Children

What a simply wonderful story about an elderly woman who wants to bake an apple pie but has no apples. She has plums, though, so she loads them in a basket and embarks on an adventure of trades that leads to a terrific lesson in sharing and kindness. This is one of my favorite books to read to my own children.

Fans of the Pinkalicious books will get a kick out of this tale of a girl’s search for the perfect topping. Clever, with a good anti-bullying message (man – will bullies ever go away?).

This book won the Caldecott in the 60s, and it is still a great book for kids today. Not only does it have beautiful illustrations: it is the perfect book for this February. The groundhog saw his shadow, which reminds us there are six more weeks of winter. This is also Black History Month, and - correct me if I'm wrong, librarians - I believe this book was the first illustrated children's book in color that features a main character who is African-American.

Little ones who are eagerly anticipating their first day of school will especially enjoy this charming book – with terrific illustrations by Patricia Krebs.

Your little ones will get a kick out of the hilarious chain reaction catastrophe that arises from this precious read aloud, featuring great illustrations by Will Hillenbrand.

Any book that makes vocabulary for kids earns raves from me. This is an entertaining and informative story that teaches kids how to find clues into meanings based on word affixes and roots.

Life is how you perceive it, and this wonderful book with terrific illustrations by R. Gregory Christie shows kids how to turn negatives into positives. A really good family read aloud.

A baby board book that I had to check out simply because of its irresistible title. Appropriate for any city-folk parents, with fun illustrations by Nathalie Dion.

I was alerted to this book while watching an excellent profile piece on CBS Sunday Morning (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you’d like a transcript of the piece). Even though the treasure (12 pieces of jewelry hidden at state parks throughout America) has already been found, the real treasure is sitting with your child and enjoying this simple yet lovely story.

Subtitled “Lost Treasure of Kolob Canyon,” this is a really easy chapter book that boys seem especially drawn to, as it deals with camping, lost treasures and Indians. This reminded me of the simple books I read when I was a cub scout growing up. Why aren’t there more books like this nowadays? I guess I am starting to sound like a reminiscent curmudgeon.

Beautifully illustrated tale of a grandfather talking about his days as a boy scared of thunderstorms, as he and his grandson wait out a power outage. Good book for teaching elements of figurative language.

I have a daughter who turns four this month, and she loves anything to do with princesses and the color pink. She loves this book about a girl who eats so many pink cupcakes that she turns pink. The only cure is to eat her vegetables. This is one of the most popular books that I read aloud to students right now. A MUST purchase.

A simple story best reserved for little children, I enjoyed the book because little bear’s constant curiosity at the everyday items adults overlook reminded me of my own young daughter, Kate.

I began this month’s list with a Steve Martin recommendation, and I figured I might as well push one of his children’s books. In this delightful alphabet book with illustrations offered by one of my favorite New Yorker cartoonists, Roz Chast, Martin creates zany tongue twisters to entice young readers to learn each letter of the alphabet. Terrific fun that prompts kids to beg for repeated read alouds.

I love funny tall tales, and this one does not disappoint. Two brothers who constantly search for he upper hand with one another are forced to work together when the mightiest wind they have ever seen blows their dear old mother on top of the barn. Reminded me of why I used o love the Pecos Bill stories so much.