Slowly Slowly Slowly Said the Sloth is my favorite book by well known author/illustrator, Eric Carle. The sloth is a fascinating creature. It lives most of it’s life hanging upside down, living in trees, and sleeping for 15-19 hours a day! It’s certainly a gentle, peace loving creature, moving so slow the animal itself becomes a habitat for moss and insects. In this story all the other rain forest animals want to know why the sloth is so slow. He just hangs there! So lazy! So boring! Finally the sloth defends his lackadaisical nature–he just appreciates tranquility! This book offers a lot for a child to learn: first to stop and smell the roses, simply enjoy life around them, and take things slow, and also facts about the sloth in general, an interesting species threatened by deforestation.
Animals
Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf
In Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf by Judy Sierra, illustrated by J. Otto Seibold, we discover that the Big Bad Wolf has since retired to the Villain Villa Senior Center. He looks forward to checking the mail every day, but it’s always bills bills bills! But one day he receives an invitation to come the library for a tea party. He doesn’t much care for tea, but he loves cookies. His friend the crocodile informs him of proper etiquette by teaching him a catchy ditty. Mr. Wolf dresses in his best suit and is off to the library. After three cups a tea, he feels a burp coming on. Good thing he knows it’s polite to say “excuse me” when one belches (although he didn’t realize you say it after the fact, not before, and ends up announcing his faux pas to everyone)! This book is a really cute take on traditional characters that your child is sure to enjoy.
P. Bear’s New Year’s Party
Paul Owen Lewis cordially invites us to the most smashing event of the season in P. Bear’s New Year’s Party. It’s black tie of course, so only the most formally dressed of Polar Bear’s friends will be there. An orca, some dairy cows, skunks, zebras, pandas, dalmations, and of course penguins are on the guest list. Help Polar Bear count down to his party, with the aid of a clock on each page and the setting sun and rising moon in the background of each dichromatic illustration. This book is great for teaching your child simple concepts of counting, colors (or lack thereof), and telling time. Plus it’s just great to see a new year’s party with a whale. I wish I was there!
Duck for President
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin, and illustrated by Betsy Lewin, was incredibly popular around election season (check outs were usually accompanied by clever parents commenting that the duck seemed like a good candidate), but it’s a great story for any time of the year. Duck lives on Farmer’s Brown’s farm. He and the other animals all have chores, but Duck doesn’t like chores, so he decides to hold an election, which he subsequently wins. But running the farm is hard work, so he begins his campaign for governor. Soon Duck is head of the state, but this job too is extremely difficult. So Duck pulls out all the stops and runs for President (eventually retiring to write his memoirs). Duck for President is one of my favorite books! It’s a kid-friendly commentary on politics that hopefully everyone can enjoy.
Scaredy Squirrel
Make sure you wash your hands before reading Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt. Because Scaredy Squirrel is afraid of germs. In fact, Scaredy Squirrel is afraid of just about everything. This is why he never leaves his tree. This has advantages (less chance of being attacked by martians/sharks/tarantulas/etc) and disadvantages (it’s kind of boring). He spends his days just eating and admiring the view, until one day he sees a bee! In his haste to flee, Scaredy Squirrel abandons his emergency kit, with its top secret exit plan, and jumps into the unknown, discovering he’s actually a flying squirrel, and that the unknown isn’t as terrifying as he thought.
Punk Farm
Punk Farm is a fantastic read by Jarrett J. Krosoczka! What do you think farm animals do when the farmer goes to sleep at night? Well, on Farmer Joe’s farm the end of the day is only the beginning of the fun for his animals. They have to get ready for their concert! Pig plugs in his guitar, Cow sets up her drums, Chicken gets her keyboard, Goat tunes his bass, and Sheep checks the microphone. The other animals are waiting outside to buy tickets, and soon the barn is packed! The crowd goes wild as the band leads them in a punk rock rendition of “Old MacDonald.” Thank you Wisconsin! And don’t miss the sequel Punk Farm On Tour.