Seasons

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.

Old Bear by Kevin Henkes.

Old Bear The illustrations are extremely beautiful and the dream sequence is a real treat for the imagination, especially the blueberry rain.

Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

I've recently been struck by exactly how well tuned these classic American books are. Peter wakes up one morning and everything is snowy, he makes pictures in the snow, hits a tree with a stick and decides he's not old enough yet for a snowball fight. No wonder that books by Keats are so well loved by toddlers and preschoolers.

I Am A Bunny by Ole Risom and Richard Scarry

Yes, that Richard Scarry. But from before he was famous for drawing apple cars. The illustrations in this little board book are actually very realistic, each of the butterflies, frogs, flowers and animals are all recognisable. It's surprising and if you haven't seen it before I would recommend it.

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson and Tiphanie Beeke

This book is beautiful and poetic. A slightly neurotic fox named Fletcher is terrified that his favourite tree is dying. His mother's assertions that it's "just autumn" don't help. Luckily the tree ends up being more beautiful than ever and Fletcher gets a nice warm breakfast.

We'll be singing Mr Sun, It's Freezing, It's Freezing I hope I don't Start Sneezing, Incy Wincy Spider and The Leaves are Falling Down and the poem will be one of Ted Hughes' Autumn Nature Notes

NO STORYTIME THIS WEEK

There's no stories this week at Cover to Cover, but we'll be back with a Seasons themed storytime on Monday March 8th.

Around the World

Ben and Gran and the Whole Wide Wonderful World by Gillian Shields. This one may be difficult to source in America, but try your local bookstore, they'll certainly try to find a supplier for you. Ben lives on one side of the world and Gran lives on the other side, although sending messages is fun, it's no substitute for seeing your favourite person. So Gran goes on an epic journey to get to Ben whilst Ben prepares for her arrival. This is a great book to read to a transportation loving toddler, as Gran uses any means necessary, including camel and high speed express train to get to Ben.

The Pet Dragon by Christophe Niemann A simple story with a legendary feel which uses Chinese characters as the basis for the illustrations. Also, there's a dragon, who plays soccer.

Mama Do You Love Me? by Barbara M Joose
Toddler's love to push their parents and test the limits of the love. In this charming book with an Innuit theme, the Mama in question calmly explains that Mama's love knows no limits, no matter what side of your personality you show and even if you turn into the meanest polar bear there ever was.

Lisa's Airplane Trip by Anne Gutman. Lisa has never been on an airplane before, which is not surprising as she is a cuddly rabbit. This translated French travelogue is really charming and has lots of jokes for the grown ups. I would highly recommend this as a storybook to introduce toddlers to the concept of air travel, if you're about to take a trip yourself.

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf This 50 year old story of a pacifist bull who just wants to smell the flowers and won't be goaded into violence is a real classic and for good reason.

Random Favourites

Yes, I've been watching the Winter Olympics and knitting and not researching this week's theme. So it's time for some of our favourites:

BeBop Express by H L Panahi
This book is a pleasure to read, the illustrations are lively and when you've read it, you know much more about the American Jazz Symphony. I love this book.

Wibbly Pig's Silly Big Bear by Mick Inkwell
"Wibbly Pig has a bear so big he can hardly fit on the page..."so he doesn't, he steps off the page and into our imaginations and when he is gone, we are very sad too.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Another one I never tire of reading. I like to get the kids to roll their terrible eyes and show their terrible claws.

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
A classic lift the flap book about choosing the perfect pet.

Sadie the Airmail Pilot by Kelly Strom
Amazing illustrations and a great adventure story. As Sadie the cat pilot battles through a terrible storm and a frightening crash to get the airmail through.

We'll be singing Jenny Jenkins, I'm a Little Airplane and we'll take some requests.

123 - Books with Numbers

My Truck is Stuck by Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk
This is a strange book, the meter is complicated and the rhymes are seemingly random. But the subject matter and bright illustrations, make it a really popular choice. It also has some sneaky counting in it.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
This is a classic, with a caterpillar so hungry he eats through pages of fruits, counting them as he goes and then moves on to cake and sausage, which gives him a tummy ache. There are many different editions of this book, including a beautiful pop up version, which I'll be reading from.

Over in the Jungle by Marianne Berkes and Jeanette Canyon

This sing-a-long book is full of actual jungle animals in their actual jungle settings. The crazy half sculpture half illustrations are fascinating and strange.

Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
A bedtime countdown book, my favourite is 7, because surprisingly, that's shoes.

The Three Little Pigs
I have a ladybird board book version of this story, but I change the words so that the pigs say "no no not by the hair on my chinny chin chin". I will encourage huffing and puffing by all.

We'll be singing "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom", "Five Little Monkeys" and "Five Little Ducks"

On Wheels

The Adventures of Taxi Dog by Debra Barracca, Sal Barracca, and Mark Buehner.

From the people who brought you the Escape of Marvin the Ape this is a heartfelt story about a stray dog who finds a new home with a New York taxi driver. The illustrations are full of little jokes and so is the heavily rhythmic text. One small thing, I always have to skip the page that says "to the hospital quick, my wife is quite sick" the wife in question is a pregnant woman, she's not sick, she's having a baby! But apart from that it's a fun book.

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. It also ends in a sleepy bedtime (always useful in a potential bedtime story).

Melvin Might by Jon Scieszka, David Shannon, David Gordon, and Loren Long.

The authors of this book read like the who's who of contemporary American children's books. It's one of the Trucktown books, a new series of picture books designed specifically to engage boys in reading. Melvin the Concrete Mixer is a worrier, but he's forced to stop worrying and start acting when his friend's little sister gets stuck in a hole. Some parents have been uncomfortable with the boistrous nature of this series. The little sister wouldn't have been stuck in the hole if they hadn't been playing a reckless game of jumping a half finished bridge and perhaps a more conservative book would have sent Melvin to get some help, not to jump into the hole after her. But if you can get over that, the core message about helping your friends is a good one and it certainly engages my son.

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon.

I never miss an opportunity to read this book. I think I've mentioned it previously on this blog, but I'll happily do so again. A duck rides a bike whilst his farmyard friends look on. What the animals say and what they think is cleverly different. Plus the action packed illustrations add a fast pace to the thoughtfulness. I also love how this book jumps in feet first to the story, it starts "One day duck thought to himself 'I bet I could ride a bike'" and then he does

Rescue Vehicles by Gill Davies.

This is a foil pop up book, not much to read, but the pop ups are fun to look at.

I'll be singing "This Train is Going to the City", "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Tractor". I think I'll do the William Carlos Williams poem about the red wheelbarrow, that should keep them on their toes.

Dogs

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion

Harry comes from a 1950's perfect household, which is probably why he's even more endearingly naughty. Harry runs away from home, just to avoid a bath, but when he returns he's too dirty for his family to recognise. He'll have to think fast. This book has been a favourite of mine ever since I was a child and I still love it now.

Dogfish by Gillian Shields

Sometimes, you find a book that reads like a child thinks. Where "we'll see" really means "no" and there's a chance that maybe, just maybe your hypnotising eyes will work on a grown up and you'll get what you want. What this little boy wants is a puppy, but it's the goldfish who has mastered the hypnosis, and more besides.

Angus and the Ducks by Marjorie Flack

This book was written in America in the 1930s and tells the cautionary tale of a curious little dog who upsets a couple of ducks. It hasn't dated badly, although I'm not sure any "gentlemen" would wear "suspenders" any more.

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

"I wrote to the zoo to send me a pet, they sent me a..." so begins this classic board book with little flaps to open the packages from the zoo. None of the animals that come from the zoo are good pets, except for the last one. A puppy!

Hondo and Fabian by Peter McCarty

The illustrations in this book are subtle and beautiful. The story compares the day had by hondo the dog and Fabian the cat, as Hondo goes to the beach and Fabian tries to avoid playing with the baby.