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.

Published by Nancy Paulsen Books 

Summary: Each sense gets its own special section, in which adorable preschoolers hear, smell, see, touch, and taste, and sometimes react to their experiences. Example:  “I hear the birdie.  I hear the bee. Uh-oh!  I don’t hear the worm.”  Each section has 15-20 experiences, so kids will definitely get the idea of what that sense is all about.  The pickle ties it all together on the last page, as it is seen, smelled, touched, tasted, and heard…crunch!  32 pages; ages 2-6.

Pros: A gently humorous introduction to the senses. The multicultural cast of kids is a cute and curious bunch, enthusiastically exploring the world around them.

Cons:  Adult readers could tire of the repetitious text if this becomes a favorite book.

Published by Tundra Books 

Summary: Long ago, Miss Wilhelmina Moon traveled to an island off the coast of France to work as a governess to sixty seven dogs. This job has given her a great deal of expertise about dogs and life in general.  Here, she shares twenty of the most important life lessons she’s gained from her years as a dog governess, such as “Friends come in many shapes and sizes” and “Be true to your adventurous spirit”.  Each lesson is accompanied by a painting of the indomitable Miss Moon and several of her charges in interesting situations.  The final page is a class picture in which all the dogs are identified by name.  48 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  An unusual Canadian import, this book doesn’t really tell a story, but you sense there’s a story behind it.  Any illustration/lesson could be used as a writing prompt.  Each dog is unique, and kids will enjoy finding out the names of their favorites at the end.

Cons:  Some of the lessons may require some explanation for the youngest readers.