Author: TCBR Contributor

Meet the latest additions to Mo Willems’ award-winning Elephant and Piggie series, which revolve around an elephant named Gerald and a pig named Piggie. Both books—I Love My New Toy, and I Will Surprise My Friend—contain the same real and pure emotion that he manages to capture in all of his written work. The simplicity of these early reader books enables children to interpret the raw social emotions and witty punchlines, in a way that works for them. In an interview on NPR, Willems says …”they are built to be little plays.” “It’s a cute concept, and an impressively economical…

Help Me, Mr. Mutt! Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems By Janet Stevens, and Susan Stevens Crummel Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 56 pages Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books (April 1, 2008) I found this book to be extremely entertaining! Help Me, Mr. Mutt! is full of laughs for anyone who is a dog or cat lover. … “Responding to disgruntled dogs nationwide, Mr. Mutt, Canine Counselor, has solutions to the most sticky dilemmas. But Mr. Mutt has his own problem to solve: the cat (aka The Queen), who has her own idea of who’s in charge. Now Mr. Mutt…

Story Time is every Tuesday at Tree Top Kids, Foxhall Square , with yours truly. This week’s Graduation themed selections follow: Walk on!: A Guide for Babies of ALL Ages by Marla Frazee Reading level: Baby-Preschool Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books (March 1, 2006) Synopsis: “Is sitting there on your bottom getting boring? Has lying  around all the time become entirely unacceptable?” The essential guide for babies ready to take those crucial first steps! Comments: Encouraging, Reassuring, and great for graduating students! Links: An interview with Marla Frazee, by Cynthia Leitich Smith, at Cynsations. Article: A New Class…

Just in time for the summer break, Leslie Garisto Pfaff from Parents magazine, has written a great article chock full of summer reading tips. It’s in the June ’08 edition and it’s titled Mind the Gap. … “Research shows that kids who don’t crack a book during their time off experience the “summer slide” – a learning loss equivalent to three months or even more. … But your child can stay on track by reading just four books over break.” … As parents we are usually very aware of our children’s abilities and talents, sometimes we just need some extra…

Sergio Makes a Splash by Edel Rodriguez Reading level: Ages 2-8 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers (May 1, 2008) … “Sergio is a penguin. He loves fish, soccer, and water. He loves drinking water, bathing in water, spraying water, just about anything with water! But he has one big problem; he can’t swim.” … Sergio Makes a Splash, by Edel Rodriguez, is an encouraging story about facing your fears. Edel has illustrated other books, including Float Like a Butterfly, but this is the first time that he has written a book. According to Alvina, from Blue Rose…

The Boy Who Wouldn’t Share by Mike Reiss (Author), David Catrow (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 6-8 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: HarperCollins (May 27, 2008) Synopsis: Edward has oodles of toys but doesn’t share any of them with his little sister, Claire. She cannot ride his rocking horse, hug his teddy bear, or even think about touching his Slinky. “They’re mine!” he says. That is, until one day when Edward finds himself stuck under his enormous pile of toys and can’t move! With a little help from an unlikely ally, he learns that if he can share with others, they’ll share…

The Book Sense summer reading picks are created with the input of independent booksellers across the U.S.. The 58 notable titles are selected by the booksellers, and are categorized into age appropriate groups, ranging from preschool all the way through to teen readers. Follow this link for the Book Sense picks of summer 2008: http://news.bookweb.org/booksense/6050.html Summer 2007: http://news.bookweb.org/booksense/5273.html Summer 2006: http://www.booksense.com/bspicks/kidspicks/sum06index.jsp Summer 2005: http://www.booksense.com/bspicks/kidspicks/sum05index.jsp

The Tiniest Mermaid by Laura Garnham (Author), Patricia MacCarthy (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 2-8 Hardcover: 28 pages Publisher: Good Books (May 2006) The Tiniest Mermaid, by Laura Garnham, is a tale of rescue, recovery, friendship and the creation of lasting memories. Lily, a young girl who lives by the ‘wide blue’ sea, discovers a tiny mermaid who washed up onto the rocks after a big storm. Lily rescues Delphi the mermaid, taking care of her in a fish tank. The two become great friends as Lily is taken on a delightful and colorful journey of life as a mermaid. Once…

Clementine’s Letter Sara Pennypacker (Author), Marla Frazee (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 7-10 Hardcover: 160 pages Publisher: Hyperion (April 1, 2008) Clementine is the realistically charismatic star of Sarah Pennypacker’s Clementine series. Clementine’s Letter is the third book in the series, and it is chock full of giggling moments. As an adult reading this book, flashbacks to your childhood are bound to happen and the feelings you felt at that time will likely resurface, proving that the main character, Clementine, is very believable. Clementine is just getting the hang of the third grade and her teacher, Mr. D’Matz, really understands her.…

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review Published: May 10, 2008 Someday by Alison McGhee (Author), Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 2 – 6 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Atheneum (February 27, 2007) This is a book that will bring tears to any mom’s eyes! What could be more moving than a full cycle story of life, between a mother and child?! This poignant book is illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds – whose books include The Dot, and Ish. He uses pen, ink and watercolors to create soft innocent pictures that depict the words of author Alison McGhee. ……