October 2008 Calendar / News / Board Book Roundup MARK YOUR CALENDAR Upcoming Events for Children's Librarians

Performers' Showcase:
Mark your calendars for the next ACL Performers' Showcase. It is scheduled for Sat., Feb. 7, 2009 at the Fremont Main Library: www.bayviews.org/showcase.html

Save the Date for Beatrix Potter
The Arne Nixon Center will host a Beatrix Potter conference, co-sponsored by the Beatrix Potter Society, on April 18-19, 2009, at the Fresno State campus, featuring expert speakers on Beatrix Potter, a musical play based on The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, and the Arne Nixon Center's annual Secret Garden Party.

Speakers and events will include:

BayNews needs you! BayNews welcomes any articles, news, ideas on storytime or programs, etc. Just send any articles as a Word attachment via email, to Penny Peck at baynews@bayviews.org. Thanks!

Go Baby! Milestone Project. Tricycle Press, 2008, $6.95, ISBN 9781582462110.
Color photos of babies from around the world are shown playing and moving. The simple captions are done in first person: “Watch me crawl.” Each photo has a label, indicating the country it was taken in. A nice multicultural treat.

Linenthal, Peter. Look at Baby's House! Dutton, 2008, $6.99, ISBN 9780525420613.
Stark black and white cutouts make up this striking board book, with the text done in sky blue. Starting with the sun and ending with the moon, we see some of the things a baby would use throughout the day. Simple but very clear.

Schindel, John. Busy Pandas. Photos by Lisa and Mike Husar. Tricycle Press, 2008, $6.95, ISBN 9781582462592.
Another of Schindel's successful animal photo board books. Full color pictures of pandas are matched with a bouncing rhyme. And what is cuter than a baby panda?

Cousins, Lucy. Maisy's Christmas Day. Candlewick, 2008, $5.95, ISBN 9780763639488.
Maisy the white mouse, made more popular by the animated TV show, celebrates Christmas with her friends. Each gets a gift, and the deeply saturated color illustrations will appeal to toddlers.

Cowen-Fletcher, Jane. Baby Elf's Christmas. Candlewick, 2008, $5.99, ISBN 9780763632502.
Soft colored pencil illustrations show a baby elf learning about Christmas. Toddlers are not likely to understand the concept, but parents may like this sentimental offering.

Spohn, Kate. Mommies! Random, 2008, $4.99, ISBN 9780375842771.
Each opening has a gatefold board page that opens to reveal a baby underneath. The brief text celebrates mothers and babies but is not really memorable. The watercolor illustrations, on stark white backgrounds, look amateurish.

Ziefert, Harriet. Play! Flip-a Shape. Illus. by Sami. Blue Apple, 2008, $8.95, ISBN 9781934706091.
Die-cut holes in these sturdy board pages reveal various shapes, including a triangle, oval, circle, square, and rectangle. The word for each shape is the only text in the book, and the deeply saturated primary colors and collage elements really pop, making this a great choice for learning shapes.

Allen, Joy. Baby Signs: A Baby-Sized Introduction to Speaking with Sign Language. Dial, 2008, $6.99, ISBN 9780803731936.
A cartoon baby, drawn in pastel chalks and set on white backgrounds, demonstrates simple sign language positions for milk, water, more, mommy, daddy, and a few other terms. Small illustrations of the hand positions show how to make the signs. Sure to be useful to parents.

Ziefert, Harriet. Lots and Lots (a Buzzy and Friends book). Illus. by Bolam, Emily. Blue Apple, 2008, $7.95, ISBN 9781934706114.
The concept of more, many, some, none, etc. is clearly depicted in this simple board book. A donkey and bunny show the concepts with balloons, flowers, and balls, in bright cartoon illustrations. Because it covers an essential concept seldom seen in other books, this is a highly recommended.

Colman, Michelle Sinclair. Urban Babies series. Tricycle Press, 2008, $6.95 each.
Eco Babies Wear Green, ISBN 9781582462530.
Foodie Babies Wear Bibs, ISBN 9781582462547.
The newest in the “Urban Babies Wear Black” series, Eco Babies focuses on babies who are environmentally correct. Babies are seen on the back of a bike, getting “green” diapers, and playing outside. Foodie Babies depicts infants eating cheese, playing in the kitchen, and going to the farmers' market, with some fun “play on words” captions. These works better than some of the previous entries in the series because the babies are doing things that babies normally do. The stylized color cartoon illustrations have a very modern look.

Horacek, Petr. Beep, Beep. Candlewick, 2008, $5.99, ISBN 9780763634827.
Horacek, Petr. Choo Choo. Candlewick, 2008, $5.99, ISBN 9780763634773.
Two books celebrating vehicles feature die-cut pages and simple narratives. The inclusion of onomatopoeia is a plus. The acrylic collage painted illustrations are appealing in an “old world” way.

Rescek, Sanja. Baby Gym series. Child's Play, 2008.
Bounce & Jiggle, $4.99, ISBN 9781846431319.
Touch & Tickle, $4.99, ISBN 9781846431302.
Calm & Soothe, $5.99, ISBN 9781846431333.
Wiggle & Move, $5.99, ISBN 9781846431326.
Popular baby bounce rhymes are matched to brightly colored illustrations of babies performing the movements. Perfect for lapsit storytimes, these show parents how to do the motions for these traditional “jog” rhymes, with brief instructions in small print, next to the line of larger print with the words to the rhyme. There are five rhymes in each book, including “Roly Poly,” “Round and Round the Garden,” and “This Is the Way the Ladies Ride.” It seems odd that these are not all the same price, but they are a worthwhile purchase anyway.

Jocelyn, Marthe. Ready for…Seasons series. Tundra Books, 2007, $7.95 each.
Ready for Autumn, ISBN 978088768613.
Ready for Winter, ISBN 9780887768484.
Ready for Spring, ISBN 9780887768491.
Ready for Summer, ISBN 9780887768606.
In each book, the reader is encouraged to pick out the type of clothing for that season, although all the choices are correct. For example, in winter, the choices are mittens, snowsuit, boots, etc. The collage illustrations are done with cut fabric which is perfect for this subject matter. A great series for babies and toddlers on learning the names for clothing.

DePaola, Tomie. My First… Holiday series. G&D, 2008, $5.99 each.
My First Chanukah, ISBN 9780448448596.
My First Christmas, ISBN 9780448448602.
My First Easter, ISBN 9780448447902.
My First Halloween, ISBN 9780448448589.
My First Thanksgiving, ISBN 9780448448572.
DePaola's signature full color cartoon style artwork is the highlight of this holiday board book series. He has added some sensory elements to these revisions, including foil “lights” for the Chanukah candles, and a cut-out Santa, Jack-o-lantern, and pilgrims glued to the covers of the appropriate titles. The Easter book has a “fuzzy” bunny on the cover. Inside, they all have a straightforward, non-rhyming narratives describing things associated with those holidays. Families wanting nondenominational holiday books will find this useful for toddlers and preschoolers.

Capucilli, Alysssa Satin. Katy Duck series. Illus. by Henry Cole. Little Simon, 2008, $7.99 each.
Katy Duck: Center Stage, ISBN 9781416933380.
Katy Duck: Dance Star, ISBN 9781416933373.
Katy is a duckling with a huge pink bow on her head. In these and previous board books starring Katy, she loves to dance, act, and dress up in costume. The color cartoon and ink outline artwork is appealing and adds humor. Both the stories and the artwork will appeal most to preschoolers and emergent readers who will identify with Katy's behavior. The length of the stories and dancing school setting is a little too advanced for toddlers. You can even buy Katy as a stuffed animal.

Katz, Karen. Little Simon, 2008, $6.99 each.
Where Is Baby's Birthday Cake? ISBN 9781416958178.
Where are Baby's Easter Eggs? ISBN 9781416949244.
Katz has created more great board books with flaps, starring a round-headed cartoon baby in realistic situations. In Birthday, baby lifts the tablecloth, or opens the refrigerator door, to reveal something used at a birthday party. In Easter Eggs, baby is looking for the hidden eggs. Bright colors and lively patterns will appeal to babies and toddlers.

Newgarden, Mark and Megan Montague Cash. Bow-Wow series. Red Wagon, 2008, $4.95 each.
Bow-Wow Hears Things, ISBN 9780152058418.
Bow-Wow Attracts Opposites, ISBN 9780152058470.
Bow-wow, a tan terrier, is shown in bright, deeply saturated illustrations with bold black outlines. In the first book, he helps a chick learn to peep. In the second, he demonstrates common opposites like up and down. There is a wry humor that adults will understand, similar to that of Sandra Boynton's books, and the toddlers will appreciate the attractive illustrations.

Kar-Ben Very First Board Books on Jewish Life. Kar-Ben, 2008, $5.95 each.
Jules, Jacqueline. Goodnight Sh'ma. Illus. by Melanie Hall. ISBN 9780822589457.
Fabiyi, Jan Goldin. Where Shabbat Lives. Illus. by Sue Rama. ISBN 9780822589464.
Simple texts help preschoolers learn about Jewish traditions in these brief board books that can even serve as easy readers. In the first, a small child says the goodnight prayer. In the second, a chant similar to “This is the House that Jack Built” describes where Shabbat (or the Sabbath) lives - at the table, in the challah bread, in the way we act toward others. The bright illustrations clearly depict what is being described in the texts.

Jon Scieszka's Trucktown! series, illus. by David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon. Little Simon, 2008.
Meet Jack Truck. $5.99, ISBN 9781416941736.
Who's That Truck? $7.99, ISBN 9781416941750.
Vroom! It's Color Time! $6.99. ISBN 9781416941743.
Part of Scieszka's new series of picture and board books starring anthropomorphic vehicles, these are all different sizes and shapes. In Meet Jack Truck!, we see Jack and his fellow trucks doing their jobs. In Who's That Truck? we meet many of the characters. In Vroom! It's Color Time! the vehicles teach the colors using road signs - red for the stop sign, orange for construction, and so forth. This one book has pieces that are removable - puzzle shaped pieces that fit over each sign - so this won't work for library use.

Wilson, Karma. Calico Cat series. Illus. by Buket Edrogan. Little Simon, 2008, $7.99 each.
Friends for Calico, ISBN 9781416919063.
Uh-oh, Calico! ISBN 9781416919049.
In rhyming couplets, Calico finds her teddy bear with the help of the dog and chick in Friends for Calico. Calico is accident prone in Uh-oh Calico! Both feature a calico cat who lives in a house with a cat mom who wears a dress. The paintings are very brightly colored and feature brush strokes and canvas giving them a folk art look. Sure to be popular.

Carle, Eric. La Arana My Ocupada. Philomel, 2008, $9.99, ISBN 9780399250651.
Carle's The Very Busy Spider is reformatted in this smaller version, with the text in Spanish. The spider's web still has that tactile element, where you can feel the web, and the animals and their sounds are still the highlight of the story. Buy if you have a large Spanish speaking toddler storytime group.

Carle, Eric. My Very First Bilingual Book series. G&D, 2008, $8.99 each.
Animals/Animales, ISBN 9780448448909.
Colors/Colores, ISBN 9780448448831.
These unique board books almost work like flashcards. In each opening there is a frame with a sliding door. On the door is a picture - slide to the right and see the word for that picture in English, to the left we see the word in Spanish. There is also a sentence describing what is pictured, like the red fire truck or the yellow bee. Because of the complex construction, there are only six things depicted in each book. Still, these will be popular and useful.

Murphy, Mary. I Like It When…Me Gusta Cuando… Harcourt, 2008, $6.95, ISBN 9780152060459.
The mother and baby penguins seen in Murphy's other books appear here, describing how mother likes it when baby helps out, tries new foods, etc. The simple story helps this work as a bilingual book since there is room for both texts, as well as dialogue balloons in both languages. The deeply saturated primary color illustrations, with black outlines, are perfect for a baby's developing vision.

Wood, Audrey and Don. Piggies/Cerditos. Harcourt, 2008, $10.95, ISBN 9780152063108.
In this “Lap-sized” board book (as the publisher has called it), this is nearly the same size as the picture book version, just with thicker board pages. It works well as a bilingual book because the text is short, even though the idiom of “piggies” as fingers and toes is not customary in Spanish. Buy if you have a large Spanish speaking audience.

Driscoll, Laura. Mis Amigos Animales/My Animal Friends. Illus. by Alex Maher. S&S, 2008, $4.99, ISBN 9781416954934.
Diego, from the popular TV spinoff “Go Diego Go” and friend of “Dora the Explorer,” is shown with various animals. The story and setting seems more suitable for preschoolers, not babies and toddlers, and with only five animals, this is not much of a story.

Yoon, Salina. Count My Blessing 1 Through 10. Putnam, 2008, $6.99, ISBN 9780399250699.
A rhyming prayer is depicted by a teddy bear family in soft paintings, showing the numeral and things to be counted. For example, there are 4 pets to be blessed, and 5 stuffed animals. A nice nondenominational prayer/counting book.

Henderson, Kathy. Look at You! A Baby Body Book. Illus. by Paul Howard. Candlewick, 2008, $6.99, ISBN 9780763639198.
Even though I did not have the original to compare this to, I assume nothing was left out since the board book is 32 pages long. Lively pastel chalk illustrations show babies wiggling fingers and toes, waving arms and legs, getting a bath, and more. The rhyming text varies in pace but is engaging. The multicultural cast of characters will please all babies and parents.

Hamm, Diane Johnston. Rock-a-Bye Farm. Illus. by Alexi Natchev. Little Simon, 2008, $7.99, ISBN 9781416936213.
A farmer rocks each of his animals to sleep; finally, he rocks in a rocking chair to get to sleep himself. The text, set on white backgrounds, is almost circular in style, and the watercolor illustrations give the impression of nighttime without seeming too dark. A perfect go-to-sleep book for toddlers.

Thompson, Lauren. Little Quack's New Friend. Illus. by Derek Anderson. Little Simon, 2008, $7.99, ISBN 9781416949237.
After his siblings dismiss the frog as too small, Little Quack befriends him. Soon Quack's siblings realize they are missing out on the fun and play with the frog, too. The full color illustrations look like animated cartoons and the story has repetition that will appeal to toddlers.

Olson-Brown, Ellen. Ten Stinky Babies. Illus. by Joy Allen. Tricycle Press, 2008, $6.99, ISBN 9781582462318.
Ten babies start out at the day care center, but one by one they need a diaper change and are taken away. The illustrations are colorful, but too small in this format - it is difficult to count the babies.

Spiridellis, Gregg & Evan. Are You Grumpy, Santa? Hyperion, 2008, $6.99, ISBN 9781423114994.
Santa stubs his toe, his suit shrinks in the dryer, a dog chases him in Paris, and more calamity makes him grumpy. But cookies cheer him up. Older children will understand the humor, and appreciate the animation-style computer illustrations, so this would work better as a picture book.

Root, Phyllis. Oliver Finds His Way Illus. by Christopher Denise. Candlewick, 2008, $7.99, ISBN 9780763641238.
Baby bear Oliver gets lost in the woods while chasing a leaf. He figures out if he roars, his parents will find him. The message of self-reliance is subtle, and the autumn-toned colored pencil illustrations are very sweet but not cloying. A successful picture book adaptation.

Allen, Jonathan. “I'm Not Scared!” Hyperion, 2008, $6.99, ISBN 9780786837236.
Baby Owl contends he is not scared of the dark, only his stuffed animal owl is in this reassuring bedtime story. The color cartoon illustrations are framed in white but contain a moody dark blue as the nighttime setting would demand, and it works fine as a board book.

Jocelyn, Marthe. A Day With Nellie. Tundra, 2008, $7.95, ISBN 9780887768699.
Cut fabric forms collage illustrations in this simple story of a toddler's day. The reader is encouraged to look for things in each illustration - Nellie's cloths, her breakfast, bathtub toys, so the “look and find” element adds interest.

Gliori, Debbie. No Matter What. Red Wagon, 2008, $6.95, ISBN 9780152063436.
Large red fox will love Small “no matter what.” Less sappy than Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, this has repetition that will really engage a toddler, and brightly colored illustrations. The picture book version is better for storyhour, but the board book will be nice for parents to check out.

Hindley, Judy. Does a Cow Say Boo? Illus. by Brita Granstrom. Candlewick, 2008, $6.99, ISBN 9780763634780.
The title question is asked about each animal on the farm, including the pig, dog, cat, owl, etc. The text includes the animals sounds (like “moo”), and there is plenty of repetition to engage a toddler. The full color paintings illustrate a multicultural group of children on a field trip to a farm. A winner.

Katz, Karen. Ten Tiny Tickles. Little Simon, 2008, $7.99, ISBN 9781416951018.
Body parts are the things that are counted in this confusing book for baby. Even though the numeral is shown, the “tickles” can't really be counted the way eyes and ears can, so it won't make any sense.

Suen, Anastasia. Subway. Illus. by Karen Katz. Viking, 2008, $6.99, ISBN 9780670011094.
Abridged from the 2004 picture book edition, this celebration of public transit is still appealing. Babies and toddlers who go on BART with a caregiver will relate to the rhyming text and the dynamic color cartoon illustrations. The repetition also makes this appropriate for storytime, if you have a small group who can see this format.

Heller, Allyson. Let's Have a Picnic. Illus. by Laura Thomas. Little Simon, 2008, $6.99, ISBN 9781416950288.
Raggedy Ann and her human Annie are going on a picnic. Fabric pieces are set into the pages to give the book a tactile element. Too “cutesy” and flimsy for the library audience.

Doll, Danielle. Meet Raggedy Ann. Illus. by Laura Thomas. Little Simon, 2008, $5.99, ISBN 9781416950349.
Annie has moved to a new house and is lonely, but her mom finds an old doll, Raggedy Ann, that will cheer up Annie. Too sappy for the library audience.

Hill, Karen. My Mommy and Me. Illus. by Melissa Iwai. Little Simon, 2008, $7.99, ISBN 9781416947677.
Constructed like a picture frame, with a fold-out stand and front insert area, this will not hold up to library circulation. Rhyming couplets and full color paintings depict a mother and daughter playing together. There is a companion book featuring a father and son.

Reed, Nathan. My Little Backpack and My Little Ballet Bag, Little Simon, 2008, $6.99 each, ISBN 9781416948919 (Backpack) and ISBN 9781416948902 (Ballet).
Using Velcro closures, these board books have pieces that come out and will get lost. Although the bright cartoon illustrations are appealing, these are not appropriate for library use.

Ehlert, Lois. Planting a Rainbow. Red Wagon, 2008, $10.95, ISBN 9780152063047.
Bunting, Eve. Flower Garden. Illus. by Kathryn Hewitt. Red Wagon, 2008, $10.95, ISBN 9780152065164.
Red Wagon, a division of Harcourt, calls these “Lap-Sized Board Books.” They are the same size as the picture book edition but with the sturdy board book pages, so nothing is abridged or lost in the conversion to this format. These could be great for Literacy program giveaways, because they are less expensive than hardback picture books but sturdier than paperbacks. Both of these garden-themed books are great for toddlers, with their brief texts and vibrant illustrations.

Chodos-Irvine, Margaret. Ella Sarah Gets Dressed. Red Wagon, 2008, $10.95, ISBN 9780152064860.
This Caldecott Honor book features a toddler getting dressed, but the text is a little too long for a board book. Stick with the picture book version.

Hakala, Marjorie. Picnic Buddies. Illus. by Elliot Kreloff. Blue Apple, 2008, $8.95, ISBN 9781934706213.
A simple rhyming text describes ladybugs, caterpillars, ants, mice, and frogs on a picnic. The illustrations are done with toy animals photographed and digitally set onto grass and trees. Not memorable, the illustrations look too much like a greeting card.

Submitted by : Penny Peck, San Leandro Public Library

Copyright © 1999-2008 Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California. All rights reserved.