Book Finder

The wolfsnail is no ordinary slug. This snail eats meat, and other snails are the source. Full-color photographs give a close-up look at this fascinating, slightly gross creature. Additional information including the wolfsnail’s true size concludes this informative book on an unusual subject.

The familiar, lively, cumulative song entitled “And the Green Grass Grew All Around” has been refashioned. Here, word and picture show children watching birds hatch in a tree where the “green leaves grew around… and the birds went, ‘Tweedle-Dee-Dee!’”

As her cat goes out, a girl imagines his world travel: on a gondola in Venice, in Spanish soccer games, and more before he returns to his home and favorite person. The rhyming text combines with richly detail, naive illustrations for a satisfying armchair adventure.

Dumpling, an enthusiastic dog with a poor sense of smell, enjoys her life with the Frisbees. With a useless sniffer, she has no dog pals and befriends a small black animal with a wide white stripe down its back. Eventually, the dog’s family learns to keep tomato juice handy in this satisfying family story.

Scaredy Squirrel comes by his name honestly; he’s a bit frightened of just about everything! Can his preparation for a day at the beach protect him adequately? Readers will laugh at Scaredy Squirrel’s ultimate realization that there is a lot to enjoy at the beach!

Maisy the mouse is used to introduce opposites. Maisy stops and goes; she’s messy and clean; says hello and goodbye. Signature illustrations use bold color and broad line with limited text create a fresh look at the two sides of many things.

A young otter named Otto does many things well, but swimming isn’t one of them. With the help of his sister, Otto does learn to swim well, little by little. Idealized illustrations and a gentle text help the satisfying story to unfold.

Moving day for animals happens when seasons change or when a threat comes close. Lushly colored, textured paintings invite readers to look closely at the animals on moving day and in their homes. A bit of additional information about the animals concludes this fascinating book.

Dogs say “bow-wow” in English, “goo-ow” in Spanish, “wah-wah” in French, and “wan-wan” in Japanese. But no matter where the cow lives, it says “moo!” Bright, bold, playful illustrations introduce how animals sound in different languages.

When new neighbors move near Rabbit; he learns from a wise owl to “do unto otters as you would have otters do to you.” That includes saying please and thank you (in several languages), cooperating, and more. The humorous take on manners makes them fun to see in practice, in stylized, engaging illustrations.

Instead of taking a nap, Carl, the loveable large dog, and his human charge, Madeline, use the time to go boating, explore the playground, and even play a bit of baseball. Tired out, dog and toddler sleep through dinner and fireworks. Their adventures are related through realistic watercolor illustration.

Benny is busy being a pirate and doesn’t want to play with his little sister. But when Penny seems to be lost, Benny realizes that sometimes playing alone isn’t all that much fun. Words and illustration in a comic book-like format create an appealing, short novel for emerging readers.

Everyday is an adventure with a silly baby who gets switched at the zoo, the circus, and other places. When the silly baby is retrieved by mom, that happy child makes joyful noises all the way to bedtime — or playtime! The jaunty illustrations complement the predictable adventure.

Pigeon — like most young children — wants a puppy and he wants it now. He wheedles, begs, and promises to get it. Will pigeon change his mind when a puppy shows up? Readers will appreciate that the indomitable pigeon speaks directly to them on each appealing page.

As he gets ready for bed, a cat can’t find his book anywhere! While young readers will see that the book is in plain sight, they’ll delight in what the cat imagines might have happened to it. Told with few words and lively illustrations, this is sure to delight.

In this gentle, imaginative countdown to sleep, a child and her mother imagine how a menagerie of animals would lovingly say goodnight; that is, all except the sloth and her cub. Rich language swirls around and through warmly-hued illustrations to create a satisfying bedtime tale.

A rhyming text combines with tender photographs of animals and their young, concluding with how humans show affection for each other. Not only is this an interesting way to introduce families, but additional information about animals and their young is included in this warm book.

When Farmer Gray went on vacation, Blue Goose and his friends decided to paint their black and white barnyard for a happy surprise. With the help of his friends, Blue Goose mixes paints to introduce both primary and secondary colors in this clever barnyard tale.

Sturdy pages are used to introduce the alphabet and more. Alliteration, folding flaps, and added textures create a lively, appealing, humorous menagerie in word and illustration.

Miss Fry welcomes the variety of pets that come to visit for the school year as warmly as she does each child in her increasingly noisy classroom. But each evening she returns to her calm little home in this quietly humorous and gentle story.

Lily just can’t contain her excitement and simply MUST share her jingly quarters and new purse causing her favorite teacher to put her in the thinking corner. How Lily rethinks her anger with Mr. Slinger is told with gentle humor, lively language, and very expressive illustrations.

Find out what the animals in the zoo do once it’s closed for the night in this lively, rhyming alphabet book. Jaunty illustrations add humor and meaning to words presented in two languages.

Six silent turtles sit still as stones while life at the pond swirls all around them — until the turtles are startled and they “suddenly speed away!” Vibrant language combines with textured illustrations that scamper and flutter across richly colored pages. In the endnote, the author shares where and what she observes from her tree house.

It was spring in the barnyard and the wee little chick … was not only brand new but the smallest of all his brothers and sisters. That didn’t stop him from doing his best — and being just right for his Mama Hen. Soft illustrations complement the gentle text.