PICTURE BOOK MONDAY!

I volunteer at my local library on Mondays during story hour.  Crowd control for the most part.  Which gives me lots of time to peruse the New Book shelf and read a few picture books.  This is what I read today!

Amy's Three Best Things by Philippa Pearce; illustrated by Helen Craig ~  I really enjoyed this book.  Possibly because I'm a Philippa Pearce fan?  Amy is headed off to spend three nights at her grandmother's house.  She knows she will miss mom and little brother, so she takes along three special things to help her when she becomes lonely.  Delightful!  Ages 5 and up.  (A side note -- if you have not read Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce, it is highly recommended.)

And the Cars Go.... by William Bee ~ If you liked Richard Scarry's "Cars and Trucks and Things that Go" you will enjoy Mr. Bee's book.  All the cars are stuck in a traffic jam, each making their own individual sound.  Whatever could be causing the delay?  Ages 2 and up.

Animal ABC by Marcus Pfister ~ This is just what the title says - an alphabet book with animals!  The illustrations are lovely and I think young ones will enjoy the little rhymes (though not all adults will appreciate them.)  As always, the U and the X prove problematic when creating an animal ABC book.  The reader will have to decide how well Mr. Pfister manages the dilemma.  I think four and five year olds will be happy to have this added to their collection.

Baby Bear Counts ONE by Ashely Wolff - Very cute counting book!  Also introduces the idea of hibernation.  3 year olds and up should love this one.  

Birthday Queen by Audrey and Don Wood - It's your birthday and the Birthday Queen is going to go all out to make sure it's a super special day!  Not sure this would apply to everyone...  While everyone has a birthday, not everyone has a birthday queen or celebrates in the same way.  I liked the other Audrey Wood better!

Blue Sky by Audrey Wood - Simple concept book that looks at the sky at different times during the day.  It revolves around one family and their day at the beach.  Lovely illustrations - perfect for 2s and 3s.  

Night Sounds by Javier Sobrino; illustrated by Emilio Urberuagua ~ I think this one would make a good read aloud because you could make the animal voices be much more expressive than they appear on the page of the book.  These rain forest animals want to go to sleep but every few minutes they are interrupted by something inside a wooden box.  Children will be delighted to discover who is making all the noise!  PreK - 1st

Sophie Scott Goes South by Alison Lester ~ This is a picture book for some of our older readers - ages 8 and up.  Sophie is nine years old and lives in Australia.  Her father is the captain of an icebreaker - the Aurora Australis.  Sophie gets to go with him on one of his trips to Antarctica to visit Mawson,taking supplies and people.  The story is based on the author's own trip to Antarctica told through the voice of Sophie.  It is written in a diary type format and has lots of pictures and illustrations.  Lovely!

Terrific Tongues Up Close by Melissa Stewart ~ Children will be delighted to learn that a cow uses her tongue to wipe her nose!  And I learned that a penguin has a spiky, ridged tongue so that those slippery fish don't escape before they can be gulped down.  K and up.

I am not sure I'll manage this many each week!  There were a lot of new books on the shelves.