When perusing my book shelves, I noted a slim little spine, crammed in a mass of book galleys, way up high on the shelf.  I was curious. What was that little yellow sliver wedged between so many mammoth-sized volumes? I pulled it out for closer inspection.

Look Up! is Korean author and illustrator Jung Jin-Ho’s tiny treatise on perspective and the power of point of view.

Using simple black line drawings, readers are invited into the street from an unusual vantage point, a birds-eye view of a terrace overlooking a city street. An initial spread reveals feet placed on the footrests of a wheelchair. The occupant of the wheelchair appears to be gazing on the scene below. As time passes and activity takes place in the street, the lone observer leans over the edge of the roof imploring, "Look up!" "Look up!" "I'm here! Look at me!"

Finally a passerby does indeed look up. He calls to the girl peering down from above.  She explains that she can't come down and that she can only see the tops of heads. The boy offers her another perspective. He lies down on the cobblestones below so that she can view him in his entirety. Soon others join, lying horizontally and offering the girl in the wheelchair a new view.  As other bodies take this supine position, the strictly black and white landscape makes a subtle change: trees begin to blossom in shades of pink. A bicyclist rides by, sporting a bouquet of colorful balloons.  And on top of the roof, a potted plant begins to sprout tender green leaves.

Penelope Rex is about to enter a new phase in her reptilian life. This young dinosaur is going to Kindergarten. She’s got a new backpack decorated with ponies and she carries her lunch: three hundred tuna sandwiches and a juice box. Naturally she is anxious. What will her classmates be like? Will she make new friends? Upon arrival she is surprised to learn that all her classmates are ... Children!  Penelope reacts immediately, swallowing all the delicious children in an enormous gulp. With furniture in disarray and a shoestring dangling from her mouth, Penelope appears to be somewhat chagrined by what she has just done.

Who can resist this cover? Mr Phelan gets it right, down to the curly pigtail flourishes on the title letters G and C. 

When they reach their destination, problems arise.  An exploration leaves them stranded until an animal friend comes to the rescue.  When the kite cannot be launched, Phelan provides a brilliant solution that is a clever comic twist on a fairy tale trope. Suddenly the sky darkens. Rain drenches the piglets.  It appears that the day is a disaster. Not so. Phelan works his storytelling magic with the perfect solution.

Soft water color images exude personality and are well-suited to the setting.  Illustrations give young readers visual cues needed to decode unfamiliar words.  Repetitive phrases, limited vocabulary, and large font centered within plenty of white space provide readers additional support. 
Pignic is a delightful adventure for young and not-so-young readers.

One of the best things about Bryan Collier’s It's Shoe Time! is that he makes shoes and shopping and reading so much fun.  Beginning with the title, the pages are brimming with word play.
Consider:  Shoe Time vs Show Time.
The text is also replete with homophones which accentuate the silliness:  knot vs not and pear vs pair.
There is a running joke with respect to the dual meanings of right and left.  Right means "correct" and also refers to a side of the body. Left means both the opposing side of the body and is a past tense form of "leave." 
The alternating sounds (squish! flop! squish! flop!) as the shoes descend stairs begs to be read aloud. 
The conclusion, while not particularly practical, is none-the-less delightful. This is one that will quickly become subject to the "read it again" request.
It's a match! This book fits perfectly.

This series of early readers just keeps getting more fun. Well known authors and illustrators share their considerable talents in these high-interest books. The large thoughtfully placed font, with plenty of white space and limited vocabulary make them an excellent choice for beginning readers.  The wordplay, humor, and zany art have an appeal for a wide-ranging. audience.

Waylon enjoys playing OAT: recalling One Awesome Thing about his day.Try creating your own OAT bookmarks. What awesome thing happened to you today? Its a simple and easy way to maintain a positive outlook.
Make homemade oatmeal cookies and share your OAT and delicious cookies with someone special. Awesomeness all around!

Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats

​In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
recipe from Bittersweet1, Allrecipes

Bob is back!
This message is for those who loved the story of Bob and his flashlight as much as I did. You are in for a treat.  Ann and John Hassett's latest book continues the saga of this winsome protagonist.  In this installment readers meet his new companion: a rock.
Yes, Bob has a rock.
​​​If you haven't read Goodnight Bob stop right now and read this charming picture book before continuing. I'll wait.

The Pet Rock craze continues to flourish in several iterations. Young crafters can purchase a kit with materials and instructions for creating a painted rock resembling an animal.

Several retail outlets offer an assortment of unique hand painted rocks. I spied a few at the Arkansas Garvan Woodlands Gardens gift shop.

The Kindness Rocks Project encourages individuals to paint rocks with inspiring messages and leave them for others to find. The website provides guidelines and tips for creating your own Kindness Rocks.  You will also find a photo album of Kindness rocks as well as a map for locating sites where kindness rocks have been deposited. Participants are encouraged to share photos of rock creations as well as add a pin to the U.S. map of rock locations.
​An engaging and interactive craft project!

Charlotte and the Rock

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Stick and Stone

​Each year during the San Diego Comic-Con, winners of the prestigious Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are announced. Recognition is awarded to outstanding comics and comic-related materials published during the previous year. Among the many categories, this year's nominees include a stellar group of comics published for early readers.
​Take a look at one of the nominees for this year's award.

Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World by James Sturm introduces readers to the playground antics of two friends: Ape and Armadillo. As Agents of Evil, they devise a scheme to combat the evil forces of the world. However, there is a problem. Armadillo has developed his own special plan. Ape will combat the evil-doers. Armadillo will sweep in afterward, assuming the role of the conquering hero.
This is not working so well for Ape and he objects. It's unfair!
There follows a discussion on the meaning of "unfair" and what is a "good idea" entails. Eventually the friends compromise, negotiating a plan that both agree will work. Engaging characters, sparkling dialog that zings when read aloud, great action scenes which include a space cannon, plenty of gentle humor, and ice cream, make this a sure-fire hit for young readers.
Bonus: There are also dogs. Lots of dogs.
World domination like you've never experienced it.

I have planned a few workshops and storytimes to take place this summer. One workshop will be with a group of teens and a separate storytime will be for children whose ages span a wide range. I plan to use this book along with the comic panel templates and prompts. While the book is specifically geared to younger readers, the concepts translate well with middle grade and teens interested in creating their own comics.

​Thanks James Sturm and Toon Books for this fantastic leveled comic for early readers.

Burt's Way Home
​by James Martz

The Creeps: The Trolls Will Feast
​by ​Chris Schweizer

I'm Grumpy
​by Jennifer L. Holm &
​Matthew Holm

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea
​by Ben Clanton

It's frogs. It's France. It's the irresistible aroma of freshly baked bread. It's an understanding mother. It's eye-popping illustrations. It's wordplay and rhyming.
​
It's Nanette's Baguette.  

​It's Mo Willems at his best.

​Check out this stop motion video of Willem's paper-crafted recreation for the French village that is featured in his latest picture book.
​C'est magnifique!

Meet Narwhal and Jelly. Together they form one of the most unlikely friendships that you will ever encounter.
One would think that the fun-loving narwhal would have little in common with a jellyfish. That would be a mistake. They are aquatic friends who share a love for... waffles.
​How Clanton ever came up with the idea of this unlikely friendship escapes me. But it works. Completely and charmingly works.

​Narwhal decides to form a pod: a group of friends to share a love of waffles and ocean adventures.
All that is needed to become a member of this auspicious group is a tusk tooth. Among all the other ocean dwellers, not one has this distinctive feature. Fortunately Narwhal is equipped with a supply of faux horns so that all of his friends may join in the fun.

​Through a series of short stories, told in panel form, readers share in the adventures of Narwhal and his friends. It's the perfect early graphic novel form for young readers, a delightful introduction to some interesting aquatic animals, and an excellent choice for Early Readers.
​
Filled with friendship, puns, and fun. In the words of Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea this book is podtastic!

Hello Dick. Hello Jane. These familiar figures bring back memories of my early reading experience.
​I spent countless hours in my first grade reading circle going through page after never-ending page, following along as Jane instructed Dick to "Look Dick. Look." Look and Look and Look and Look.
It's a wonder that I ever managed to find reading engaging after all those hours of "Look Dick. Look Jane." Well to be fair, there was Sally. Sometimes we got to look with Sally.
I have this lovely standee to remember the days that I spend with this little duo. I actually enjoy this piece of nostalgia so I'll keep the standee. Fortunately, years ago I discarded those painfully repetitive readers. Once I discovered the magic of stories which captured my imagination and engaged my mind there was no going back.

Time to good-and-truly say goodbye to my childhood friends Dick and Jane.  Now there are so many excellent choices in books for Early Readers. I love this new series from Disney Hyperion: Elephant & Piggie Like Reading. Each title features an introduction from Mo Willems and concludes with response to the story from Elephant & Piggie. It's a brilliant concept and great new direction for a well-loved series.  Students have already loved the covers off of the Elephant & Piggie books.  So this seems like a terrific match.

Now this is what an early reader should look like: a bright cover with crazy cartoon characters: Hippo, Croc, Squirrels. Each is sporting an impressive set of teeth. Why teeth? Because there are cookies.  Of course, there should always be cookies.
The what-should-be-simple task of sharing three cookies becomes complicated when the number of friends exceeds three. What to do?
Things get crazy. Things get violent. It becomes a fiasco. (Isn't that just the best word ever?)
Mental machinations will keep readers puzzling and thinking. The only thing better to accompany this book is a plate of homemade cookies.
Who knew that Santat could make  learning to read  delicious?

In the summer heat, my herb plants are looking a little dilapidated, but they seemed like the perfect background for Laurie Keller's book about grass.  Yes, grass. I never suspected that watching grass grow could be fun.
Until....
The sound effects start up (in giant bold letters) comencing as each blade began to grow "Boing!" " Ping!" "Bam!" "Zap!"
That's when the competition heats up with each blade of grass attempting to outgrow all the other blades of grass.
Trust me, it's really funny.
How will this contest of blades end?  Readers who examine the cover will find a hint.
​Great fun with grass.