Published by Orchard Books

Summary: Each page of this alphabet book has a montage of animals that start with the featured letter. There is one of each animal except for one that is pictured eight times. For instance, the “E” page shows an eagle, earthworm, elephant, elephant seal, elk, and eight egrets. Why eight? The author explains, “Because 8 is round and adorable. Because it is fun to count to…Because it is not too big, and not so small, but just right.” The animals pictured are listed at the bottom of each page, and the last four pages include a thumbnail picture of all the animals with a fun fact about each one. Ages 3-6 (although my 20-year-old daughter seemed quite taken with this book).

Pros: Plan on spending a lot of time poring over the pictures of all the animals, and, if you’re ambitious, the facts about the 184 animals at the end. Not your average alphabet book (or counting book), but loads of fun.

Cons: The cover of the book includes one of each animal inside, but it will most likely be covered by the taped-down dust jacket if you borrow this from the library.

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary: A boy is awoken by his cat. Everything is dark, but the cat urges him to go outside. Outside, there is darkness and shadows. Nocturnal animals gather around them. Suddenly it seems as though everything is waiting, anticipating something big that is about to happen. Slowly, the shadows and darkness disappear, colors start appearing all around them, as the sun rises higher and higher, and a new day begins. Ages 3-8.

Pros: The illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Mordicai Gerstein are spectacular. Most of the book is in grays and blacks and perfectly captures the moments just before sunrise. The last few pages show a gradual infusion of color that show the creation of a new day.

Cons: The text is somewhat secondary to the illustrations.

Published by Schwartz and Wade

Summary: One summer day, Rufus has an inspiration—instead of a lemonade stand, he’ll have a story stand. He sets up a table with a sign, puts on his best clothes, and is in business. Before long, his friends start to come by and ask him to play, but he keeps telling them he has to write stories. He writes a story about the color orange for his friends who like red and yellow, a story about a new kitten for his friend whose cat just has kittens, and a special birthday story for his little sister. At the end of the day, his friends return with gifts for Rufus, which they give them in exchange for their stories. Grades K-3.

Pros: A celebration of creativity. This would be a great book to introduce the joy of writing to a primary grade classroom.

Cons: At first I thought Rufus’s stories were kind of silly. But a second reading made me realize they are actually very realistic to what a young boy would write.

Published by Chronicle Books 

Summary: It’s the classic battle, cake versus cyclops. In this quirky story, a rude cake never says please, thank you, or I’m sorry. One night, while resisting his parents’ demands to go to bed, he’s plucked from his house by a giant cyclops. It looks like the end for this cranky confection, but it turns out that the cyclops just wants him for a hat. Furthermore, unlike the pouting pastry, the cyclops and its friends are models of polite behavior. The cake eventually gets the hang of things, and asks to please be returned to bed. The final page shows the contrite cupcake at last sharing and generally being a model of politeness for his friends.  Ages 3-8.

Pros: A decidedly original take on manners. This will elicit some giggles for sure.

Cons: It took me a second to recognize the flying saucer-shaped protagonist as a cake.

Published by Clarion Books

Summary: A donkey declares, “I yam a donkey!” and a yam tries to correct his grammar. “I am a donkey.” “You is a donkey?” asks the donkey, and the rest of the book is an unsuccessful attempt to get things straight. The argument eventually attracts the attention of a carrot, turnip, and a bunch of green beans, all of whom are used as examples in the yam’s unsuccessful grammar lessons. Grades K-3.

Pros: This book is funny. Period. Don’t try to extract any educational value. The bright cartoon illustrations and comic bubble dialog will appeal to kids and the ridiculous arguments will have them rolling with laughter.

Cons: The vegetables get eaten. Sorry.

Published by Dial Books 

Summary: Addy’s parents come to pick up Addy and her sister from a play date. All the way home, the two girls look for the moon. Sometimes it’s high in the sky, sometimes low, sometimes it’s behind them, and sometimes up front. The sky changes, too, from pink to deep blue, to purple. The moon follows the family all the way home, where it illuminates Addy’s nighttime dance on the lawn. Ages 3-8.

Pros: Children will relate to this quiet story about a phenomenon they’ve undoubtedly observed themselves. The illustrations are the real magic of this book, though. I’ll admit I have a thing for cut paper illustrations, but these are exquisite, with a perfect palette of colors to show the changing sky of evening.

Cons: You may get a few tee-hee’s from readers on the page where the girls are depicted taking a bath.

Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Summary: Zulay enjoys first grade with her three best friends. Even though she’s blind, she can do almost everything the other kids do. She doesn’t like it when she has to leave the class to work with Ms. Turner, who helps her learn to use a cane. But she does like writing on her Braille typewriter, learning math with manipulatives, and singing and dancing on the playground with Maya, Nancy, and Chyng. When the teacher announces an upcoming field day, Zulay is as enthusiastic as her classmates, and decides she wants to run a race. The class is silent when she makes that announcement, but Ms. Turner is confident Zulay can do it and works with her every day to get her ready. When the big day comes, Zulay runs around the track with Ms. Turner and joyfully breaks through the ribbon at the finish line. Ages 4-9

Pros: Readers will be interested to see how this exuberant girl participates in everything that interests her even though she can’t see. The author wrote this story after seeing a visually impaired girl thriving in a first-grade classroom at a New York City public school.

Cons: The title doesn’t exactly roll right off your tongue.