Picture Book Reviews

This first title is more "new to us" than actually newly published, but worth a look:

9780375857171

Monkey thought Elephant was his best friend. He was even bringing him some surprise cupcakes—and found a party going on that he wasn't invited to!

Elephant thought Monkey was his best friend. He was even planning a surprise wrestling party for him—but then Monkey put all his favorite toys in the freezer!

From there the war of revenge is on, and life on their small island is becoming dangerous! Until the townsfolk find a creative way to make Monkey and Elephant talk out their problems (cement shoes, a boat, and a chisel are involved . . .). Happily, Monkey and Elephant realize their fight was based on a misunderstanding.  But if only they had talked sooner, innocent teddies wouldn't need defrosting.

This is a laugh-out-loud comedy of a book with the helpful message that "using your words" is infinitely better than, say, painting a mean face on their butt.

Fortunately, my children NEVER fight over something stupid. Oh, wait, yes they do. Frequently. While the moral is obvious, the humor has wide appeal to the target age group (I mean, faces on butts? What's not to like?). Hopefully, mine won't just see this as a list of ideas for pranks...

9780449813256

The sun has set and dinner is done, but Fiona is still excited about the day and is not at all ready for bed.

So her mom helps her settle down with their nightly ritual of sending each part of her—from her toes to her nose—off to sleep. As Fiona relaxes her body, she recalls a marvelous day at the beach where feet were for stomping in the waves, legs were for running after cousins, tummy was for holding strawberries, and arms were for catching beach balls. And bit by bit, memory by memory, Fiona slips from a great day into a good night.

Okay, my kids may quarrel like Monkey and Elephant, but they never stall at bed...never mind. When we are wound up from a fun day, it can be hard to relax into dreamland, but this offers a simple technique that may help some parents. Heck, I could have used it last night, when my brain would not turn off and I tossed until after midnight! As Fiona remembers all the things her body did that day, children can tell their parents what their body did - a great way to recap the day, as well as calm those muscles down.

9780062320513

Bear is sick and tired of being a bear. Who wants to sleep all winter? His fur feels so hot in the summer. And the bees . . . there are just too many angry bees! Bear is done being a bear. But when he sees a line of happy yellow ducklings, he has a thought. What if he could be a duck?

With a few duck lessons from Duck, Bear learns that being a duck is fun; but as it turns out, Bear realizes he makes a really good bear . . . and he makes a really good friend along the way. 

Cute, cute, cute! Bear is so eager and clueless, I just wanted to smoosh him. I had to check to see if we had anything else illustrated by Hudson, but this seems to be her debut. This could be a fun one to extend with the kids - what if we tried to be ducks? Or bears? Or any other animal? Spend a meal, an hour, a day even trying to do things like an animal of your choice, and see what funny stories you have to tell at the end of it!

All three of these books are available in stores now, and on the shelves here shortly.