Fall Mixed Up, Bob Raczka (Carolrhoda, 2011, ages 3-5)
The rhymes and illustrations describe fall in a confused way. The book begins, “Every Septober/ Every Octember/ Fall fills my sense with/ scenes to remember.” Children will delight in righting this confused seasonal view where apples turn orange and leaves float up.
Mama, Why? , Karma Wilson (McElderry, 2011, ages 2-4)
This rhyming, lulling bedtime book has dreamy illustrations with a series of sleepy time questions between a calming mother polar bear and her curious cub.
Press Here, Herve Tullet (Chronicle, 2011, ages 3-5)
An interactive book without flaps and frippery? Easy directions start on the first page which suggests, “Press here.” When you press the picture of the single yellow dot then turn the page, you’ll find two yellow dots. Shake, turn, tilt and surprises appear in response just like magic.
Tweak, Tweak, Eve Bunting (Clarion, 2011, ages 3-5)
Curious Little Elephant walks through the jungle with her mother’s tail in trunk. The small pachyderm’s patient mother asks her to “tweak twice” when a question arises. Through some wonderful wondering and tender responses, Little Elephant finds out much about the world and herself.
11 Experiments That Failed, Jenny Offill & Nancy Carpenter (Schwartz and Wade, 2011, ages 5-9)
The thoughtful heroine from 17 Things I’m Not Allowed To Do Anymore! is back with eleven child-based experiments. Quirky questions, humorous hypotheses lead to improbable processes and riotous results. The intrepid young scientist enters the back of her closet to check fungus growing in her brothers sneakers and takes up residence in the bathroom when she discovers what happens when you try to clean dishes in the washing machine.
Amanda and Her Alligator! Mo Willems (Balzer and Bray, 2011, ages 4-7)
Willems short readable first chapter book is long on laughter, fun and friendship. Meet Amanda, a girl with a few tricks up her sleeve and Alligator, her stuffed toy, who’s also full of surprises.
Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake, Michael B. Kaplan, (Dial, 2011 ages 4-8)
Betty Bunny falls in love with chocolate cake so hard, she “wants to marry it”. Her obsession completely colors her life at home and school with silly situations and funny dialogues.
Won-Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku, Lee Wardlaw (Holt, 2011, ages 5-9)
Won Ton is not a shy Siamese, but a feisty feline not quite sure about leaving his home at the pound. “letmeoutletme/outletmeoutletmeout...” he cries in an early haiku and then learns to adjust in thirty-three other linked haikus that are just as striking and creative.
A Butterfly is Patient, Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long (Chronicle, 2011, ages 5-9)
This collaboration of author and artist is just as magnificent as the previous two. Their views of butterflies are absorbing, thoughtful and lyrical in text and illustration.
All the water in the world, George Ella Lyon (Atheneum, 2011, ages 5-7)
A lyrical look at the water cycle from rain “that cascaded from clouds” until it “opened into the ocean”. This bit of science is presented with unusual graphic layouts, poetic word choices, and a rich mélange of blue dominated patterns.
Can We Save the Tiger? , Martin Jenkins (Candlewick, 2011, ages 8 and up)
An oversized book with stunning illustrations by Vicky White has a powerful text that invites readers to consider the complexities of the plight of endangered animals. The balance is amazing illustratively, in the diversity of subjects and in avoiding oversimplification of the many issues.
Ten Little Caterpillars, Bill Martin, Jr. and Lois Ehlert (Beach Lane, 2011, ages 2-5)
This early non-fiction has the pleasing elements young children love. Rhythm and rhyme, counting, bright bold illustrations, and creepy crawlies. There’s a splendid metamorphosis at story’s end and pages that inspire caterpillar identification.
All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel, Dan Yaccarino (Knopf, 2011, ages 5-8)
The author-illustrator traces his Italian family’s immigration. Throughout he credits hard work and a shovel passed through the generations. This book is a great way to talk about your family’s values, symbols and stories.
Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend: A Civil Rights Story, Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Bettye Stroud (Candlewick, 2011, ages 6-9)
Alex meets an old woman who tells him that Belle, an ancient grazing mule, is the hero of Gee’s Bend. Little by little she reveals the story of how a stirring 1965 speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. motivated “Benders” to act like Belle, “strong and steady, and stubborn” in fighting for their civil rights. And how finally, Belle pulled King’s casket through the streets of Atlanta. The book’s poignant conversation is a great introduction to talking about the era and the issues.
Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed Their World, Allan Drummond (FSG, ages 7 and up)
The captivating young voice of the young student describes the amazing transition of his Danish island to energy independence through wind power. The breezy voice and wind-swept illustrations inspire talking about this true story and general conversations about energy saving.
Tales for Very Picky Eaters, Josh Schneider (Clarion, 2011, ages 5-8)
Five short chapters show the extreme picky eating of James and his father’s gift for imagination, humor and storytelling so amazing that he can get his reluctant son gobbling. A great story to relieve the stress of difficult dining experiences.
The House Baba Built: An Artist’s Childhood in China, Ed Young (Little Brown, 2011, ages 9 and up)
A mix of media, colors, feelings and textures allow young readers to imagine Ed Young’s early life in 1931 China. All is told in terms of the Shanghai home his father built and expresses a child’s magical view of war, family, storytelling, and more. Memoir, unusual in picture books, may spur conversations about past homes and growing up years.
Binky Under Pressure, Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press, 2011, ages 5 and up)
Binky’s third graphic novel won’t disappoint fans of the Space Cat as he fights to defend his food, space and reputation against the striped alien cat who’s invaded his home.
Coral Reefs, Jason Chin (Roaring Brook, 2011, ages 5-9)
Chin’s second exploration pairs a non-fiction style examination of coral reefs with illustrations that show a young girl so swept up in reading and researching them that she’s surprised when she’s swept away by a coral reef growning in the library around her.
Lost and Found, Shaun Tan and John Marsden, (Scholastic, ages 11 and up)
Three previously-published stories are collected to wow sophisticated American audiences with the amazing imagery of these Aussie artists. Enter strange worlds where metaphors are as intricate and captivating as the stories themselves. The title story became a short that won Tan an Academy Award this year.
Red Sled, Lita Judge (Atheneum, 2011, ages 3-5)
This near-wordless book has theatrical sounds and visually exciting illustrations that serve as great vehicles for family storytelling. What happens when a handsome red sled rests invitingly against a cottage in a snowy woods? Adventures and fun for animals and a child, too.
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures, Caroline Preston, (Ecco, ages 14 to adult)
A penchant for collecting memorabilia, a blank scrapbook and an inherited Corona portable are all the tools Frankie Pratt needs to capture her 1920’s coming of age. This book is as much fun for viewing the era as for learning Frankie’s story.
A Nation’s Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis, Matt De La Pena (Dial, ages 8-11)
Rhythmic cadences and striking art capture an era, the life of fighter Joe Louis, and a moment in time when his 1938 victory against German Max Shelling became a symbol to people all over America.
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade, Melissa Sweet (Houghton Mifflin, 2011, ages 6-9)
Unique type-face, handmade toys, collages and drawings from across time make a fabulous background for a series of frames of watercolor drawings that trace the life and process of Tony Sarg, a man driven by inventing how to make things move and the force behind the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto, Susan Goldman Rubin (Holiday House, 2011, ages 9- adult)
In 1940, Irena, horrified by the treatment of the Jews in Warsaw became determined to do whatever she could to save them. The many stories of her imaginative and courageous rescues make for fascinating inspiring reading.
Queen of the Falls, Chris Van Allsburg (Houghton Mifflin, 2011, ages 9-adult)
Chris Van Allsburg’s famous for intiating wondering and he follows this tradtion with his first biography. First he chooses an unusual subject, Annie Edson Taylor who, at 62 decided she’d fund her retirement by going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Van Allsburg builds both drama and determination. In the end, however, his heroine is real rather than larger-than-life for Taylor succeeds in surviving the falls, but not in providing future income.
Charles Dickens: England’s Most Captivating Storyteller, Catherine Wells-Cole, (Candlewick,2011 ages 10 and up)
Flipping pages, letters to open and mini-books reveal much about Dickens as a man and writer as well as his era. The text is as involving as the gimmicks.
The Encyclopedia of My Immaturity: Your Own Personal Diary (Klutz Press, 2011, ages 9 and up)
There are journals and then there is the journal of immaturity. Know your self better by circling your responses to everything from alarm clocks to your babyhood reaction to dirty diapers. There’s space for entries about everything from your grandparents’ exploits to an incident you’d never do again. This is a journal where writing and laughter go hand in hand!
Feel the Force! Tom Adams and Thomas Flintham (Candlewick, 2011, ages 8 and up)
Tiny sound bites of information about force add to a giant amount of knowledge. The authors give friction, pressure, sound and light reality with playful child-centric examples and experiment suggestions besides!
Moo, Matthew Van Fleet, (Simon and Schuster, 2011, ages 2 and up)
Push, pull, hear and feel—a multi-sensory exploration of farm animals. The simple text has rhymes and rhythms, but the best noises might come sound-making that the wonderful photographs inspire.
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: 14 Amazing Authors Tell the Tales, Chris van Allsburg (Houghton Mifflin, 2011, ages 11 and up)
Twenty-seven years after the intriguing subtitled illustrations appeared, writers from Cory Doctorow to Stephen King imagine stories to go with them.
Knick-Knack Paddy Wack! Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky (Dial, 2011, ages 3-5)
Lots of flaps, tabs, and a number of hidden “old men” pop-up ready to be counted. A very active version of the lively song.
Michael Hague’s Treasured Classics, Michael Hague (Chronicle, 2011, ages 3-8)
Fifteen familiar tales (from “Chicken Licken” to “Cinderella”) find fabulously rich illustrative detailing that celebrates nature with brilliant colors that this becomes an heirloom book.
The Nightingale, Hans Christian Andersen, illustrations by Pirkko Vainio (North South, 2011, ages 6-8)
The tale’s traditional telling is well-matched by the illustrator whose soft watercolors accent the Chinese setting, the glittery mechanical bird and its contrast with the power of the natural world.
The Third Gift, Linda Sue Park (Clarion, 2011, ages 7 and up)
Bagram Ibatoulline pictures a spare Middle Eastern setting that fits Park’s text of a boy who helps his father collect “tears”—“the pearls of sap that seep out of a tree when the bark is cut.” The boy’s first harvest is a tear as large as a hen’s egg, scented with “a sharp, bitter sweetness”. The story makes contextual sense when the tear is sold to three foreign men who add this gift of myrrh to the gold and frankincense they will carry to a baby far way.
Chanukah Lights, Michael J. Rosen and Robert Sabuda (Candlewick, 2011, ages 5 and up)
The author’s simple poetic tones and the paper engineer’s elegant illustrations transport children around the world and through time showing the spirit of the holiday everywhere from the desert to a crowded shetel.
A Christmas Tree for Pyn, Olivier Dunrea (Philomel, 2011 ages 6 and up)
Young Pyn lives “with a big gruff bear of a man” who insists on being called Oother, not Papa. Pym readies their cottage and despite her father’s grumbling and grudging help, she finds a perfect tree. To Pym’s found decorations, Oother adds a beautiful bird “made from real feathers with two black beads for eyes and two long feathers streaming from behind”, a gift he’d once given her mother. As a final gift Oother urges Pyn to call him Papa. Papa’s unstated grief, unexpressed love and finally, his transformation, celebrates the magic of the holiday.