Published by Nosy Crow

Summary: Mr. Brown is a Very Important Businessman who works in a Very Important Office and carries a Very Important Briefcase.  But one day, his briefcase gets taken away, and Mr. Brown has to put his very important plans on hold to chase after it.  One madcap escapade follows the next, until a bedraggled Mr. Brown finally gets his briefcase back.  What could possibly be important enough to make him go to all that trouble?  The answer may surprise you!  32 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  I found this book unexpectedly charming, and look forward to reading it aloud to kindergarteners or first graders.  The animals that populate Mr. Brown’s world (he himself is a tiger) are adorable, and the illustrations are bright and engaging.  The ending is both surprising and satisfying.

Cons:  Get over yourself, Mr. Brown.  No one is THAT important.

Published by Candlewick

Summary:  Some dinosaurs are small and gather fruit and leaves.  Some dinosaurs are big and have sharp teeth and point claws.  They’re always thinking about their next meal and can run like the wind.  It seems like those big dinosaurs will always get the better of the small ones…but the little guy has a surprise in store at the very end.  32 pages; ages 3-6.

Pros:  Dinosaur fans will love the illustrations of different kinds of dinosaurs and small children everywhere will rejoice at the victory of the smallest dinosaur at the end.

Cons:  If you’re looking to burn up some time at story hour, this isn’t going to do it for you…it’s about a one-minute read.

Published by Margaret Ferguson Books

Summary:  Milo wants a story, but his mom is too busy.  “Why don’t you go play in the snow?” she suggests.  Grumpily, Milo heads out the door and stomps away from the house.  Under the birdfeeder, he notices tiny footprints that he deduces belong to a mouse.  Did the mouse have a story to tell? he wonders.  Turn the page for a two-page spread showing a mouse eating the bird feed that’s fallen in the snow.  Finding a feather in a tree has him imagining a flock of birds flying overhead.  Hemlock branches on the ground may have been caused by porcupines feeding in the tree.  Milo’s imagination takes off until he’s surprised to hear Mom calling him in for dinner.  When he gets inside, she offers to read him some stories after dinner, but he declines.  “This time,” he replies.  “I have stories for you.”  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A great winter story which will encourage kids to sharpen their observation skills.  Since Milo notices clues on one page, and imagines the story on the next, this would make a fun participatory read-aloud, inviting kids to guess what happened before turning the page.  The illustrations are beautiful, and the animals are pictured and identified on both sets of endpapers.

Cons:  I’m not sure a fish skeleton belongs at the dinner table.

Published by Dial Books

Summary:  The letters are pretty happy living in their walled city, even though they are all H’s.  One little h, though, is a bit more adventurous.  When she finds a hole in the wall, she discovers an i, and together they make a friendly “hi”.  A big H seals up the hole, so the small h starts sending letters on paper airplanes flown over the wall.  Soon other small letters start participating, and more and more words are formed (and tic-tac-toe games become more interesting).  When the big letters put an end to things again, the h uses the two letters she has left to come up with a plan.  Finally, even the big letters start to cautiously reach out to one another.  “How do you tear down walls? With words at first. Then brick by brick.” 40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  I thought this was going to be just another alphabet book, but there’s a deeper message, focusing on appreciating others’ differences and learning to live together.  Of course, the letter part is fun, too, seeing how the letters get together to form words.  Beginning readers will enjoy exercising their new skills and will come away with a positive message as well.

Cons:  Those are some cranky uppercase letters.