Children’s Books Guide

While many people know Mo Willems for his infamous Pigeon chronicles, readers will love this dinosaur book for children. Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct is a book about just that, a dinosaur who has  no idea that she is extinct. Frankly, Edwina doesn’t care that she is extinct. This large, kind [...]

Though Skim is listed under children’s books, it is meant for young readers and teenagers as Mariko Tamaki’s graphic novel is set in an all-girl’s academy with a protagonist that goes through life’s little rough patches as a teenager.  Skim is actually Kimberly Keiko Cameron, a bit of an outsider within her school who would [...]

A Is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet.  Stephen T. Johnson doesn’t bring children the typical alphabet book.  Instead of using apes and apples, he uses art.  An eye-opening method, abstract art is used for each letter of the alphabet, from collage to swathes of color.  Pictures are large to create a powerful impact and underneath [...]

Parents looking to introduce their children to poetry might find A River of Words to be useful.  Jen Bryant has put together a picture book for children that tells the story of William Carlos Williams.  As a child, Willie loved writing.  However, as he grew he knew he had to be able to live on [...]

If Dogs Were Dinosaurs is not your typical dinosaur book. This explores the idea of proportion and size for young children, proposing ‘what-if’ type questions to help children understand how things might be different if one little thing were different. For example, If Dogs Were Dinosaurs their dinner would be very large; as the book [...]

Mark Reibstein writes a story about a cat who lives in Japan named Wabi Sabi.  The oddity of this is that the cat has no idea what her name means.  She asks creatures around her, but none of them are sure how to explain its meaning.  Finally she visits an old, wise monkey.  He tells [...]

For children of ages 4 through 8, taking a big step can take some time.  Carin Berger’s story about The Little Yellow Leaf is exactly that.  As the seasons change and summer turns to fall, all the leaves on a tree and those around it change color and drift to the ground.  But there is [...]

Anyone who thumbs through the books on the non-fiction picture book shelves will find the recently published We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson.  Baseball fans will love this book for its strong voice and powerful pictures.  We Are the Ship is an excellent choice to teach children a [...]

Done in a very Halloweenish style with a cover of black, orange, and with white ghosts, Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kahara has been called “just the right mix of sweet and scary.” A young girl lives at the edge of town.  While that in itself doesn’t sound like anything special, there’s a big [...]

The Black Book of Colors has a cover and a title that will undoubtedly confuse those who take a look at it.  Though it may sound like an oxymoron, the purpose of the book is actually a very interesting one. Created without any color but black, The Black Book of Colors uses various shades of [...]