Published by Viking Books for Young Readers

Summary:  It starts out sounding like an ordinary story: “Snappsy the alligator wasn’t feeling like himself.  His feet felt draggy.  His skin felt baggy.”  But then, Snappsy himself interrupts.  “This is terrible!  I’m just hungry!  Why is this rude narrator trying to make it seem like I need a nap?”  The book continues, with the narrator telling the story and Snappsy getting annoyed and correcting the narration.  Snappsy goes to the grocery store, goes home, and shuts himself into his house.  The narrator presses on, and Snappsy reveals that the story has made his day sound so boring, he’s decided to plan a party.  Sure enough, he cleans the house and ends up with quite the shindig, attended by all the neighbors.  At last, even the narrator shows up, turning out to be a pretty fun party guest, but badgering poor Snappsy right up to the very last page.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  This would be a hilarious read-aloud.  The usual narrative structure is turned on its head.  The cartoon illustrations are fun, with the narrator’s text written like a regular story and Snappsy’s in cartoon bubbles.  Comparisons with Mo Willems are apt.

Cons:  Those people who kind of remind me of the narrator.

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.

Published by Knopf 

Summary: Bear is an enthusiastic member of a household of ducks. When the weather starts getting colder, Bear is determined to stay awake all winter so as not to miss out on anything.  But nature takes its course, and before long Bear is dozing off at meals and in the middle of games.  Mama Duck convinces him that he can’t fight who he is, and that, awake or asleep, he is still part of the family.  Finally, Bear settles into hibernation mode.  The ducks eat meals near him, and the baby duck snuggles up to sleep with Bear at naptime.  When spring comes, Bear awakens and enjoys sharing the pictures of what happened all winter long.  32 pages; ages 2-6.

Pros:  Cute watercolor illustrations enliven this gentle tale that would make a perfect bedtime story.

Cons:  There sure are a lot of picture books that feature cute bears hibernating.

Published by Greenwillow Books 

Summary:  On the page before the title page, the reader is informed that this picture book has been cancelled.  A few pages in, a bunch of crayons are surprised that someone has persevered to the story.  The pencil takes over, relating how the crayons were all set to do a performance of “Frankencrayon” when the lights went out, and a huge red scribble appeared.  Crayon attempts to clean it only made it worse, and the production was cancelled.  Meanwhile, the three crayons slated to play the Frankencrayon monster were awaiting their entrance on page 22.  When the big moment arrived, everyone was gone except the scribble.  The three resourceful crayons fix things up; the last page reveals who was responsible for the scribble in the first place.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  The story takes great liberties with the standard book format, including the reader in all the goings-on.  Michael Hall, creator of last year’s Red: A Crayon’s Story once again shows his skills at bringing crayons to life.

Cons:  Careful reading is required to understand the story.