Submitted by county youth coordinator Janis!
Beetle Bop by Denise Fleming. This bug book has great boy appeal! Beetles come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors and in only a few words this book tells many facts about them. The eye-catching pictures are sure to be a hit with all bug enthusiasts.
Bugs
Slugs in Love
I was beyond tickled to discover Slugs in Love by Susan Pearson, and illustrated by Kevin O’ Malley, a veritable epistolary masterpiece for the Pre-K crowd! In the story we meet a particularly romantic pair of slugs–Marylou and Herbie. Marylou just loves everything about Herbie. Her heart is simply filled with poetry whenever she thinks of him! So one day she decides to leave him a love note, written in slug trail. Herbie is flattered of course, but doesn’t know which slug is leaving him such soulful slime. He keeps trying to arrange a meet-up. “Marylou:” he responds, “You could make my life complete! I’d love to meet someone so sweet.” but the rain washes his message away! Will these star-crossed lovers ever be united? Check out Slugs in Love to find out!
Sitting in My Box
There’s nothing much more fun than playing in a giant cardboard box. I remember as a child receiving an enormous Playskool kitchen set for Chanukah and having a lot more fun playing with the packaging it arrived in (no offense to Playskool–that kitchen set was awesome, but I unfortunately have never been much of a culinary artist). Dee Lillegard captures the excitement of letting your imagination run wild in Sitting in My Box, illustrated by the great Jon Agee. In the story a little boy is sitting in his box, reading a book about jungle animals. The animals suddenly begin to present themselves, asking him to make room, until he’s sharing the box with a giraffe, elephant, baboon, lion, and hippo. The box is getting a little overpopulated, but a pesky flea plans to change all that!
Don’t Worry Bear
Don’t Worry Bear is an adorable book by Greg Foley. The titular protagonist, a little bear, is concerned for his friend the caterpillar. Caterpillar is hard at work on a cocoon. He’s going to stay inside it for a while, but promises Bear he’ll see him soon. Bear comes to check on him at night with a flashlight, but Caterpillar assures him he’s not afraid of the dark. Bear comes again when it’s windy and rainy and snowy, but Caterpillar assures him he’s well protected from the elements. Bear is almost care-free until one day he visits the cocoon and find it lying empty on the ground. Caterpillar is gone, but in his place is Bear’s newly transformed friend, a beautiful silk moth!
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach is a Cuban folktale, retold here by Carmen Agra Deedy, with lovely illustrations by Michael Austin. When Martina Josefina Catalina Cucaracha, most eligible of bachelorette pests, begins searching for a husband, her grandmother teaches her “the coffee test.” When a suitor comes to call, Martina spills the hot beverage all over their shoes. How they react will give her insight into how quick to anger they might be in marriage. Martina doesn’t hesitate to pour coffee all over the arrogant rooster, the hygenically challenged pig, and the sneaky lizard, but what happens when she falls for meek mouse gardener Perez? Perhaps he has a surprise in store for her…