My Favorite Read-Aloud Picture Books of 2008

2008 offered many great read-aloud picture books. I read to large groups of children, so what I look for are books with large pictures, plenty of action, and/or phrases that invite audience participation.

In addition to the titles in this post, I would like to give a special shout out to three books I discussed in an earlier post: The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill, Mr. Pusskins & Little Whiskers by Sam Lloyd, and Roadwork by Sally Sutton.

Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime. Written and illustrated by Bob Shea.

A very boastful and entertaining red dinosaur brags that s/he can take on anything and win. With captivating crowd-pleasing roars, the dinosaur triumphs over a pile of leaves, a bowl of spaghetti, and even blahblahing talking grown-ups! But can s/he beat the mightiest opponent of all...bedtime???? Dinosaur leaps from page to page, roaring all the while. Children love to roar along. This book is perfect for children who love Mo Willems' slapstick packed mini-epics.

Harriet Dancing. Written by Ruth Symes. Illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church.

This simple yet sweet story introduces the titular character, a happy-go-lucky hedgehog who decides to visit her buddy Ivor. Along the way she meets some butterflies who inspire her to dance. However, these winged creatures turn out to be a bunch of snobs. They tell her hedgehogs are not allowed to do the butterfly dance, and this causes Harriet great distress. Luckily her friends come along to help her out. Symes offers a resolution that's nice without seeming treacly. Church's drawings delight. This book is a perfect companion to Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae.

Old Bear. Written and Illustrated by Kevin Henkes.

A hibernating bear dreams and dreams while snow falls outside his cave. The slumbering animal's surrealistic dream transports young readers through the seasons as the bear sees himself resting in a giant pink crocus in the spring, eating raining blueberries in the summer, and chasing after fish the colors of leaves in autumn. I love Henkes' pared down yet magical story that ends with the bear thinking no time has passed at all as he wakes up and enters a beautiful spring day.

What Pet to Get. Written and Illustrated by Emma Dodd.

A boy asks his preoccupied mother if they can get a pet as long as he takes care of it. Sure, she replies. The imaginative child and his mom then discuss the pros and cons of owning a pet shark, elephant, bison, rhino, and others. I love surprise endings, and this book offers one that never fails to get a big laugh in storytime--a fold-out page that reveals a lovely baby animal that is huge beyond words. Dodd's playful artwork tickles the funnybone, and I dig the deadpan exchanges between mother and child. Great for storytimes.

Wild Boars Cook. Written by Meg Rosoff. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall.

This team had two fun 2008 picture books, the hilarious "monster under the bed" spoof Jumpy Jack & Googily being the other. This tasty sequel to the rather gross Meet Wild Boars reintroduces the four greedy, stinky, and perpetually hungry wild boars who eat everything. When Doris starts eating a cookbook, she discovers a rather disgusting recipe for a Massive Pudding that includes such ingredients as chocolate-covered chocolates, donuts, squid, and...broccoli (yeech!!!). Rosoff's lively text and Blackall's energetic art go together perfectly, creating a fun manners book that doesn't quite seem like a manners book.

Hilarious Jon Scieszka Youtube Clip

From this year's ALA conference, a hilarious interview with the ever-nutty Jon Scieszka, who does take promoting literacy seriously. He was appointed as the very first Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Scieszka is the author of such great books of The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. In this clip, interviewer Maria Van Lieshout manages to keep a straight face (for the most part) as she asks him questions on the Caldecott award "red carpet" about what he's wearing, and whether he would, uh, eat Knuffle Bunny/Pigeon author Mo Willems if stuck on a desert isle. (On a side note, check out Jon's Guys Read site.)

Punk Farm on Tour author photo outtakes

Punk Farm on Tour author photo outtakes
Originally uploaded by studio_jjk

Jarrett Krosoczka's fun picture book Punk Farm offers the rockin' sight of farm animals playing a slambang version of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm." The talented illustrated/author Krosoczka takes this Punk Farm idea very seriously, judging from this photograph found on Flickr. Catch him as entertains a bunch of cows with his groovy punk moves. "Thank you Wisconsin!"

Picture Book Star of the Week: Keiko Kasza

Every week I will look at the work of a picture book author/illustrator whom I admire. Kicking off this series is none other than the wonderful Keiko Kasza. According to the Houghton Mifflin site, Ms. Kasza was born in Japan, moved to attend college in California, and now lives in Indiana. What I love about Kasza's books: the twists. Her economical stories always end with a surprise that you seriously don't see coming. So in addtion to her lively illustrations and her ability to convey the excitement and emotions of her comical characters, she often ends her stories with a moment that allows readers to say "whoooooaaaaa."

Here are my five favorite picture books by Keiko Kasza:

The Dog Who Cried Wolf. After his owner Michelle reads a book about wolves to him, good dog Moka decides that his domestic canine life is dull and mundane. So he decides to run away and live the life of a wolf. At first he's euphoric and my favorite spread shows a jubilant Moka running and dancing (and yes, there's an obligatory bathroom joke). But things get dire for poor Moka who, well, freaks out when he comes face to face with a howling pack of wolves. Kasza gives us a sweet reunion of dog and owner, followed by a typically hilarious Kaszaesque surprise.

Don't Laugh, Joe! In this darkly funny story, Mother Possum loves her son Joe, but there's a major problem: the boy will not stop giggling, and this prevents him from learning how to play dead. No matter how hard she tries, Joe cannot stop his guffawing. Kasza then introduces a bear who has some issues of his own in a very amusing twist. I love how Kasza introduces the bear, who creeps up from a distance. And it's fun to watch Joe's forest friends commenting on the action in the background. The ending always makes kids go "ewwwwww."

The Mightiest. This has become my favorite Kasza read aloud. Kids love this story about a bear, elephant, and lion who stumble upon a crown sitting on a rock that reads "For the Mightiest." The pals argue about which one of them is indeed the mightiest. They decide to end the squabble by seeing which one of them can best scare the elderly woman approaching them. Kasza outdoes herself with the twists here--the final six spreads offer surprises galore. Kids love making the sounds of the animals, and enjoy saying the elderly woman's recurring line "Oh my! You scared the daylights out of me!" Hilarious.

The Rat and the Tiger. Probably Kasza's most serious book, but still quite funny. Rat and tiger are friends, but tiger is a bit unfair to his much smaller rodent pal. For example, when splitting a doughnut, tiger always takes a huge piece and gives rat only a tiny smidgen. After Tiger reads a karate book, he does a karate kick that destroys the cool castle Rat has just built, and Rat goes ballistic, telling Tiger "you're a big mean bully." Sadness follows, but so does forgiveness. But just when everything seems perfect, well, Kasza offers a twist that's both funny and well, somewhat troubling.

The Wolf's Chicken Stew. This probably has Kasza's funniest surprise ending. A wolf who consumes meal after meal dreams of chicken stew. He sees the chicken that will be just right for his dream meal, but he needs to fatten her up a bit. In a gleefully silly touch, he puts on a chef's hat and bakes 100 scrumptious pancakes, 100 scrumptious doughnuts, and even a scrumptious cake that weighs 100 pounds. But of course Kasza has a surprise waiting for the wolf. It's funny--when I read this book to kids, they often get a little nervous but they love love love the surprise ending and always ask me to "read it again."

Brian Selznick's Wonderful Horn Book Cover

There is a tradition at Horn Book magazine to have the current winner of the Caldecott Medal design the cover for the July/August issue. This year's winner Brian Selznick, who won for the epic 500 page plus The Invention of Hugo Cabret, truly outdid himself. The cover shows his titular character riding on a plane heading to the ALA awards ceremony held in Anaheim, California. And in a beautiful and brilliant touch, Hugo is reading the current year's Newbery winner, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by the wonderful Laura Amy Schlitz. The issue also contains the slides that accompanied Selznick's Caldecott speech. My favorite slide shows Hugo receiving the phone call telling him that his book has won.

A Trio of Winners: 3 Great New Read Alouds

The Cow That Laid an Egg, written by Andy Cutbill, illustrated by Russell Ayto
According to this silly book, every cow has a special talent...except for Marjorie. She cannot ride a bike or do handstands...like the other cows. So a bunch of concerned chickens decide to give Marjorie a confidence boost by creating the illusion that she has just laid an egg. Cutbill's hilarious tale will remind some of the Seuss classic Horton Hatches the Egg. Thanks to Ayto's wild illustrations and Cutbill's understated humor, this book definitely beats to the sound of its drummer. And nice surprise ending.

Mr. Pusskins and Little Whiskers, written and illustrated by Sam Lloyd
In this delightful follow-up to Mr. Pusskins: A Love Story, Mr. Pusskins, a moody feline, enjoys life with owner Emily...until she brings home a cute new kitten named Little Whiskers. The new addition seems precious and harmless, but Mr. Pusskins starts to see through the charade. However, it's too late...he soon finds himself punished after Little Whiskers causes a ruckus. Lloyd's expressive characters leap off the page. And although the story earns some big laughs, there is a nice message about forgiveness at the end.





Roadwork, written by Sally Sutton, illustrated by Brian Lovelock
Packed with sound effects that invite audience participation, this is a bouncy and boisterous look at the building of a road. Construction vehicles and workers clunk, crash, and bang as they plan the road, move the earth, roll the tar, and perform other tasks. I have read this book to four different preschool groups already and the children loved the book. Brian Lovelock's colorful illustrations deftly support Sally Sutton's rhythmic text. And there's even an informative page of "Machine Facts" on the final page.