Published by Greenwillow Books

Summary:  Waiting for spring can be hard.  There’s rain, mud, and sometimes, a brief return of winter.  But if you’re patient, you’ll see flowers blooming and eggs hatching, and you’ll feel the warm sun.  You’ll know it’s really spring when there are buds and bees and boots and bubbles; worms and wings and wind and wheels.  But you’re not done waiting, because then it’s time to wait for summer!  40 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  The husband and wife team of Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek has created a book that perfectly captures the slow unfolding of spring from winter. The soft, brightly-colored illustrations perfectly complement the brief, but descriptive, text. The spring endpapers at the beginning and summer ones at the end encapsulate the movement from one season to the next.

Cons:  Don’t read this book until at least late March, or you’ll be depressed when you look out your window.

Published by Carolrhoda Books 

Summary: Great-Grandmother Nell is 96 years old, and prickly enough to be kind of scary. Yet clearly her great-granddaughter, who narrates this book, loves her and is fascinated by her.  Great Grandmother insists on being called Great Grandmother.  She may be old, but she is still stylish, occasionally inviting her great granddaughter into her room for a little practice applying lipstick and wearing perfume.  Great Grandmother claims to remember every day of her 96 years, including the day her heart was broken when her best friend said they couldn’t be friends anymore because of Nell’s brown skin.  A wordless two-page spread shows some of her other memories, like the March on Washington and a performance by the Alvin Ailey dance company.  At the end, the narrator sneaks into her great grandmother’s room for a good night kiss while Great Grandmother is sleeping.  32 pages; grades 1-3.

Pros:  This is a great mentor text for characterization.  So many interesting details about Great Grandmother Nell really make her come alive for the reader, and also reveal a bit about the narrator.  The bold, colorful illustrations help flesh out both characters as well.

Cons: Some adult readers may be offended by the “glass with something that looks like apple juice” that Nell sips during the day and once offers to her great granddaughter.

Published by Tundra Books 

Summary: When the narrator of the story gets a pet hamster, she thinks it’s kind of boring—it only eats, sleeps, hides, and gets its shavings wet. Her imagination takes off as she starts to imagine the mythical creatures that might make really exciting pets.  The more she thinks about each one, though, the more she realizes it has a down side.  Unicorns are shy, a hippogriff could be disruptive at the dog park, a gryphon has to be flown every day without fail.  In the end, she concludes the hamster might not be so bad after all.  The final page clues the reader in that this may not be your ordinary hamster.  32 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  The rhyming text and colorful illustrations provide a fun introduction to a variety of mythical creatures.

Cons:  You might want to confirm the pronunciation of words like gryphon, kraken, and kirin before attempting this as a read-aloud.