Published by Schwartz & Wade Books 

Summary:  Poor Douglas.  When he and Nancy, his owner, are chasing squirrels, Douglas ends up chasing a leaf instead.  He blissfully ignores signs like “Wet Cement” and “No Dogs” at the skateboard park.  He’s even gone into the wrong house.  But when he mistakes a beehive for a ball during a game of fetch, it’s the last straw for Nancy.  She hustles him off to the eye doctor, where he fails the eye test and gets a prescription for glasses.  After enthusiastically trying many different frames, Douglas is all set with his new specs.  Like anyone who has experienced glasses for the first time, Douglas is amazed by all that he’s been missing.  The last two-page spread shows photos of real kids with glasses, and invites readers to post their own photos at #douglasyouneedglasses.

Pros:  A fast and funny read that would be perfect for anyone who’s been having a little trouble seeing the board.

Cons:  Douglas’s nearsighted foray into the wrong house hit a little too close to home for this nearsighted reader who once wandered into the wrong hotel room in France while not wearing her glasses.

Published by Dial Books

Summary:  The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles has an important, if lonely, job.  He removes the corks from bottles found in the ocean and delivers the messages to the addressees.  Although he loves his work, the Uncorker wishes he could find a message addressed to him.  Since he doesn’t even have a name, this seems unlikely.  But one day he finds a message with no name on it; it’s an invitation to a party to be held at the beach the next evening.  The Uncorker goes to work, asking around to see if it belongs to anyone.  No one knows about it, but everyone thinks a party seems like a good idea.  That night, the Uncorker goes to the beach to apologize to the sender for not delivering the message.  When he gets there, he discovers a gathering of all the people he asked about the party.  He has such a good time that night that he leaves planning to deliver the same message again the next day.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Beautiful language and voice used to tell a captivating story of new friendship.  The illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Erin E. Stead perfectly capture the dreamy, seaside quality of the text.

Cons:  How did the Uncorker wind up with no name?

Published by Chronicle Books

Summary:  “The cat walked through the world, with its whiskers, ears, and paws…”  So begins this study in perception and point of view.  The refrain is repeated throughout the book, always followed by, “and a child saw the cat,” or “and a dog saw the cat,” and so on, with the illustrations showing how that particular creature sees the cat.  To a child, the cat is friendly and furry, with big round eyes.  To the mouse, it’s a fearsome monster with pointy claws and teeth, surrounded by red.  The fish sees a blurry cat through the water, and the flea is surrounded by a world of cat fur.  Finally, the cat comes to some water, looks in, and the reader is asked, “and imagine what it saw?”  44 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  Even the youngest readers will enjoy the cat in its various incarnations, and older readers will get to think about questions about observation and perception.

Cons:  This is more of a thinking exercise than a real story.

Published by Little Bee Books

Summary:  Young Josette Bobette lives in a house filled with paintings, many of them portraits of family members.  One day she realizes that there are no portraits of her stuffed rabbit Pepette, so she goes out into the streets of Paris to try to find a painter.  It’s the 1920’s, when artists were everywhere, so she has no trouble finding someone who will do the portrait.  Each man has his own style, but none satisfies Josette and Pepette.  Returning home at the end of the day, Josette decides the only way to get what she wants is to do it herself.  She gets out her own box of paints, and pretty soon Pepette’s portrait is hanging with the other family members’.  An author’s note identifies the various painters Josette meets as Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Henri Matisse.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A charming story, as well as an introduction to the works of early 20^th century artists.

Cons:  It’s hard to get a sense of the artists’ styles from the small pictures of Pepette that are in the illustrations.

Published by Alfred A. Knopf 

Summary:  Gus has put together a report for school about the 17 sheep he has at his house.  It starts off pretty innocently: “A boy sheep is a ram. He has horns. The horns do not come off,” but when you look at the accompanying illustration of Gus tugging with all his might on a rope wrapped around the sheep’s horns, you may guess that Gus may be a bit of a mischief maker at his house.  And you would be right, as the report goes on to show Gus trading his brother for a lamb, cutting off a patch of wool to make himself a beard, and letting all 17 sheep into the house when his parents turn their backs for just a minute.  The last page shows Gus’s report with a B+ on it, and a comment from his teacher that indicates Gus’s mother knows what his teacher is up against.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  The Penderwicks author Jeanne Birdsall has written an entertaining story; what kids will really appreciate, though, is Harry Bliss’s cartoon-style illustrations that show the story behind the story.  Read this one aloud and you will have a rapt audience and lots of laughs.

Cons:  A sheep eats a scarf.  Is that a form of sheep cannibalism?