books books books
Arden would happily spend all day every day reading—though he would request that we also provide "milkinabottlewarmedup." We make great use of the library, and Michael started a list in case Arden wants to repeat a book but we can't readily recall the title or author. (Now we'll also use it to get out great ones that Zayne hasn't seen.) Once he started the list, it made sense to annotate a little. This list is from Michael's perspective only; Arden literally has never met a book he didn't like. He'll read brochures, maps, even junk mail.
Agee, Jon. Milo's hat trick.
Clever story and interesting art.
Asch, Frank. Like a windy day.
Beautiful art and readable text.
Asch, Frank. Moonbear's dream.
Good joke and pretty art.
Asch, Frank. Moon game.
Moonbear plays Hide and Seek with the moon. Cute art and fun plot.
Bailey, Linda. Stanley's party.
Fun book about a dog who throws a party when the owners are away.
Beck, Scott. Pepito the brave.
Happy message and cute illustrations. Simple and delightful.
Brown, Margaret Wise, 1910-1952. Two little trains.
Wonderful to read and pleasing, clever art.
Bruss, Deborah. Book! book! book!.
A good pun story.
Bryan, Ashley. Beautiful blackbird.
Readable and strong graphics.
Burton, Virginia Lee, 1909-1968. Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel.
A classic with a wonderful story. One of Arden's favorites.
Burton, Virginia Lee, 1909-1968. Katy and the big snow.
Not as classic as Mike Mulligan. The art is detailed and spare, but the story is a little spare, too. Still Arden loves it.
Burton, Virginia Lee, 1909-1968. Choo choo.
Not great. The art is detailed and spare, but the story is too long. It's about trains, though.
Buzzeo, Toni. Little Loon and Papa.
Simple story about a loon learning to swim. Nothing special, but a good father/son story.
Chen, Zhiyuan, 1975-. Guji Guji
A moral about choosing your own path in the world.
Clerk, Jessica. The wriggly, wriggly baby.
Good reading text about a baby who goes walkabout. Inventive illustrations to match.
Cohen, Miriam. Down in the subway.
Readable and fun with exuberant art and text.
Cole, Henry. Jack's garden.
"This is the garden that Jack planted." Beautiful illustrations of gardening, plants and tools.
Coy, John, 1958-. Vroomaloom zoom.
Simple and readable. Arden liked it but it's not fantastic.
Crews, Donald. Freight train.
Super-popular. Little text and very graphical art.
Crum, Shutta. The house in the meadow.
Wonderful story, readable, and pretty.
Crunk, Tony. Grandpa's overalls.
Goofy text and a fun read.
Degan, Bruce. Jamberry.
Happy illustrations, nice rhyming text.
Duncan, Lois, 1934-. Song of the circus.
A great story about kids and bravery.
Edwards, Pamela Duncan. Warthogs paint : a messy color book.
Graphical and readable.
Egan, Tim. Friday night at Hodges' café.
A very grown up story about getting along.
Elliott, David, 1947-. And here's to you!
Wonderful text and illustrations!
Fleming, Candace. Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
Funny gardening story and repeatable lines.
Gliori, Debi. Flora's surprise!
Hoping to grow a house, Flora plants a brick. Lovely garden-themed story with exuberant artwork.
Gordon, David. The ugly truckling.
A twist on the classic, with wonderful paintings. Great for truck lovers.
Gurney, John. Dinosaur train.
Nice and short. Cute art and story. Very simple, but it covers two popular obsessions...
Hassett, John and Ann. Mouse in the house.
Amusing story with clever repetition, a clever twist ending and silly detailed drawings.
Heine, Helme. The most wonderful egg in the world.
Short amusing story about what you do being more important than how you look. With very nice illustrations.
Hendrick, Mary Jean. If anything ever goes wrong at the zoo.
A clever tale when the zoo comes home. Illustrations could have been funnier, but the story is amusing.
Henkes, Kevin. Chester's way.
A story about making new friends. Good for repeated readings.
Hillenbrand, Will. Down by the station.
Unimaginative text taken from the song, but cute illustrations about animals going to the children's zoo.
Ireland, Karin. Don't take your snake for a stroll.
Silly text and fun illustrations.
Keller, Laurie. The scrambled states of America.
One of Arden's favorites. Detailed paintings and it's taught him where all the states are.
Kelly, Mij. William and the night train.
Illustrations are nice and rhyming text is cute, but it doesn't go the whole nine yards. Too bad, because it had major potential.
Kent, Jack. The caterpillar and the polliwog.
Clever story, though it doesn't quite finish out as strong as it should.
Kolar, Bob. Racer dogs.
Great text and fun illustrations. Good for reading over and over. A favorite.
Konnecke, Ole. Anthony and the girls : translated from the German by Nancy Seitz.
Simple story and pictures about trying to get attention.
Kroll, Steven. The hokey-pokey man.
Adaptation of the story of the invention of the ice cream cone set in the Lower East Side. Arden loves it.
Lewis, Kevin. Chugga-chugga choo-choo.
Very intelligent illustrations and a good read-aloud text.
Long, Melinda. How I became a pirate.
A funny story. Arden is scared of it, though.
Marshall, James. George and Martha.
Wonderfully understated stories about two good friends.
McMullan, Kate. I stink!.
What could be better than a book written from the perspective of the trash truck!?
Nakamura, Katherine Riley. Song of night: it's time to go to bed.
Rhythmic train story with bright illustrations. Short and sweet.
Napoli, Donna Jo. Pink magic.
A magical story about a birthday wish and some loving siblings. And it even has room for boys who like pink and yellow.
Newell DePalma, Mary. A Grand Old Tree.
A cozy book about the circle of life and renewal. Engaging art and bright colors.
Newman, Patricia. Jingle the brass.
Not a super read, but it's a train book, so popular with Arden. Uses 1920's train lingo.
Numeroff, Laura Joffe. If you give a mouse a cookie.
Amusing chain of events and engaging illustrations.
Pattou, Edith. Mrs. Spitzer's garden.
A wonderful sweet story about teachers and lovely art.
Pym, Tasha. It's a monster party!
Bold graphical illustrations and a happy story.
Ray, Mary Lyn. All aboard!.
A girl and her stuffed rabbit ride a train. Cute.
Rex, Michael. My freight train.
Not great.
Root, Phyllis. One duck stuck.
Wonderful counting text and good art.
Seuss, Dr. There's a wocket in my pocket!
Classic Seuss!
Shannon, George. Tippy-toe chick, go!
An uplifting story about the littlest one doing good.
Shields, Carol Diggory. Food fight!
Rhyming puns and illustrations made from clay. You can't go wrong!
Shields, Carol Diggory. Martian rock.
Amusing story and strong illustrations.
Shields, Carol Diggory. Saturday night at the dinosaur stomp.
Wonderful readable text and strong illustrations.
Siebert, Diane. Train song.
Good text and nice paintings. Arden loves this text and recites it frequently.
Speed, Toby. Two cool cows.
Great text parody on the cow jumped over the moon. Fun illustrations.
Spence, Rob and Amy. Clickety clack.
Rhythmic train story with bright illustrations. Short and sweet.
Stojik, Manya. Rain.
Graphic paintings and a quick read about rain on the African savannah.
Stutson, Caroline. Night train.
Nothing special. Art's nice, but the text is lacking.
Taylor, Harriet Peck. Ulaq and the northern lights.
Simple artwork with introductions to myths about the aurora borealis.
Teague, Mark. Lost and Found.
A story about friends and imagination, with clever illustrations too!
Thomas, Shelley Moore. Good night, Good Knight.
A good story and this book taught Arden to say please.
Voake, Charlotte. Here comes the train.
Not a fantastic book, but Arden liked that it's about trainspotting.
Wallace, Nancy Elizabeth. Recycle every day!
Leaves, leaves, leaves.
Apples apples apples.
A taste of honey.
Dull reads but educational. And Arden loves them.
Weiss, Nicki. An egg is an egg.
Sweet rhyming text about love.
Wells, Rosemary. Bunny cakes.
Anything with Max and Ruby is great. Funny and re-readable.
Wells, Rosemary. Only you =: Sólo Tú.
Touching and sweet.
Wells, Rosemary. Read to your bunny.
Touching and sweet.
Wells, Rosemary. Ruby's beauty shop.
Anything with Max and Ruby is great. Funny and re-readable with a great ending.
Wells, Rosemary. Timothy's tales from Hilltop School.
Arden loves these, even though they're really for older kids.
Wells, Rosemary. Yoko.
A wonderful story about childhood and friendship. Plus it makes Arden want to eat sushi.
Wells, Rosemary. Yoko's paper cranes.
A touching story about immigration and grandparents.
Wilcoxen, Chuck. Niccolini's song.
A beautiful story about a man who sings lullabies to trains. Stunning art, too.
Willems, Mo. Don't let the pigeon drive the bus!.
What kid doesn't like to yell at the book? An interactive, fun book.
Wormell, Christopher. Puff, puff, chugga-chugga.
Not a fantastic story, but it's about a train, so Arden's happy. Soothing art.
Ziefert, Harriet. Train song.
Wonderful re-readable (recitable) text. It's one of Arden's favorites. The art's nothing special.
