September, a month of beginnings, finds me celebrating a newborn and a young teacher who finally has her own classroom. Both will have book showers, parties that provide a wonderful occasion to share story memories and create a library that will last forever.
Lindsey Craig’s Dancing Feet! (Knopf, ages 0-3) has silly sounds and bright collaged characters who dance across the page—ladybug’s “tippity, tippity”; elephan’ts “stompity, stompity” and duck’s “slappity slappity” in a choreographed masterpiece that inspires drama and movement.
Denise Fleming’s Sleepy Oh So Sleepy (Holt, ages 0-2) pairs what babies love best (animals) and least( sleeping). Fleming’s rich paintings show animal babies and their parents snuggling into rest. It encourages naming, sound-making and the title words appear throughout as a lulling coda.
Karen Katz’s Where Is Baby’s Belly Button (Little Simon, ages 0-2) is a large board book that makes it easy for small fingers to lift the flaps so babies can find and label the eyes, mouths, feet, hands and belly buttons of adorable babies who come in all hue and mood.
Leslie Patricelli’s chunky mini board books come stacked in a tower Baby’s Tower Book (Candlewick, ages 0-2). These books are both building blocks and knowledge-building tools. A cartoon baby guides fellow learners with a silly take on moods, behavior, noises and tastes. No No Yes Yes, for example, labels food eating with affirmatives and dumping food on one’s head with negatives.
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm (Random House, ages 9-12) highlights the era and oddities of 1930’s Key West as seen through the eyes of 11-year-old Turtle. There’s lots of humor as Turtle lives up to her nickname—she’s tough on the outside with a soft heart that yearns for home and family.
Yasmin’s Hammer (Lee and Low, ages 8-10) by Ann Malaspina introduces a Bangladeshi girl who misses her rural home destroyed by a cyclone and longs for schooling. She must work in the city, breaking up bricks to help support her family. Yasmin’s dreams and determination finally change her life.
David Schwartz & Yael Schy’s What in the Wild? Mysteries of Nature Concealed…and Revealed (Tricycle, ages 7-10) blends varied poetic styles with mystery, science and amazing photographs that help young nature detectives view patterns and creatures in the enviroment.
The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-fu Cavemen from the Future by Dav Pilkey (Blue Sky, ages 6-10) is written by the beloved creator of the Captain Underpants series. This new graphic novel launches laughs and action with its silly take on science and history.