3 Fun Read-a-louds and 2 Awesome Caldecott Sequels

Hooray for Hat, written and illustrated by Brian Won.   Hooray for stories that invite interaction and audience participation!  Throughout this fun tale of sharing and cheering your friends up, young listeners love to shout the title "HOORAY FOR HAT!"  And even though the wild assortment of animals have a case of temporary doldrums, the story puts you in a happy mood by the end.  Never before has regifting been so therapeutic.  An elephant wakes up grumpy, not happy when someone rings the doorbell.  "Go Away I'm Grumpy" trumpets the beast.  A box containing a bunch of really cool hats greets the elephant's eye as it opens the door.  Instantly cheered up, the elephant decides to share its good fortune with a grumpy zebra whose mood lightens when elephant gives it a hat.  Then they both find a scowling turtle and so on and so on.  I love Won's expressive creatures, and the way we don't see the grumpy lion and giraffe when they are initially introduced, creating a bit of mystery and surprise.  There's a nice break in the formula when Lion explains why it is sad.  It all leads to the happiest and goofiest of endings. 

Breathe, written and illustrated by Scott Magoon.  Lovely spare text and charming illustrations capture the joyful bond between a mother whale and her calf.  The happy-looking whales swim and play underwater, and Magoon does a terrific job capturing their motion, bubbles surrounding them as the move.  The story has a beautiful beat to it, with the word "Breathe" effectively recurring at key moments, an image of the baby whale emerging from the water to breathe.  The colors please the eye, and there's an effective darker spread that shows the young hero exploring a submerged ship.  Like the frolicking whale does in another wonderful spread, this book sings.  It radiates joy.

A Bed for Kitty, written and illustrated by Yasmine Surovec.  This uproarious follow-up to I See Kitty tickles the funny bone as it captures a young girl named Chloe's attempts to convince her pet kitten to sleep in a newly purchased customized cat bed.  The bold striking graphics amuse as they show the cat sleeping everywhere but on the bed:  on the TV, Mom's favorite sweater, in the sink, and even in Chloe's sock drawer!  I love the little humorous touches throughout (the rejected bed at one point is covered with cobwebs).  What is the solution?  Chloe comes up with a cozy one.  The story is simple, but the comical illustrations contain many details that invite re-visits.

Flora and the Penguin, by Molly Idle.
Quest, by Aaron Becker. 
Great news!  2014 Caldecott Honor winners Molly Idle and Aaron Becker have followed up their wordless Caldecott Honor books with wordless sequels that are just as awesome!  Flora of Flora and the Flamingo fame joins a waddling penguin in some dance moves and a fishing excursion.  The book contains the inventive and hilarious lift-the flaps that made the first creation so fun!  Meanwhile, the girl and boy and bird that made Journey such a captivating adventure are back.  Becker's brilliant illustrations contain many intricate details that are, in a word, dazzling.  Both are masterfully conceived, joys to behold.