Staff Picks

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

The gentle rhyming and gorgeous, tissue-paper collage illustrations in this classic picture book make it a dog-eared favorite on many children's bookshelves. On each page, we meet a new animal who nudges us onward to discover which creature will show up next: "Blue Horse, Blue Horse, What do you see? I see a green frog looking at me." This pattern is repeated over and over, until the pre-reader can chime in with the reader, easily predicting the next rhyme. One thing readers might not predict, however, is just what kinds of funny characters will make an appearance at the denouement! Children on the verge of reading learn best with plenty of identifiable images and rhythmic repetition. Eric Carle's good-humored style and colorful, bold illustrations (like those in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Grouchy Ladybug, and Have You Seen My Cat?) have earned him a prominent place in the children's book hall of fame. (Baby to Preschool) --Emilie Coulter

A Beloved Classis Now Available In Hard Book Edition For The Youngest Child.

Corduroy

Have you ever dreamed of being locked in a department store at night? The endearing story of Corduroy paints a picture of the adventures that might unfold (for a teddy bear at least) in such a situation. When all the shoppers have gone home for the night, Corduroy climbs down from the shelf to look for his missing button. It's a brave new world! He accidentally gets on an elevator that he thinks must be a mountain and sees the furniture section that he thinks must be a palace. He tries to pull a button off the mattress, but he ends up falling off the bed and knocking over a lamp. The night watchman hears the crash, finds Corduroy, and puts him back on the shelf downstairs. The next morning, he finds that it's his lucky day! A little girl buys him with money she saved in her piggy bank and takes him home to her room. Corduroy decides that this must be home and that Lisa must be his friend. Youngsters will never get tired of this toy-comes-alive tale with a happy ending, so you may also want to seek out Dan Freeman's next creation, A Pocket for Corduroy. (Ages 3 to 8)

Don Freeman's classic character, Corduroy, is even more popular today then he was when he first came on the scene over thirty years ago. These favorite titles are ready for another generation of children to love.

Blueberries for Sal

Kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk go the blueberries into the pail of a little girl named Sal who--try as she might--just can't seem to pick as fast as she eats. Robert McCloskey's classic is a magical tale of the irrepressible curiosity--not to mention appetite--of youth. Sal and her mother set off in search of blueberries for the winter at the same time as a mother bear and her cub. A quiet comedy of errors ensues when the young ones wander off and absentmindedly trail the wrong mothers.

Blueberries for Sal--with its gentle animals, funny noises, and youthful spirit of adventure--is perfect for reading aloud. The endearing illustrations, rendered in dark, blueberry-stain blue, will leave you craving a fresh pail of your own. (Picture book)

The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh

When Christopher Robin asks Pooh what he likes doing best in the world, Pooh says, after much thought, "What I like best in the whole world is Me and Piglet going to see You, and You saying 'What about a little something?' and Me saying, 'Well, I shouldn't mind a little something, should you, Piglet,' and it being a hummy sort of day outside, and birds singing."

Happy readers for over 70 years couldn't agree more. Pooh's status as a "Bear of Very Little Brain" belies his profoundly eternal wisdom in the ways of the world. To many, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and the others are as familiar and important as their own family members. A.A. Milne's classics, Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, are brought together in this beautiful edition, complete and unabridged, with recolored illustrations by Milne's creative counterpart, Ernest H. Shepard. Join Pooh and the gang as they meet a Heffalump, help get Pooh unstuck from Rabbit's doorway, (re)build a house for Eeyore, and try to unbounce Tigger. A childhood is simply not complete without full participation in all of Pooh's adventures. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter

Berlioz the Bear

Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear!

In Hans de Beer's Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear (now in a sturdy board-book format), Lars jumps in the sea to catch a fish, but it is he himself who gets caught in a giant net! Dumped into the hold of a ship with piles of slimy fish, he is taken away from his icy home in the North Pole. Up on the ship's deck, he meets the ship's cat Nemo, whom he asks to help him get home. They both creep ashore at the next port, to a town where Lars's white fur gets very dirty, and another cat arranges for him to hop aboard a ship heading back to the North Pole. Soon enough, the young cub is reunited with his loving parents. "Lars was happy to be home again, but often he sat and stared out to sea looking for ships--and ship's cats." While the story line is simple, de Beer's illustrations are quite endearing. Young children will be taken in by Lars's harmless adventuring and safe return home. (Baby to preschool)

Lars is accidentally scooped up in a fishnet and put into a ship. How is he ever going to get home?

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Children find the story of Goldilocks delightful for so many reasons. There's a trespassing little girl, for starters, who barges into the bears' house uninvited and not only snoops around, but eats the bears' food! The suspense of wondering whether she'll get caught only adds to the thrill of the trespassing itself, and the repeated lines about the three bears with their three distinct voices, bowls, chairs, and beds further endear this tale to the preschool set. In Jan Brett's Goldilocks, the bears and the slightly audacious flaxen-haired heroine all sport traditional (Black Forest?) costumes with detailed embroidery, and the wooden furniture is carved with bears, birds, and flowers. (Intricate borders--carved wooden panels in this book--are Jan Brett's special signature.) Brett is the illustrator of many well-known folk tales, fairy tales, and poems, such as The Mitten and Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat. Of her exquisite interpretation of this beloved story, Booklist writes, "This is perfection." (Ages 3 to 6)

It's the Bear!

Let's Go Home, Little Bear

The Three Bears Rhyme Book

Young children have long loved "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," the irresistible story of a little girl who audaciously trespasses on the property of a family of bears. In The Three Bears Rhyme Book, Jane Yolen takes a closer look at the bears, from their breakfast porridge (with Goldilocks peeking in the window) to a garden visit, a walk in the rain, naptime, and other adventures that lead to bath, books, and bedtime. Preschoolers just might notice the similarities between Baby Bear's life and their own! Jane Dyer's engaging full-page illustrations in colored pencil and watercolor make The Three Bears Rhyme Book a delightful read-aloud experience. Don't be surprised if you share this book with your child and hear "Read it again!" as you turn the last page. (Ages 2 to 6)