PPBF: The Invisible Alphabet

Author: Joshua David Stein
Illustrator: Ron Barrett
Publisher: Rise/PRH, 2020
Age: 3-7
Themes: alphabet, 2-color palette, concept book

Opening: see image below.

Summary: (from my library catalog) Illustrations and simple text for each letter of the alphabet represent invisible items, some that are gone and some that have not arrived, such as a bus that has been delayed–or missed. (A lack of passion here, I’d say!)

I picked this book because: the cover intrigued me, especially the hint that it might have a VERY limited palette! I love to see someone tackle a visual challenge, and the concept must have been quite the puzzle too! But both author and illustrator make it look deceptively simple! I also appreciate visuals that are easy for the very young to read – not that I don’t like beautifully detailed illustrations, but it’s not only important to get a message across, it also teaches us something about the power of being concise. I’ve already read it multiple times with a consistent smile on my face!

Resources/activities! see if you can come up with more words to use for each letter and drawings to go with them!

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

PPBF: Hey, Little Ant

Posted by julie rowan zoch

Author: Phillip and Hannah Hoose
Illustrator: Debbie Tilley
Publisher: Tricycle Press, 1998
Age: 4-8
Themes: ants, children’s songs, empathy
Opening: Kid: hey, little ant down in the crack, Can you hear me? Can you talk back? See my shoe, can you see that? Well, now it’s gonna squish you flat.

Summary: (from my library catalog) A song in which an ant pleads with the kid who is tempted to squish it.

I like this book because: because the text is a song it makes for a very nice read-aloud, and I was drawn to the illustration style as much now as when I had read this to my son. But as an illustrator I also appreciate the unique perspectives on every page, the adorable character design of the ant and the children. The spreads I didn’t show are even more fun!

Resources/activities: sing the song together – words and music are in the backmatter; learn the ukelele just for this song (haha!); great discussion starter around respect for the natural world; learn more about ants in the video at the bottom of this post.

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

COINCIDENCE? The night this post went up we experienced an invasion of baby ants, just not as bite as this one!

PPBF: Field Trip to the Moon

Posted by julie rowan zoch

Author/Illustrator: John Hare
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson Books, Holiday House, 2019
Age: 3-7
Themes: school field trips, moon, stories without words

Summary: (from my library catalog) in this wordless picture book, a girl is accidentally left behind on a class trip to the moon.

I like this book because: the landscape Hare created is deceptive – it looks simple, but we are drawn back to each page, practically before turning, to look for what our quick brains have missed, and there is so much to be discovered! Enjoy!

Resources/activities: how would you invite someone to join you in an activity whose language you could not understand? Try it, as a game. think of an activity and try acting it out without words to see if your partner gets it – like charades, but no clues!

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

PPBF: Bunny in the Middle

Posted by julie rowan zoch

Author: Anika Denise
Illustrator: Christopher Denise
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt and Co, 2019
Age: 3-7
Themes: Siblings, family life, rabbits
Opening: When you’re ihn the middle…you’re not the oldest and you’re not the youngest. You are right in between .

Summary: (from my library catalog) Illustrations and easy-to-read text celebrate the joys of being the middle child in a loving family of rabbits.

I like this book because: I’m a middlest child, and can identify with every whisker twist of this in between bunny. The illustrations themselves are lighting up all the adorable markers in my brain, but feeling noticed is what made me fall in love. I would have worn the pages onion-skin-thin had I had a book like this when I needed it.

Resources/activities: list the pros and cons of different positions in the family – maybe even include parents!; discuss within a class or larger group, reform new ‘family’ groups with oldest, middle, youngest, twin, members – we might find we are more able to listen to the woes of a friend over a sibling; talk about what positions our parents, grandparents, teachers, guardians had in their families and see if their feelings are the same today as they might have been in the past.

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

PPBF: Vroom!

Posted by julie rowan zoch

Author/Illustrator: Barbara McClintock
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2019
Age: 3-6
Themes: Automobiles, cars, imagination
Opening: See image below .

Summary: (from my library catalog) Follows a young girl’s imaginary journey as she zooms in a race car past fields and forests to faraway lands before returning home to her own safe bed.

I like this book because: the deceptively simple writing packs a punch, inviting listeners to add “Vroom!” whenever possible! It was such a fun read aloud, with beautiful illustrations loaded with details, esp the ones in the forest that the kids loved to shout out as soon as they found them! (See image below)

Resources/activities: read companion books like, Go, Dog, Go!, by P.D. Eastman, and Red Light, Green Lion, by Candace Ryan and Jennifer Yerkes; build your own toilet-paper roll cars. Our storytime gang used used milk lids and pipe cleaners (we tried straws and twisty ties, but they didn’t work as well).

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

PPBF: The Boy in the Moon

Posted by julie rowan zoch

Author/Illustrator: Ib Spang Olsen

Publisher: Parents Magazine Press, 1977 (orig. published 1962)
Age: 3-6
Themes: moon, reflections, vanity

Summary: (from the publisher’s info page) Seeing his reflection in the water, The Man in the Moon thinks it’s another moon and sends the Boy in the Moon to get it for him.

Why I like this book: I love the playful long format and bright cheerful illustrations – even a balloon has personality! It’s cute, silly and I hope my storytime kids like it because I’m taking it to work tomorrow! Will update!

Resources/Activities: read about the moon, how it revolves around the earth, the influence it has on life here, and discuss what it’s made of – while eating cheese of course!