Forever Friends

[Note: I'm required by the new FTC guidelines to tell you that this post includes Amazon Affiliate links. I choose the reviewed books myself, from the local library or my own bookshelf.]

Forever Friends is the story of the friendship between a bluebird and a bunny. They become friends one spring, and they play together throughout that summer and fall. When winter approaches, the bluebird says that she must fly south for the winter, and that she'll be back again in the spring. The bunny waits patiently all through the winter, and when spring returns, so does her bird friend.

This story reminds me of City Dog, Country Frog (I love that one, by the way)--except that in this book, the friend really does return after the winter ends.

I know I say this all the time, but I'm going to say it about this story, too: the illustrations are fantastic. I'm a sucker for cut-paper illustrations anyway, and I was fascinated by the way Berger used magazine print and graph paper to create such beautiful pictures.

This story is pretty simple, so I'd recommend it to be read-aloud to younger children, although older children might appreciate its simplicity as well.

Forever Friends is available at Amazon.com.
Written and illustrated by Carin Berger
Approximate age range: 3-7 

The Surprise

[Note: I'm required by the new FTC guidelines to tell you that this post includes Amazon Affiliate links. I choose these books myself, from the local library or my own bookshelf.]

The Surprise is a wordless book that is aimed at children in the preschool-to-early-elementary age range. It begins with a sheep. We see her measuring her wool, shearing it off, choosing from a rainbow of dyes, and taking it to be spun by a poodle...but why? Well, that's the surprise: Sheep takes that spun wool and knits it into a lovely sweater for her giraffe friend.

This is a great story to look at together, as children try to guess what Sheep is up to. One warning: it's barely noticeable, but Poodle is smoking a cigarette; this might be explained by the book having been first published in the Netherlands. Anyway, I just see it as an opportunity to discuss smoking, if your children point it out. Otherwise, this is an offbeat, touching story about an unlikely friendship.

The Surprise is available at Amazon.com.
Written and illustrated by Sylvia van Ommen
Age range: 3-6 (Age ranges are very flexible.)

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together is part of a series that's perfect for read-aloud time. (The series also includes a collection of fables, one of Mother Goose rhymes, one of scary stories...you get the idea.)

You'll need at least two readers for this. One of you reads the red words, the other of you reads the blue words, and you read the purple words together. The colors alternate every few lines.

We've only read the fairy tale volume, so that's all I can comment on. Each fairy tale is a few pages long, and each of you plays the part of one character. For example, in "Jack and the Beanstalk," I was Jack, and The Boy was the giant. Each tale has a little bit of a twist from the original, and the characters always end up reading to each other in the end. Cute, right?

This is a pretty slim volume, and I'm assuming that the others are, too. The Boy liked this one well enough that I'm sure we'll be checking out the others soon.

I'd recommend this for kids at a first grade reading level or higher. And for parents of any age.

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together
Written by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Michael Emberley
Age range*: 5-8

*Age ranges are very flexible.

Full disclosure: The books reviewed here are books that I own or that have been checked out from the local library. The links in this post are Amazon Affiliate links.

And Then It's Spring

And Then It's Spring is a simple story about...well, spring. It begins, "First you have brown, all around you have brown...", and follows a boy as he plants seeds, hopes for rain, waits and waits...and then it's spring. 

The illustrations really carry the story. The text describes what the atmosphere is like--brown, rain, greenish hum--but it's in the illustrations that you see the boy, his dog, the turtle with the little red cap on, and the bears pulling up "please do not stomp here--there are seeds and they are trying" signs.

I'll be honest: I must have been in a bad mood when I read this book the first time. I didn't like it at all. But the second time, I loved it, and I've loved it just as much every time since.  


And Then It's Spring
Written by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Erin E. Stead
Age range*: 2-5
My rating: 5 stars [out of five]

*Age ranges are very flexible.

Full disclosure: The books reviewed here are books that I own or that have been checked out from the local library. The links in this post are Amazon Affiliate links.

If...

I loved If..., by Sarah Perry. It's just so...weird.

As you turn each page, you'll see a phrase starting with "if." For example, "If leaves were fish..." The next page has a picture to go along with it, like a bunch of green fish clinging to a tree branch. Turn the page again, and you'll get something equally improbable and imaginative.

That's it.

Some of the "ifs" (and their accompanying pictures) grossed me out a little bit, like "If toes were teeth..." and "If caterpillars were toothpaste..." Kids will love those, though. My favorites are "If frogs ate rainbows..." and "If lightning made rhinos..."

So, if you're looking for a book to spark your kids' (or your!) imagination, I highly recommend this one.

If...
Written and illustrated by Sarah Perry
Age range*: 2-5
My rating: 5 stars [out of five]

*Age ranges are very flexible.

Full disclosure: The books reviewed here are books that I own or that have been checked out from the local library. The links in this post are Amazon Affiliate links.