Frog Went A-Courtin', by John Langstaff

Langstaff, John. Frog Went A-Courtin. Illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky. Harcout, Brace, Jovanovich, 1955. 32 pages. $7.00, ISBN 0-15-230214-X

AGE LEVEL
1 and 2 year-olds

GENRE
Traditional Literature (Folktale)

REVIEW
According to the foreword, this Caldecott Award winner is the retelling of a story which originated in Scotland over 400 years ago.  Frog decides he'd like to marry Miss Mouse, and so asks her for her hand.  Once she gets the approval of her Uncle Rat, the wedding is a go.  The last two-thirds of the story details the arrival of each of the wedding guests --  including a raccoon, a bumblebee, two ants, and a snake, among others -- and their contributions to the wedding day, such as fiddling, bringing cider, or laying the tablecloth, etc. Rojankovsky's ink and pencil illustrations depict the animals and insects in the story with accuracy and tenderness at the same time.  The artwork -- whether containing several colors in an image, or simply black and one other color -- is striking, and its style is suggestive of wood-cut printing in several instances.  Because the story rhymes, contains only two short lines per page and large illustrations, and is repetitive in its last two-thirds, it's a perfect choice for 1 and 2 year olds.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
Here is a rhyme to accompany this book during toddler storytime:

          THE FROG

          A little green frog once lived in a pool,
          The sun was hot and the water cool.
          He sat in the pool the whole day long,
          And sung a dear little, queer little song,
          "Juaggery do, Quaggery dee,
          No one was ever so happy as me."

When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry, by Molly Bang

Bang, Molly. When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry. Scholastic, 1999. 34 pages. $9.95, ISBN 0590189794

AGE LEVEL
3 and 4 year-olds

GENRE
Picture book  

REVIEW
Sophie is a young child prone to fits of anger, and experiences one when she learns that she must share her stuffed gorilla with her sister. Her anger is depicted vividly in blazing reds and blues, and household and outside items change their shape and natural positions as a reflection of the intensity of her feeling. Sophie finds, however, that climbing a tree and enjoying the beauty of nature soothes her frustration, and she is then able to rejoin and enjoy her family once again. Few words per page make this book accessible to 1 and 2 year-olds, but the topic of soothing one's own angry feelings is more appropriate for 3 and 4 year-olds. This Caldecott honoree is a must-read-aloud for this older age group, as it accurately depicts in illustrations what is so often difficult for children of this age to describe in words.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
As suggested by the book's author, after reading this book aloud at preschool storytime, ask children to talk about what they do to get over their anger.

Tuesday, by David Wiesner

Wiesner, David. Tuesday. Clarion Books, 1991. 30 pages. $7.99, ISBN 0395551137

AGE LEVEL
1 and 2 year-olds

GENRE
Picture book

REVIEW
As this Caldecott winner opens, a group of frogs, previously sleeping peacefully, are awakened by their lily pads' sudden levitation. The frogs are of course at first quite surprised, but eventually adjust to this development and settle in for their ride above marsh and suburbs, enjoying their new perspective, and the chance to scare a crow and a dog, wave to a man eating a late snack in his kitchen, and watch some television while an elderly woman sleeps. To me, the implications of this story are that anything is possible and that more amazing things happen in this world than most of us are aware. Tuesday is almost completely wordless, with the exception of the noting of the time and date on certain pages. For this reason, I feel that it's a great pick for all ages of young children, who can make up their own stories as they take in the illustrations.  The painted illustrations in their nighttime greens, purples, and blues with softly edged background images are lovely, but may be a bit too busy for babies, however. 

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
This book can be shared at toddler storytime along with some nonfiction books about frogs.

Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold

Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach. Crown, 1991. 32 pages. $15.00, ISBN 0-517-58030-6

AGE LEVEL
3 and 4 year-olds

GENRE
Picture book

REVIEW
Ringgold based this Caldecott honoree and King Award winner on her childhood memories of growing up in Harlem.  As the book begins, we are immediately transported into narrator eight-year-old Cassie Louise Lightfoot's imagination as she declares, "I will always remember when the stars fell down around me and lifted me up above the George Washington Bridge." In a completely absorbing folk style, Ringgold paints in peaches, corals, and pale green-blues against deeper blue nighttime skies.  It is revealed that the Bridge is important to Cassie's family history and relates to her touching wish for a better life for her father and mother.  The social climate of the time the picture book takes place, which appears to be the late 1930s, is included in the text, as Cassie states, "Well, Daddy is going to own that building, 'cause I'm gonna fly over it and give it to him.  Then it won't matter that he's not in their old union, or whether he's colored or a half-breed Indian, like they say."  This book is a tour-de-force -- words, images, and themes create a powerful story together -- and is very highly recommended for three and four year olds, athough the imaginations of younger children will also take flight based purely on the illustrations.  An image of Ringgold's stunning Tar Beach story quilt and an informative article about her follows the story text.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
Due to the book's focus on flight, the following is a possible action rhyme to pair with it at preschool storytime:

          BIRDS

          If I were a bird, I'd sing a song,
          (tuck hands in armpits to represent wings) 
         
          And fly about the whole day long.
          (stretch arms out at sides and rock body as if flying)
         
          And when the night came,
          (give yourself a hug and make shivering motion)
         
          Go to rest, up in my cozy little nest.
          (flap arms and them cup hands to form nest)

The Hello, Goodbye Window, by Norton Juster

Juster, Norton. The Hello, Goodbye Window. Illustrated by Chris Raschka. Michael Di Capua Books/Hyperion Books for Children, 2005. 32 pages. $15.95, ISBN 978-0786809141

AGE LEVEL
3 and 4 year-olds

GENRE
Picture book

REVIEW
In her own words and illustrated by exuberant paintings with many childlike elements, a very young girl tells us all about the many special qualities and uses of a window in her grandparents’ house.  She calls this kitchen window at Nanna and Poppa’s house the “Hello Goodbye” window, stating that it “looks like a regular window but it’s not”.  Through this window, she greets her grandparents as she arrives, sees what’s going on outside, looks at it as a mirror with her grandpa, and finds a myriad number of other uses, to do with both the real and imaginary world. Throughout the book, the window also serves as a vehicle through which we learn about all the things that our narrator does with Nanna and Poppa at their house, and one can see how much they treasure her.  This Caldecott Award winner is highly recommended for its tribute to the special relationship between grandparents and grandchildren and the imagination, and its reminder to find the joy in simple everyday things.  The focus on a multiracial family is a highly positive aspect of the work. It is quite a lengthy picture book, and for this reason is recommended for three and four year olds wth good attention spans.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
Read this aloud as part of a special Grandparents' Day celebration at the library (first Sunday after Labor Day), including grandparents reading additional stories aloud, and grandparents and grandchildren making crafts together.

In the Small, Small Pond, by Denise Fleming

Fleming, Denise. In the Small, Small Pond, 1993. 32 pages. $24.95, ISBN 0-8050-2264-3

AGE LEVEL
1 and 2 year-olds

GENRE
Picture book

REVIEW

This Caldecott honoree, a feast for the senses, describes the abundance of life in a little pond in words and pictures.  Several aspects about this book make it perfect for one to two year olds.  First of all, there are only four words on each two-page spread describing the activities of each animal.  Secondly, each of these phrases follows the same verb-verb-noun-verb pattern, such as “hover, shiver, wings quiver” or “circle, swirl, whirligigs twirl”.  And of course, the originality of Fleming’s artwork, created with colored cotton pulp and stencils, is enough to awakne anyone’s sense of wonder.  Striking blues, greens, and yellows of grasses, sky, and the pond itself form the backdrop for multi-hued images of brown and white geese swimming, purple fireflies skimming, and red lobsters crawling.  With its closing lines of “cold night, sleep tight, small, small pond”, this could even serve as a bedtime book.  Colorful dreams will be inspired by the images within.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
A good pond-related rhyme to pair with this book at toddler storytime is:

          FUNNY DUCKY

          Waddle, waddle, waddle ducky,
          waddle to the pond.
          (place thumbs in armpits and waddle like a duck)

          Paddle, paddle, paddle ducky,
          paddle round and round.
          (paddle with hands)

          Tail up, head down, funny little duck.
          Tail up, head down, funny little duck.
          (move head downward and place hands behind back to represent tail)

The Lion & the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney

Pinkney, Jerry. The Lion & the Mouse. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009. 40 pages. $16.99, ISBN 978-0-316-01356-7

AGE LEVEL
1 and 2 year-olds

GENRE
Traditional Literature (Fable)

REVIEW
Anyone who is not a fan of Aesop already is fairly likely to experience a change of heart after reading Pinkney's amazing Caldecott Award-winning rendition of "The Lion and the Mouse".  To start off with, every sketched and painted inch of lion, mouse, and landscape is beautifully multi-tonal in golds, browns, grays, and greens --  a true visual extravaganza.  But perhaps the most impressive aspect of the artwork is that the animals aren't caricatures; they are depicted as authentic creatures, along with the ambiguity that comes with this.  For example, when the lion decides to let the mouse go toward the beginning of the fable, one can literally see the mixed feelings in his eyes, and something more: the inscrutable nature of wild animals that prevents us from knowing exactly what his expression means.  The story is wordless except for a few animals sounds, such as the lion's "Grrr" and the mouse's "squeak".  True to the original fable, the mouse later remembers her debt to the lion, coming to his aid when he is caught by hunters.  For the beauty and accuracy of its illustrations of wild animals, and the way in which it highlights the potential for greatness in even the smallest and most unexpected of us -- whether this be the mouse's courage in initially approaching the lion, the lion's magnanimity in letting the mouse go, or the mouse's integrity in honoring her debt -- this book is very highly recommended for age 1 and up.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
Due to the fact that Pinkney's drawings are very accurate in their depictions of wild animals, this book is the perfect lead-in to presenting some nonfiction books on mice and lions at toddler storytime

Black Cat, by Christopher A. Myers

Myers, Christopher A. Black Cat. Scholastic Press, 1999. 36 pages. $16.95, ISBN 0-590-03375-1

AGE LEVEL
3 and 4 year-olds

GENRE
Poetry

REVIEW
In this Caldecott honoree, Myers’ richly imagistic and metaphor-filled text combine with his collaged illustrations to do what I think all poetry and visual art should aspire to: reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary. We come upon a “black cat, black cat / cousin to the concrete” and follow her throughout her rounds in an urban landscape, exploring the subway station, scaling walls, and running across basketball courts and storefront roofs. Myers' words are strikingly descriptive, calling our attention to the physical features of the cat such as her “eyes like the green of empty glass bottles”, and also to her adventures, “scraping paint from fire escapes” and “hearing the quiet language of invisible trains”. Almost every sentence and phrase is accompanied by a mixed media image, including photographs which Myers took in Harlem and his own Brooklyn neighborhood. This match between words and images, along with the repetition of the refrain “…we want to know / where’s your home, where do you go?” increases the work's accessibility to young children. Through the cat's freedom to roam where she wants in the city, Myers draws attention to the way in which humans have divided up public spaces with walls and fences. Young children will not understand the meanings of all the words in this poem, but will be transfixed by the beauty and rhythm of language in a way that is equally and vitally important.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
This poem could be read aloud at a preschool storytime along with other poems, picture books, and nonfiction about city life and/or cats. 

Hush!: A Thai Lullaby, by Minfong Ho

Ho, Minfong. Hush!: a Thai Lullaby. Orchard Books, 1996. 32 pages. $6.99, ISBN 0-531-09500-2

AGE LEVEL
1 and 2 year-olds

GENRE
Poetry

REVIEW
In this superb 1997 Caldecott Honor Book, Ho draws on her own childhood experience growing up in Thailand to tell the story of a mother who seeks to quiet a series of animals so that they don’t wake her supposedly sleeping baby. The text is perfect for toddlers, with its many rhymes involving long “e” and “i” sounds and its repeated refrain. For example, when the mother finds that a sound coming from the pond outside is a duck, she requests: “White duck, white duck / don’t come beeping / Can’t you see that / Baby’s sleeping? / White duck, white duck / don’t you cry / My baby’s sleeping / right nearby.”  Children will enjoy making animal sounds as they are expressed in Thai: a monkey screeches “Jiak-jiak!” and an elephant bellows “Hoom-praaa!”.  There is also a subtle humor in the book arising from the way in which the mother earnestly addresses the animals, and the fact that unbeknownst to her, her baby is not actually sleeping, but climbing out of his bed.  Holly Meade’s painted illustrations are supremely captivating in their harmonious greens, oranges, and browns, exhibiting collage and wood-cut print qualities in many instances. This book is a great pick for one and two year-olds due to the repetitive nature of its text, and demonstrates to young children the commonalities of all cultures through the example that mothers in Thailand love and worry about their children just as much as mothers everywhere.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
This book could be read at a toddler storytime with other lullaby-based books.