Published by HarperCollins

Summary:  “Now, how did it happen that I started rappin’?  Well, here’s my story in all its glory!”  The first time Rappy the Raptor tried to fly, he fell on his head; when he came to, he was talking in rhyme non-stop.  His parents took him to the hospital, where he underwent a battery of tests.  The final verdict?  The fall had nothing to do with it; Rappy was born to rap.  So Rappy leaves the doctors and nurses bopping and snapping their fingers, and goes on to his happy life of rhyme.  Recommended for ages 3-7.

Pros: Snappy rhyming text and lively cartoonish illustrations of dancing dinosaurs.

Cons:  If non-stop rhyming results in the number of tests that Rappy undergoes, it’s no wonder our healthcare system is troubled.

Published by HarperCollins

Summary:  Chu the panda is having a fun day at the beach with his parents until he sneezes.  Chu has extremely powerful sneezes, and this one breaks the ocean.  Unhappy fish and a family of merpandas wait expectantly for Chu to sneeze again and fix things up.  A tickly seagull feather and a fuzzy drink are tried, but no luck.  Finally, on the advice of a snail, Chu tries looking at the sun, and that does the trick.  The ocean goes back to normal, and Chu and his family enjoy the rest of the day.  Recommended for ages 3-7.

Pros:  Chu is adorable and the sneezing is issue is pretty funny, at least if you are 4 years old.  This is the third installment in the Chu series.

Cons:  It wasn’t quite clear to me from the illustrations what constituted a “broken ocean”.

Published by Roaring Brook Press

Summary:  A man tells the story of being stalked by a skunk.  After the skunk appears on his doorstep one morning, it begins to follow him everywhere—in a cab, to the opera, in the car right behind him on the Ferris wheel.  When the skunk corners him in an alley, the man escapes through a manhole cover and into the sewers.  He comes up in a different part of the city, buys himself a new house (where the illustrations become much more colorful), and is finally free of the skunk.  But in the middle of his own housewarming party, he finds himself wondering what has happened to the skunk.  He goes on a search, and on the final page, the tables are turned, and he is following the skunk.

Pros:  Why is the skunk following the man?  This book could be a springboard for a writing assignment.  It had a retro feel to it, Alfred Hitchcock illustrated by Roy McKie.

Cons:  I just didn’t get it.

Published by Scholastic Press

Summary:  Monkey is excited to enter the rhyming contest with the grand prize of a three-day cruise.  All he needs is to get Duck to create a rhyme with him.  Unfortunately, Duck will only say, “Quack!”  Finally, Monkey comes up with a solution—make a rhyme with words that rhyme with quack.  The two friends perform flawlessly, and a week later, they are headed out to sea.  Monkey tells Duck he knew they’d win.  “The two of us, we have a knack.  Don’t you agree?  And Duck said (turn the page) ‘Let’s get some ice cream.’”

Pros:  A quick-moving story full of fun rhymes, and the humor of Duck constantly blowing it by saying “Quack”…until that final page when he surprises everyone!

Cons:  You can’t really win a three-day cruise by winning a rhyming contest.

Published by Dreamscape Media

Summary:  One by one, family members are awoken by loud noises and strange smells.  Each time, it turns out to be the family dog Stanley, fixing the bathtub, making catfish stew, and repairing the TV.  Finally, just as the father is about to put his foot down and send Stanley to bed, there’s a loud explosion.  The final pages show the house rocketing to the moon, where Stanley apparently has a hot date with a pink poodle.  Ages 3-8.

Pros:  Readers will the funny rhyming story and seeing what Stanley the wonder dog is up to next.

Cons:  I’m pretty sure the moon’s atmosphere wouldn’t support a pink poodle.

Published by Clarion Books

Summary:  “Every kind of bird and beast/in the West and in the East/way up high and way down deep/everybody has to sleep.  But not Fred.  Fred has a to-do list you wouldn’t believe.”  On every page, animals are sleepily flossing, brushing, and getting ready to hit the sack.  Only Fred, blue-striped pj’s notwithstanding, is raring to go.  He breaks the world shouting record and tests his horn collection.  He practices karate chops and hunts the legendary Sasquatch.  He is, in other words, every parent’s worst bedtime nightmare.  Finally, however, Fred goes missing, and is found snuggled against a sheep, thumb in his mouth, asleep at last.  The last page warns the reader to close the book softly lest Fred wake up again.

Pros:  This is a great anti-bedtime story.  Kids will love the pictures of the animals as they get ready for bed and shake their heads at Fred’s antics.

Cons:  I experienced horrific flashbacks from earlier parenting days.

Published by Beach Lane Books

Summary:  “Drawing a dragon isn’t hard/Drag a dragon to your yard.”  So begins this rhyming treatise on how to draw every part of a dragon, from its bumpy head to its claws that also like to draw.  Each rhyming couplet is illustrated with what looks like a child’s drawing of a kid sketching a dragon, often with the dragon’s assistance.  Recommended for ages 4-8.

Pros:  The rhyme is catch and funny, but the pictures are what make this book such a winner.  Kids will want to try their hands at sketching a dragon after reading this.

Cons:  Upon reaching the last page, you may be unable to resist the urge to draw a dragon.

Published by Balzer and Bray

Summary:  The Dullards enjoy such activities as staring at their unplugged TV and watching the paint dry (a mix of beige and gray).  When they catch their children reading books about the circus, they decide it’s time to move to a duller neighborhood.  But the new place has all kinds of pitfalls, like a neighbor who brings an applesauce cake made with chunky applesauce and uses sentences that end in exclamation marks.  When they discover their children playing circus outside, it’s time to pack up and move back again.  That night, the parents rest easy in their old boring house while the children run away to the circus that’s in town.

Pros:  The humor starts on the cover (“Extra boring edition!”) and continues on every page.  The cartoon-like illustrations perfectly render what the dullest family in the world would look like.

Cons:  Somehow, I was expecting more of a twist at the end.  It was, honestly, a bit dull.

Published by Templar

Summary: Monty the lion usually lets his meerkat friends play with his magnificent mane.  But one day they go too far with their braiding and decorating, and Monty has had enough.  He stomps off to the water hole, where a crocodile lures him closer by complimenting him on his mane.  The crocodile tries to take a bite, but only gets a mouthful of mane.  Monty runs away, the crocodile in hot pursuit, only to realize too late that he’s led the crocodile right to the meerkats.  With a tremendous “ROAR!”, Monty scares off the crocodile, and is happy to let his friends play in his mane once again.

Pros:  A nice story about friendship and loyalty, with magnificent illustrations.  The two-page spread of Monty’s roar is suitable for framing.

Cons:  I read this to several classes of kindergarteners and they seemed a bit lukewarm about it.  I liked the pictures better than the story.