Beautiful Blackbird by Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan is a wonderful book, with an empowering message. An adaptation of a Zambian folktale, it tells a story of long ago, when all the birds of Africa were all the colors of the rainbow, but the most beautiful by far was Blackbird, whose feathers were all black, and thereby reflected all the colors of the world! The other birds longed to be a beautiful as Blackbird, and asked him to share his color with them. So, Blackbird filled a gourd with the color black, and painted markings on all the other birds with his feather brush. Then all of the birds had black spots, stripes, or rings, and were very happy indeed! With lively paper-cut illustrations, and robust poetry, Ashley Bryan weaves a fantastic tale you and your little one won’t soon forget! See this book listed in our catalog
Art & Max
Check out the latest from three-time Caldecott winner David Wiesner, Art & Max. On the surface, a story of two rambunctious lizards, Art & Max is really a book about the power and possibility of art. Arthur (Art for short) is an experienced painter, painting the finest of portraits. Max is a total beginner. Max wants to paint! What should he paint? Art suggests Max paint him. Max takes this literally, and slathers Art in color! What happens next is a somewhat bizarre, but creative, adventure, leading us to question: Is art still “art” when it’s abstract? When it’s “just” a drawing? Can art really be defined as one thing or another? And should it be? A soothing desert palette serves as a background to Art’s Pollock-esque transformation, and a differentiation in font designates a dialogue between our two title characters. Art & Max is truly a wonder to behold. See this book listed in our catalog
The Duck Who Played the Kazoo
Get out your kazoo and play along with The Duck Who Played the Kazoo by Amy E. Sklansky, with pictures by Tiphanie Beeke! Meet a white duck who loves to paddle around his beautiful lake and play his shiny kazoo. But he’s awfully lonely since a hurricane blew through, so he says goodbye to his lake, and sets off in search of a new home. He flies south until he finds a river filled with brown ducks. He plays them a tune on the kazoo, and they become fast friends! They have great fun paddling up and down the river, but when the seasons start to change again, our hero thinks of the lake he left behind. He asks his new friends to fly there with him and they all agree! The duck is no longer alone! Your child will hopefully enjoy the poetic rhyme and cadence of this story, and the repeating “zu zu” refrain of the duck’s kazoo! See this book listed in our catalog
Oh, Daddy!
Oh, Daddy! by Bob Shea is a terrific and funny book to share with your daddy. This little hippo’s daddy is so silly! He doesn’t know how to do the simplest things. Daddy tries getting dressed with his underpants on top, gets into the car via the window, and waters little Hippo instead of the flowers. Good thing little Hippo is such big boy and can show Daddy the right way to do things! This sweet, silly story ends with little Hippo demonstrating to Daddy, for the umpteenth time, the most important skill of all: how to give big hugs! Your little hippo (or daddy) will want to read this book again and again. See this book listed in our catalog
Animal Strike at the Zoo, It’s True!
Animal Strike at the Zoo, It’s True! by Karma Wilson. One day, the elephants at the local zoo complain “We’re only paid peanuts!” This starts all the other animals talking about how unfair the pay is, and they all decide to go on strike! Soon the monkeys are demanding a pool, and the zebras want root beer floats. The zookeeper works frantically to grant the silly demands of the animals. Just when it appears all hope is lost, a little girl visiting for the first time bursts into tears over the animals not doing their jobs. A hush comes over the zoo and in that moment the animals realize the importance of their jobs, returning the zoo to normal. The brightly colored illustrations of the animals and the rhythmic text quickly make this book a favorite. See this book listed in our catalog
Pugdog
It might be my penchant for wrinkley-faced canines, or this book’s wonderful message of tolerance, but I just love Pugdog by Andrea U’Ren. Mike doesn’t know much about dogs. When he brings home his new best friend, he names the pup Pugdog. Pugdog loves to chase squirrels, dig holes, and play tug-of-war! Pugdog loves to chew on bones and get belly rubs! But one day Mike takes Pugdog to the vet and discovers that Pugdog is female. Mike feels awful. He’s been treating Pugdog like a boy this whole time! Desperate to right his mistake, he gives Pugdog some lessons on how to be girly. He takes her to the doggy salon, dresses her in a prissy outfit, and points out a pretty poodle in the park for her to emulate. Pugdog is miserable! She tries hard to be a lady, but her heart just isn’t in it. Mike finally realizes that he must love Pugdog for who she is, and let her do “boy stuff” if that’s what truly makes her happy. See this book listed in our catalog