story, and form their own opinions about what’s happening in the pictures. This particular book is the creation of Tao Nyeu, a recent art school graduate. Wonder Bear was her thesis project, inspired, she claims, by an “odd-looking gummy bear with magical powers.” No doubt that particular piece of candy was delicious, because this book is certainly a sight worth devouring. Two children tend their garden, in which an amazing flower grows, home to a festive bear, and a troop of acrobatic monkeys! Join them as they sail, snack, swim, and sleep, in this fabulous fairy tale for all ages.
Last Night
For a child, being served a dinner of your least favorite foods can be a devastating event. So begins Last Night by Korean artist Hyewon Yum. A little girl, dejected by an unsavory meal, goes to bed, finding consolation in the form of her stuffed bear. In her dream world, the bear comes alive (growing to the size of a real bear), and takes her on an adventure. She and Bear travel to the forest, to meet some woodland friends. They dance, play hide and seek, go fishing, have a bonfire, then fall asleep in a clearing. When the little girl wakes, her disastrous supper is forgotten and so starts a new day.
On Top of the Potty
On Top of the Potty and Other Get-Up-and-Go Songs by Alan Katz and David Catrow is simply the most hilarious book I’ve read in a long time. Having trouble convincing your child to use the toilet? There’s nothing quite like a rousing musical number to motivate even the most stubborn of diaper wearers. How about “If You Gotta Go Do Poopy” to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It?” Or maybe “Don’t Flush Strange Things in the Potty” to the tune of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Perhaps the title track, “On Top of the Potty” to the tune of “On Top of Old Smokey!” My personal favorite is “Frankie Noodle,” to the tune of “Yankee Doodle.” Sing it with me: “Frankie Noodle Sat right down Right upon the potty And he made a pee and poop In front of everybody!”