Duck on a Bike: For the ridiculous in all of us

Title:  Duck on a Bike
Author: David Shannon
Age Range: 3-6
Genre: Picture book

I like picture books that crack me up.  I do spend a lot of time reading them, so when I do, there are many a time when I like to be entertained.  This book entertains me with its pictures, its story line and its ending.  It's darn funny and pretty cute.

My daughter #2 has loved this book for over a year.  She can read it herself and there are many days where I catch her in the corner giggling while she reads this book.  The story itself is simple; one day, Duck gets it into her head that she can ride a bike, so she starts riding.  When the other animals see her, they make comments ranging from "You're not as fast as me" or "I wish I could ride like duck."  In reality, all the animals are slightly jealous of her bike riding skill and don't really know what to do with it.

In the end, the other animals take the opportunity themselves to ride bikes, when they are presented with a mess of bikes waiting for them in front of the house.  They ride themselves and have a blast. The last illustration with all the animals on their backs, enjoying themselves riding around is one of the funniest pictures ever.  The illustrations in the book will definitely tickle your fancy and you may find yourself wanting to read this book, even when your child has not demanded it.

Zinnia's Flower Garden: For the green thumb wannabe in me

Title:  Zinnia's Flower Garden
Author: Monica Wellington
Illustrator: Monica Wellington
Age Range: 3-5
Genre: Picture books

I generally kill plants.  I can't keep them alive.  Both my parents have green thumbs, evidenced by the beautiful gardens that they maintain, but I do not do well at growing things.  As such, my daughters don't really understand the concept of growing and maintaining a garden, which is one reason why I love this book so much.

In this book, Zinnia decides to create a beautiful flower garden.  She goes through all the steps of turning over the dirt, removing the stones, making rows, planting seeds, watering, and then waiting for the flowers to bloom.  At the end, when all of her flowers are blooming, she sets up a little stand and allows people to come in and pick a bucket of flowers, sharing her beautiful floral bounty.  When my 4 year old daughter saw that, she said, "I wish I could have a garden like that to share flowers with everyone."  It made my heart sink a bit, because I knew that it wasn't likely going to be in her future, given where we live.

In addition, there are illustrations explaining the life cycle of the butterfly, different types of clouds, and diagrams identifying the many different parts of the flowers.  The illustrations are very cute and informative and provide an additional layer of information, for someone who is a bit older.  The illustrations combine use of photographs of real plants as well as beautiful colorful bright art.  The eye is immediately drawn to the book for its of color and contrast.

It's a cute little gem of a book, especially wonderful for anyone who WANTS to learn how to create a garden, or perhaps for someone who wishes to have their own garden but cannot.

Where's Spot?: Get the scotch tape ready

Title: Where's Spot?
Author: Eric Hill
Illustrator: Eric Hill
Age Range:1-4
Genre: Picture book, lift the flap

My daughter was 3 months when I started this book with her. I remember that I took her to the hospital in Hong Kong for one of her checkups and sat with her on my lap reading this book to her to keep her entertained.  Her eyes were huge and she just stared at the pictures as if in awe.  The lift-the-flap action of this book of course makes it even more fun. Now it is my 2 year old son that loves this book. He knows what is under each of the flaps now, as he has been looking at the book for well over a year.  He loves finding spot at the very end and giggles with laughter when he discovers him.

The plot has Spot not eating his dinner and his mother wants him to come and eat.  The readers go through the house, looking in various places where he could be, like in the clock, or under the bed, or in the closet, lifting a flap and revealing another animal there, like lion, monkey, or snake.  You continue looking and then you find him at the end.  You can expand the value of the book by asking questions about what animal is under there, having your child practice memory and prediction.  Verbal dialogue around a book is always tremendously valuable.

The flaps do get worn out pretty quickly, which is why I would probably recommend getting the soft cover vs. the hardcover so you can get multiple copies.  My own three children have gone through two soft covers.  It is a must for any new baby, and perfect for anyone who needs to give a gift for an expectant mother.

Soft cover


Hard cover

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go: My brother's favorite book

Title:  Cars and Trucks and Things That Go
Author: Richard Scarry
Illustrator: Richard Scarry
Age Range: 1-5
Genre: Picture book

This is the book that my brother and I would look at the most growing up.  We loved this book.  The pictures were silly, the cars were unique and exciting, and finding Goldbug hidden on every single page was a fun little project.  I do remember that my brother was always able to locate Goldbug before I was able to, even though we had read the book multiple times.  The two of us would hold the book on our laps (it's a big book) and scan the pages pointing out silly cars, and looking for the elusive, tiny, rare Goldbug.  It made for a fun activity and it never grew old.

This is a classic and one that I never tire giving.  Before there was the Pixar movie Cars, there was this book with all its imaginary cars like Donut Car, Pickle Car, Cheese Car, Carrot Car (driven by a Rabbit no less) among many other ones.  The basic story is that the Pig Family is going on a car trip and along the way they see a train yard with its many trains, a farm with its bustle of activity, an airport, and all the different places where multiple vehicles can be seen.  It's a fun book filled with so many things to see that little boys and girls love pointing them out.  The story itself is cute and entertaining, but often takes a backseat to studying the different pictures in the book.  Nevertheless, this is a book that will get lots of use in your house and provide lots of moments of enjoyment.

Mercy Watson to the Rescue: Pigs are cute and funny too.

Title: Mercy Watson to the Rescue
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Chris Van Dusen
Age range: 4-8
Genre: Early chapter books

I really struggle with the books for my oldest daughter, who is in kindergarten but is a strong reader.  I find that there is a disconnect between books that she can read and ones that I think have good and decent content within the pages.  Some books have too much attitude,  poor grammar, or overall just sassiness that I'm not keen on my daughter absorbing when she's only 5, almost 6.

These books were a complete joy to find for me, as they were super engaging for my daughter when she was able to read chapter books.  They are good and clean in content.  They are also beautifully and humorously illustrated by Chris Van Dusen, with pictures that make you just want to have your own pet pig.  While watching my daughter read it, I would peer over her shoulder and say, "Would you like to have your own pig too?"

Mercy does not speak, except to say oink, but she does display some other human type characteristics.  She sleeps in a bed, loves toast with butter, and can fix herself her own breakfast if necessary.  She is the pet pig of Mr. and Mrs. Watson, and she is doted on and loved by them.  There are some interesting characters who live next door, the Eugenia and Baby Lincoln, two elderly people who are not so keen on Mercy.  In this book, Mr. and Mrs. Watson are in bed sleeping with Mercy, when suddenly the bed falls through the floor because of the sheer weight.  Mercy is the only one who can help them, and she does, although she does not intend to.  She leaves the house in search of more hot buttered toast, and somehow in her own special pig madcap way manages to get the fire department to her home to save Mr. and Mrs. Watson.

Kate DiCamillo has six books in this charming series, and all of them are funny with Mercy acting special in each one. 

First Book


Second Book


Third Book


Fourth Book


Fifth Book


Sixth Book

Crispin The Cross of Lead: Making history come alive!

Title: Crispin The Cross of Lead
Author: Avi
Age Range: 9-12
Genre: Historical Fiction

I will confess immediately, that in high school, history was one of my least favorite subjects.  I forced myself to study, but the dates, the REASONS why things happened the way they did, the cause and effects all were not my cup of tea.   I preferred thinking about other things, namely reading books.  In retrospect, I wish I had read more historical fiction while growing up as I think it would have changed how I perceived history.  The smaller stories of how history affected individuals lives is much more interesting to me, and somehow makes history that much more palatable.

I know I am not alone in this, as I talk to many of my students and many say that they do not enjoy history.  For them, this book may be a bit hard, as it is strongly detailed in historical facts, even though the story itself is fiction. In the book takes place in the 1300's, and in it,  Asta's Son, whom we later find out is Crispin, is forced to run away from the small feudal village of which he is a part.  He is framed as a criminal, and the head steward of that village is out to get him.  It is not clear why the steward needs to kill him, but it becomes clear that he is absolutely committed to getting rid of Crispin.

Crispin is forced to run away, in dirty clothes, with no money, no food, and no ability to read or write.  He runs and somehow meets a huge hulk of a man, Bear, who takes him under his wing.  Bear is a wonderful protector of Crispin, although Crispin initially does not trust Bear, nor does he want to be at all a part of Bear's life.  In the end, Crispin risks everything to save Bear, as Bear has done his utmost to save Crispin from the steward.

It is a thrilling book with lots of rich historical details.  However, there is quite a bit of violence in the book, images of men decaying in the gallows, heads cut off, and bloody wounds.  Some of the ideas may also be a bit complex - an orphan child with no parents, whom we discover is actually born out of wedlock to a noble lady who was basically taken (as in raped) without her consent.  The words rape, sex are not used in the book, but are in the background as things that will come up, because it is revealed that Crispin is actually the illegitimate bastard son of the Lord Furnival, a debauched, less-than-lovely character.

It is a wonderfully complex book to read, with rich historical details and may perhaps inspire someone to become slightly more interested in history. 

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup: Reading can make you hungry

Title: Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
Author: Sharon Creech
Age Range: 9-12
Genre: Fiction, Stream of consciousness style

Okay, so maybe this book appeals to me because almost the entire book takes place in the kitchen.  Granny Torrelli and her granddaughter Rose spend time together cooking.  I like to cook and spend time with friends so this would appeal to me for that reason.  But the book has much more than meets the eye.  The print is surprisingly large and the book is divided into very short chapters.  Initial examination would lead one to think that this is a simple, babyish book.  But that is not what is there.

The book explores several relationships.  The first relationship is between granddaughter Rose and her Granny Torrelli.  This relationship is clearly one of love, affection and respect and it is a wonderful one to watch unfold.  Granny Torrelli is very aware of Rose's needs and her heart's desires and helps Rose to grapple with tough emotional situations by sharing experiences from her own life growing up.  She speaks with a charming Italian accent, which Sharon Creech does a marvelous job incorporating into the book.  The second relationship is the relationship between Rose and her best friend Bailey, who happens to be blind.  The two have been friends forever, since babies, and are fast friends even though they go to separate schools.  For Rose, there is no one else but Bailey, so when someone new comes to the neighborhood, her "tiger self" (as she calls it) comes out and she is jealous.  She has to fight the feelings of jealousy and understand what it means to have friendships.

The final relationship is Rose's understanding of herself.  One of the wonderful things that Sharon Creech does in the book show Rose's own inner conflict and tensions with her own character and desires.  I think it is wonderful to show that people are often conflicted and that choices are not always easy.  Rose's emotions are readily open for all to see, and not all the emotions are the simple ones.  She experiences jealousy, disappointment, pain, rejection and the reader can see how Rose feels as she goes through these situations. 

I love this book.  The reading is not difficult (unless someone has a problem figuring out what all the Italian means, but Creech does a great job with this), but the stream of consciousness style may be a bit difficult for some readers to follow.  This would be a wonderful bedtime read aloud book with your child as you could talk about what Rose is going through and use it as a jumping point for some honest discussion.