Haiku presented by Koo

Koo is a charming panda bear who will melt your heart and tickle your funny bone in this very delightful first introduction into the Japanese form of poetry known as haiku. Hi, Koo! A year of seasons by author and illustrator, Jon J. Muth, captures the essence of each season with simple haiku and beautiful paintings that you and your children will want to read over and over.  Very helpful is the author's note defining traditional haiku, "made up of seventeen sound parts called on (pronounced own) --- divided into three lines with five, then seven, then five on." Muth, however, does not adhere to this rigid structure because he believes..."haiku is like an instant captured in words---using sensory images."

Little Puppy and the Big Green Monster by Mike Wohnoutka

Little Puppy and the Big Green Monster by Mike Wohnoutka is a classic tale of an unlikely friendship.

Judging by the cover illustration, things at first glance don't look so good for Little Puppy.  Big Green Monster, with his stegosaurus-like spine ridges and sharp, pointy teeth, is fixing a decidedly unfriendly expression on him.  In contrast, Little Puppy, (whose head is about the size of one of those pointy teeth), smiles expectantly up at Big Green Monster and wags his tail.

Irresistible Illustrations

Never judge a book by its cover, so they say.  Though I tend to agree with the literal and metaphorical implications of the all-too-familiar saying, I have to say that I can't help myself when it comes to picture books.  Some are just so stunningly illustrated that they are irresistible.  And, on the rare occasion when those gorgeous illustrations reveal a beautiful story, we have something quite remarkable in our hands.  Such books are truly works of art, to be read again and again for years to come.  Here are few titles that have recently ended up in my "wow" collection at the library:

My Bus

My Bus, by Byron Barton is a fun little book that's sure to become a read aloud favorite.

Joe drives a bus.  He picks up and drops off a variety of brightly-colored chunky-sized cats and dogs all over town.  As the animals board the bus the count is predictable....one dog gets on at stop number one, two cats get on at stop number two, etc, until the bus is full of cats and dogs.  When the animals get off the bus, however, they do so in random groupings -(two cats and one dog, one cat and two dogs, etc.),  and with varying purposes and destinations, (some board a boat, others take a plane...) and so it goes until only one dog is left on the bus with Joe.  This is Joe's own dog, as it turns out, and the two leave the bus at the station and head for home in Joe's little car.  

More than a good little story, this book introduces the concepts of ordinal and cardinal numbers as well as different forms of transportation, a variety of verbs to convey different kinds of action, and simple counting from one to ten.  It's perfect for toddlers and a good choice for preschoolers or even beginning readers. 

-Miss Meg