I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato
By Lauren Childs
Candlewick Press

For every picker eater out there and for every parent of a picky eater child, this is the book for you. The story is told by Charlie, the older brother of Lola who refuses to eat a vast array of foods. Rather than try fruitlessly to convince Lola to eat any of these foods, Charlie takes an unconventional approach: he renames each of food that Lola refuses to eat and creates a wild story to go along with the new name. For example, peas are no longer peas:  they are green drops from Greenland that fall from the sky and are very rare. Lola gobbles them up. On and on the story goes with Lola eating all the food she had previously disdained. In the end, Lola turns the tables on Charlie which makes her the “winner” in this amusing wordplay between siblings. The illustrations are a lovely combination of real photographs of food interspersed with cartoon-like drawings of the children and their home.

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type
By Doreen Cronin
Pictures by Betsy Lewin

This is Doreen Cronin’s first picture book and it is a keeper. As if cows typing is not fantastical enough, these cows actually use the typewriter to better their own circumstances. They inform Farmer Brown that they dislike the cold and try to initiate negotiations for electric blankets. When Farmer Brown refuses to negotiate, they resort to classic collective bargaining techniques and refuse to provide any milk. They enlist their comrades, the hens and the ducks, and together, they not only succeed in getting their electric blankets, they completely outsmart Farmer Brown. Both children and adults will enjoy the big, bold illustrations and will relish the lively gamesmanship between the animals and the farmer.

The Curious Garden
Peter Brown
Little, Brown and Company, 2009

Liam lives in a city that is very dreary because it lacks gardens, trees or greenery of any kind. One day, while on a walk, Liam explores an old, abandoned railroad track and discovers that some plants and flowers have tried to grow there but they need help. Liam decides to help by watering and pruning them.

Little by little, over the course of a few months, the garden grows to cover all of the railroad tracks and then expands into other areas of the city. Accompanying the growth of the garden is a surge in the number of gardeners and soon, the city is transformed by gardens.

An interesting characteristic of this story is that the author personifies the original garden. For example, the garden waits for Liam to learn to be a gardener, the garden grows restless and curious, and the garden decides to explore every corner of the railroad and beyond. The illustrations evoke a city of long ago rather than a modern metropolis but the message about the impact that one individual can have on his/her environment is an important one.

How Robin Saved Spring
Debbie Ouellet
Henry Holt and Company, 2009

In this lovely picturebook, the seasons of Winter and Spring are depicted as two beautiful young sisters, Lady Winter and Sister Spring. Each sleeps for part of the year while the other sister rules the land. When the story begins, it is winter and Lady Winter decides that she does not want to go to sleep for the spring—she wants winter to reign every day of the year. She knits a white blanket which she then lays on her sister. As long as the blanket rests on her, Sister Spring will remain asleep.

A robin sitting on the windowsill who observes all of Lady Winter’s actions, immediately calls all the forest creatures together so they can figure out a way to wake up Sister Spring. Several different creatures, including a maple tree, try unsuccessfully to waken Sister Spring. Finally, Robin flies up, up, and up straight into the sky to Mother Sun and asks her to give him some morning light to wake Sister Spring. In exchange for his beautiful voice, the sun grants his wish and Robin returns to Earth where he wakens Sister Spring.

What makes this story even more charming is that the author “explains” certain natural phenomena, such as the skunk’s white strip and the ladybug’s black spots, as resulting from their exploits in trying to waken sister Spring. For example, the ladybug’s black spots came about after she hid in the embers of a fire where some cinders fell on her burning black spots onto her back.

This is an exquisitely illustrated picture book. The illustrator, Nicoletta Ceccoli, is the recipient of the Andersen Prize, honoring her as the best children’s book illustrator in Italy.

Hip & Hop, Don’t Stop
Jef Czekaj
Hyperion Books, 2010

Hip is a turtle who raps very slowly. Hop is a bunny who raps superfast. Although they live in the same county and both love to rap, they have never met. Then, one day when they are both reading a poster advertising a rap contest, they discover each other’s talent for rap. Despite their obvious differences and the lack of support from their other friends who don’t understand why a turtle and a bunny would want to be friends, they begin to hang out together and they become friends.

At the Rap Off, their individual performances are a flop. Hip raps so slowly that no one pays any attention. Hop raps so fast that no one can understand him. Then, they decide to rap together and the audience loves them! They even win the contest.

On the first page, the author suggests reading all of Hip’s words very s l o w l y and all of Hop’s words very, very fast. Although the overall message of the book may be a bit heavy handed for some parents, following the author’s suggestion will certainly make reading this book fun for readers and listeners.

Dogs
Emily Gravett
Simon & Schuster, 2010

On the opening page of this picturebook, the narrator tells us that, “I love dogs.” Then, s/he proceeds to itemize all the different kinds of dogs that s/he loves: i.e. big dogs, small dogs, tough dogs, soft dogs, dogs that play and dogs that don’t, slow dogs, and fast dogs. While the text is sparce and there is no storyline, the illustrations are charming. On each page, the dog(s) are front and center. There is nothing in the background of the off-white pages, each dog is positioned very close to the edge of the page and, hence, to the reader, and the soft brushstrokes and colors make all the dogs look appealing even the “tough” one. Although not a lot happens in this picturebook, adults and children alike will appreciate the surprise ending (where the reader learns the identity of the narrator) which is clever and gives the story an added punch.

Knuffle Bunny
Mo William
Hyperion Books, 2004

This is a wonderful story about a non-verbal toddler named Trixie who loses her favorite stuffed animal, Knuffle Bunny, at the laundromat. When Trixie becomes aware of the loss, she tries to communicate it to her father but only is able to use nonsensical words which her father is unable to understand. Trixie’s antics as she gets more and more frustrated at her inability to communicate with her father are highly amusing and quite realistic, especially the illustration where she goes “boneless.” Many parents will be able to identify with the predicament of her hapless father and certainly many toddlers will understand Trixie’s unhappiness. Both children and adults will appreciate the surprise ending.

The illustrations are eye-catching. The author uses black and white photographs as the background for each illustration and paints in Trixie and her parents as colorful cartoon-like characters.

How to Catch a Star
Oliver Jeffers
Philomel Books, 2004

The protagonist in this story is “a boy” who loves stars and wishes that he had one of his own. The color-washed illustrations are simple and almost childlike. The little boy is very appealing because he looks like he was drawn by a child: a large head rests directly on a square body with two spindly arms and two stick-like legs protruding from it. The boy dreams of becoming friends with a star and of playing together. He carefully plots and tries various methods to reach a star. All are unsuccessful, of course, and he is very sad.

One day, walking home alone on the beach, he finds a star of a different kind. On the last page, he is sitting on a chair reading to his star. The fact that the star on the beach is not the same as the stars in the sky is of no consequence to the boy—which is exactly as it should be. The boy and the reader/listener discover that sometimes things aren’t where or what we expect them to be. Certainly, any child or adult who has ever tried to pull a star from the sky will identify with this boy and his wish.