March | 2023 | julie rowan-zoch

Author/Illustrator: James Marshall
Publisher: Dial Books, 1988
Age: 3-7
Themes: bears, folklore, classic tales

Opening: see image above

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) Three bears return home from a walk to find a little girl asleep in baby bear’s bed.

I picked this book because: I enjoyed reading it agin, for the gazillionth time! the image above, of Goldilocks sinking into an oversized, overstuffed chair, or the perspective of Pap Bear’s eyes in the image below speaks volumes about what makes Marshall illustrations so irresistible to me – concept, placement, seemingly minor details. The lampshade repeating the shape of papa Bear’s left paw… I melt every time! And his tale-telling style and sense of humor – like the last line from the neighbor on the first page/opening above. You just KNOW it’s going to be a great story! Sigh!

Resources/activities: enjoy reading anything by James Marshall! Rewrite or act out a classic tale and try to give it your own flavor.

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.

Author: Simon Philip
Illustrator: Lucia Gaggiotti
Publisher: Orchard Books, 2020
Age: 2-6
Themes: cake, girls, self-control

Opening: “There’s a smell I can’t ignore. It’s wafting through the kitchen door. It’s time for me to find out more.”

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) How on earth do you resist the most amazing cake? One little girl is about to find out just how hard it can be…

I picked this book because: it’s pure fun to watch someone else with the same weakness for cake try as hard as this adorable main character to be good. Spoiler alert: the writing is so delicious it allows the reader feel like they have just tasted the cake themselves. And it’s a rhyming read aloud that will make you want to bake – so be ready! And I love the little tiger feel to her character design too!

Resources/activities: read companion titles like Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton, or Where is the Cake, by T.T. Khing; Bake a cake! Bake enough cake to share with friends or neighbors (I once baked a cake sooo lemony-sweet I apologized to each neighbor I gave a slice to before they could eat it, but they all LOVED it! Ha!)