It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading?  is a fantastic meme hosted over at Teach Mentor Texts.  Here they have a lot of great children’s book recommendations — and lots of picture book recommendations, too.  Please go check them out and link up with them to share your recommendations.

This week we have been reading up a storm!  Here are the picture books we’ve loved.

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The Zoo’s Annual Piggyback Race by Matt Harrigan and Illustrated by Melinda Beavers.

 My son LOVES this book.  This is the first book that has made my son laugh out loud each time we read it — and we’ve read it about 20 times in the past week.

A fun book about zoo animals participating in a piggyback race.  The end gave us all a good laugh.  My son especially enjoyed hearing me make sound effects.

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The Night Horses by Anaka Jones

 The cover makes you think that this is going to be a serious book about horses — but instead it’s a fun imagining of what the horses do at night.  It’s very funny and my son and I really enjoyed reading it.  My son learned what a comedian is from this book and also what a pedicure is.

Anaka Jones may only be 12, but boy she can entertain my son and me with her storytelling.  The first time we read it five times in a row.  It’s now a bedtime favorite.

 

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Baby Penguins Everywhere! by Melissa Guion

  This is such a sweet book.  Feel a little overwhelmed sometimes because of your children?  Just need a moment to yourself?  This book does a great job  gently explaining to children that sometimes adults just need a moment.  Yesterday my son asked me, “Mama, do you just need a moment?”  Yes, sweet boy.  Sometimes I just need a moment.

The illustrations are fun and beautiful at the same time.  My whole family loves this sweet book.

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Wombat Stew by Marcia K. Vaughan and Pamela Lofts

  This book is out of print now but you can get used copies of it online.  I picked it up for .50 and it is such a win!

 Friends save their buddy, Wombat, from being made into a stew by tricking the chef, a dingo.  Rather funny and incredibly catchy:

“Wombat stew, Wombat stew, Gooey, brewey, Yummy, Chewy, Wombat stew!”

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Ladybug Girl at the Beach by David Sonam and Jacky Daviscky Davis

  My son loves all things related to Ladybug Girl!  He loves this book and of all the Ladybug Girl books, this one is my favorite.

This is Ladybug Girl’s first time at the beach.  In the beginning, she is a little nervous of the waves.  After some kite flying, ice cream eating, and digging in the sand — she comes to love splashing in the ocean.

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Bedtime for Mommy by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Illustrated by LeUyen Pham

  I think Amy Krouse Rosenthal is such a brilliant author.  We’ve read all of her book so far and I highly recommend all of them.  They’re so creative and witty and TRUE.

This is a wonderful story of a little girl putting her mother to bed.  It’s funny and sweet turning the tables and imagining what it would be like for the child to put her parents to bed.

We read this book together as a family and giggled through it.

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Lucia and the Light by Phyllis Root and Illustrated by Mary GrandPre

 Phyllis Root is another favorite.  I decided to check out all of the books I could by her.

This is the story of a little girl, Lucia, who leaves her family in search of the sun when night fails to turn into day.  She has to go on a long journey and outwit some nasty trolls to do so.  A very fun and thrilling adventure!

My son has specifically asked for me to read this book to him several times.  It’s a little scary for a two-year-old boy but don’t tell him that.  He think the trolls in this book are fascinating and wondered if the sun really could be wrapped up in cloth.

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Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs by Giles Andreae and Russell Ayto

  We read this book daily!  He loves the Pirate Dinosaur song in this book.

  “Yo ho ho!  Yo ho ho!  Somethingy, something! Go! Go! Go!

   In reading this book my son made the observation that none of the humans have tongues.  I was impressed that he noticed this.

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The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein

  This is an amazing nonfiction picture book of Philip Petit’s tightrope walking performance between the two towers of the WTC.

  It’s beautiful and crazy and TRUE.  We loved it!  (Admittedly, I loved it more than my son — but he’s 2 and I think in a few years he’ll love it as much, if not more, than I do.)

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Looking for a Moose by Phyllis Root and Illustrated by Randy Cecil

“Have you ever seen a moose — a long-leggy moose — a branchy-antler, dinner-diving, bulgy-nose moose?”

The first time I read this book to my son I tripped all over my own tongue and fell flat on my face.  I just couldn’t get the rhythm right and it felt awkward and all wrong.  Then I regrouped and on the second reading I rapped it.  Yup, I rapped it.  Both my son and I fell in love with this book once I got the hang of it.  I had to concentrate to read it to the pace I had set, but it was so much fun.  My son wanted me to read this to him again and again and each time I did — I got better at it.

This is the first book in a long time that I have vowed to memorize because it is so much fun to perform.

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Marvin Makes Music by Marvin Hamlisch and Illustrated by Jim Madsen

  This is a wonderful book about Marvin Hamlisch’s childhood audition and acceptance to Julliard.  It’s inspiring and our piano has gotten significantly more use this week than usual — maybe because of this book?

I also discovered Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday over at Kidlitfrenzy.com.  What a great site!

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Who Put the B in the Ballyhoo?  by Carlyn Beccia

    Another nonfiction picture book with gorgeous illustrations and fascinating facts about the history of the circus.  Not exactly a book for the faint of heart.  It definitely has some creepy and spooky images — but it also has a lot of beautiful images.

Great vocabulary and a very interesting topic!

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Captain No Beard by Carole P. Roman

  In our house a day without Captain No Beard is like a day without sunshine.  My son loves this book and we read it over and over and over again.

My son also enjoys acting out various scenes from this book.  It’s pretty cute hearing a 2 year old say, “Shiver me timbers!”

 It’s a lot of fun reading this book to my son.

 All of the illustrations are done by hand and is self-published by Carole P. Roman.

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Waterloo & Trafalgar by Olivier Tallec

 This book is amazing!  I was completely blown away by it.  It is absolutely brilliant.  Everyone should be talking about this book for a long, long time.

It’s a wordless picture book about two characters, Waterloo and Trafalgar, who are at war with each other.  They can only see each other when they peek over their respective walls and they do many things to antagonize each other.  Finally, they are forced to come face to face.  When they do, it will surprise and charm you.

The illustrations are beautiful and they tell this amazing story perfectly.

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FTC Disclosures: I received a review copy from the authors for several of the books mentioned above.  No other compensation was received.  The opinions expressed here are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” If you click on the link and purchase the book, I will receive an affiliate commission.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”