Bedtime Adventures

Not all bedtime books will put you to sleep.

Corduroy by Don Freeman.

A charming children's classic which stands the test of time. A small bear really wants someone to take him home, but he needs to find his missing button first, he has quite a night time adventure looking for the button. In the end though, he doesn't need it for someone to love him and take him home, where he has a bed of his own.

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo by Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk.

This little train goes chugs through a bedroom littered with toys. It has great colourful illustrations, very crisp and clear, which helps us all to understand that this is an imaginary journey.

Is it Bedtime Wibbly Pig? by Mick Inkwell

Wibbly Pig doesn't want to go to bed, a familiar scenario to most children and parents. But despite his protestations and procrastinations, eventually he can't help dreaming, even though he insists he's still not asleep.

Dinosaur versus Bedtime by Bob Shea

The little dinosaur in this book is pretty resourceful, he wins out against a pile of leaves, a bowl of spaghetti and even some talking grownups, but can he win against his greatest foe. Bedtime. The stars around the illustrations when the diosaur wins always make me want to say "ta-dah", so when I'm reading it aloud, that's just what I do.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

A classic tale of Max who sails “in and out of weeks and almost over a year, to where the wild things are”. As the mother of a toddler deep in the terrible twos I know that there’s a little bit of Max in all of us. It’s nice to know that the same fierceness that makes you chase a dog with a fork also guarantees not being scared of monsters.

We'll be singing Row Your Boat, This Train and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Storytime Special - Pajama Party

There's a special event at Cover to Cover on Wednesday April 14th at 7pm.

We're having a PAJAMA PARTY

There will be two local authors with us

Debra Sartell author of
Time for Bed, Baby Ted

Jane Wattenberg (Mrs. Mustard) author of
The Duck and the Kangaroo

They will be signing their books, we'll have lots of pillows and blankets round the store and cocoa and mini-marshmallows and I'll be reading Miss Rumphius and Visitor for Bear and singing something nice and calming after all that excitement.

So if you're in the neighborhood on Wednesday evening come and join us.

Use Your Imagination

Jamberry by Bruce Degan
The ultimate in fruit based daydreams as berries run in the rivers and fall from the sky until everything is a Jamberry. For my little fruitatarian this is a book he'd love to live in.

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood
A sweet take on the modern archetype of the American con artist. Our smooth talking narrator manages to convince the mouse that there’s a big hungry bear coming and the best thing he can do to protect his strawberry is to share it with us and eat it. When you’ve finished the book, ask your toddler to find the picture of the bear in the book. Of course, there isn’t one.

If... by Sarah Perry
There are some real leaps of imagination in this book. I especially like "if ugly was beautiful" of course you have to see the illustrations to really kickstart some imaginative thinking.

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
"there's no such thing as a Gruffal...oh". A clever little mouse talks his way out of trouble with the unwitting help of a creature he thought he'd invented. I love this book, it's smart and funny and a real example of how not to be scared of monsters.

Dinosaur versus Bedtime by Bob Shea
The little dinosaur in this book is pretty resourceful, he wins out against a pile of leaves, a bowl of spaghetti and even some talking grownups, but can he win against his greatest foe. Bedtime. The stars around the illustrations when the diosaur wins always make me want to say "ta-dah", so when I'm reading it aloud, that's just what I do.

We'll be singing "I'm a Little Airplane", "There's a Monster in my Closet" and "The Ants Go Marching".

Friends

A Visitor for Bear - Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton.

A very grumpy bear finds that he can't do without an initially unwanted visitor. The bear is a real drama queen and so it's great to read aloud his protestations of "I am undone!" as he throws himself to the ground. And his visitor, a small gray mouse is as cheeky as can be, another fun character.

Hooray for Fish - Lucy Cousins.

Bright colours and a large format book, make this one very popular with toddlers. A little fish introduces us to his friends, saving his best friend for last. Although my secret favourites are the Twin Fin Fin fish. (This one may be difficult to get hold of outside the UK, ask your local book store if they can find one for you).

Duck on a Bike - David Shannon.

I love this book, there's plenty of opportunity for making animal noises and the illustrations are actually better (in my opinion) than the books that shannon is more famous for (No, David and Good Boy Fergus). It's a fable that a child will never grow out of. I think it's profound that each of these farm animals could hold three opposing opinions at the same time, just like people.

Froggy Plays Soccer - Jonathan London and Frank Remkiewicz.

The kids go crazy for Froggy, he jumps a lot, flops around, picks his nose, doesn't listen to grown ups and can't follow instructions. No wonder he's so popular! This is a good story about teamwork and a rare book about sport.

But Not the Hippopotamus - Barbara Boynton

A very shy hippo would love to join in the games her fellow animals are playing, she waits for the whole book, but then they ask her to play!

We'll be singing "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed", "The More we get Together" and "Slippery Fish" which is actually about the foodchain and not friendship, but I think it's important to know your predator from your prey. The poem is "Some People" by Charlotte Zolotow.

What Grows in Your Garden?

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

A small boy singlehandedly turns a drab town into a beautiful colourful garden. This is a new book which has received rave reviews. The illustrations are crisp without being sharp and the words are simple and honest. It's an amazing book to describe the power of nature and how the choices we make can shape our environment.

The Happy Bee by Ian Beck

This very colourful book for the babies is very simply a close up look at some well known types of flowers, Daisy, Poppy, Rose and Lily. The bee flies from one to another in all kinds of weather and is happiest when there is a rainbow. Extremely simple and continually popular.

My Garden by Kevin Henkes

A little girl helps her mother in the garden and dreams about having her own garden where the carrots would be invisible and jellybeans would grow on big bushes. Another beautiful work by Kevin Henkes, packed with imagination and vibrant illustration.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

I'm sure it feels as though I read this book every week, but it is undeniably appealing. This week my excuse is that it's not just plants growing in the garden.

Over in the Meadow by Ezra Jack Keats

Everyone knows this traditional counting song and this book version by the author of Snowy Day has some great illustrations. The Mother Muskrat has a particularly brilliant facial expression.

We will be singing "Mr Sun", "I Can Sing a Rainbow" and "The Farmer Plants the Seeds"

Water Water Everywhere

The Snail and the Whale – Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
The Gruffalo dream team do it again! A great book to read aloud with soaring descriptions in bouncy rhyming couplets and illustrations both detailed and cartoonlike. The snail wants to get away from the flock on the rock and decides to hitch a ride with a friendly whale, but when the whale gets frightened by some speedboats and is beached, the snail cannot fail to save his friend.

Hooray for Fish - Lucy Cousins.
Bright colours and a large format book, make this one very popular with toddlers. A little fish introduces us to his friends, saving his best friend for last. Although my secret favourites are the Twin Fin Fin fish.

Harry the Dirty Dog - Gene Zion
The story of a naughty dog who doesn't want to take a bath, preferring instead to have the dirtiest adventures he can find. Yes there is a coal chute in this book, but even though my son is in his "why" phase, he's yet to question it.

One Hot Summer Day by Nina Crews.

A really simple book, illustrated with photo collage, it tells the story of one very hot day in the city when it's too hot to play outside until the rain comes. Lots of adults think this book is very strange, but it appeals to children because it tells the story of something real using real pictures of a real little girl.

Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak

A classic tale of Max who sails “in and out of weeks and almost over a year, to where the wild things are”. As the mother of a toddler deep in the terrible twos I know that there’s a little bit of Max in all of us. It’s nice to know that the same fierceness that makes you chase a dog with a fork also guarantees not being scared of monsters.

We’ll be singing “Row Your Boat”, “Slippery Fish” and “The Day I went to Sea”

Opposites

Dos and Don'ts - Tod Parr
The opposites in this book are just the do and don't. And the examples are some of the silliest I've ever seen. I'm sure the page about underpants is going to get a big laugh.

Dinosaur Roar - Paul and Henrietta Strickland
A great opposites book with some happy friendly dinosaurs in it. I love the unconventional opposites too, like "clean and slimy" or "spiky and lumpy". It makes a nice change from "up and down".

Noisy Nora - Rosemary Wells
Nora is a mouse who's little brother and sister are (in her opinion) getting way too much attention. She bangs around the house, but eventually it goes quiet, then they really notice her. Rosemary Wells is the author/illustrator of Max and Ruby, this is one of her earlier books for younger children, although her distinctive style is still apparent.

Opposites - Sandra Boynton
Sandra Boynton is an indispensable young children's author. Her small board books are very silly and very popular. This one is exactly as the title suggests. A standard book of opposites; in and out, whisper and shout. We will be whispering and shouting.

June and August - Vivian Walsh
June and August meet in the jungle when it's dark and they get on very well, but in the light of day, they realise that they are very different. This doesn't stop them from being friends though, as they get as close to the moon and the stars as they can.

We'll be singing the Hokey Cokey, the Up and Down song and Open Shut Them.