Home by Alex T. Smith

In a house that is a home live four best friends—One, Two, Three, and Four. They live happily ever after, until . . . One wants to move to the sea and become a pirate. Two would rather live at the top of a mountain and yodel. Three wants to move into a cave and collect creepy-crawlies. And Four yearns to go to the big city and boogie-woogie all night long.
The friends can’t agree on what to do, so they go their separate ways and take different parts of the house with them. When they’re gone, all that’s left is the roof! But they quickly realize . . . there’s no place like home.
A warm and humorously illustrated picture book that proves home is where the heart is!

A couple of years ago I reviewed this adorable story about these four best friends and had high hopes that the Turkeybird and Littlebug would fall in love with it. Well, they have! It’s a huge hit in our home and I’m excited to share more stories by Alex T. Smith as time goes on.

Recently the author/illustrator was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for 2012 for his book Claude in the City. First of all, congratulations go to Alex! Second of all I know we’ll be picking it up as soon as possible because I’m certain it’s going to be fantastic! Check out more about his book series Claude by visiting the website.

PS…Do be sure to stop by the author’s blog, he has the most fabulous illustrations posted each week and my favorite is perhaps this one.

Pick Up Home by Alex T. Smith:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Pick Up Claude in the City by Alex T. Smith:

Amazon | Powell’s Books | Book Depository | Goodreads

Interested in learning more about our feature “The Year of the Picture Book“? Please check out our opening post and be sure to leave your recommendations as well as links on that post. Thank you so much for your participation!

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Illustrated by Felicia Bond

If a hungry little traveler shows up at your house, you might want to give him a cookie. If you give him a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk. He’ll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn’t have a milk mustache, and then he’ll ask for a pair of scissors to give himself a trim….

The consequences of giving a cookie to this energetic mouse run the young host ragged, but young readers will come away smiling at the antics that tumble like dominoes through the pages of this delightful picture book.

I’m not sure there’s a book reader on the planet who hasn’t heard of this delightful little mouse. It’s certainly one I remember from the a very early age. In fact it’s the first author event I can remember anyone in my family attending. My sister was a huge fan and one of her most prized possessions was her very own signed copy of this very book. So it definitely left an impression on everyone in our family.

If you haven’t read any of the books in this popular series, I’d highly recommend it and I suggest starting with the original. If you’ve read it and want more, take a look below at a few additions they’ve made to the series including the recently released If You Give A Dog A Donut. All are fantastic!

Pick up the original If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Illustrated by Felicia Bond:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

A few extras you might be interested in (All link directly to PDF files):
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake activity kit
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake Book Guide & Activities
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake coloring sheet
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake stickers
If You Give a Pig a Pancake Maze
If You Give a Pig a Pancake coloring sheet
If You Give a Pig a Party event kit
HarperCollins Childrens Printables Page

Interested in learning more about our feature “The Year of the Picture Book“? Please check out our opening post and be sure to leave your recommendations as well as links on that post. Thank you so much for your participation!

Big Bouffant by Kate Hosford and Illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown

“Ponytails and braids! Ponytails and braids! I don’t see anything but ponytails and braids! This class needs some fashion. This class needs some fun. I’ll find a hairdo to impress everyone.”

Annabelle doesn’t want the same boring hairstyle that all the other girls have. When she spies a picture of her grandma, she has the perfect idea: a big bouffant!

But how can she make her style stand up? And will her classmates really be impressed with her daring ‘do?

Big Bouffant was one of our top ten picture books of the year during 2011 and I’ve recently learned that the author/illustrator duo that created this first gem has done it again. Their new book, Big Birthday was recently released and I can already tell you it’s just as fantastic as the first! Our review will be coming soon.

I’d highly recommend also taking a look at both the author(Kate Hosford) and illustrator(Holly Clifton-Brown) sites, they’re adorable!

Pick Up Big Bouffant by Kate Hosford and Illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Pick Up Big Birthday by Kate Hosford and Illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Interested in learning more about our feature “The Year of the Picture Book“? Please check out our opening post and be sure to leave your recommendations as well as links on that post. Thank you so much for your participation!

A Leaf Can Be… by Laura Purdie Salas and Illustrated by Violeta Dabija

A leaf can be a . . .
Shade spiller
Mouth filler
Tree topper
Rain stopper

Find out about the many roles leaves play in this poetic exploration of leaves throughout the year.

This was a book that I first heard about during my interview with Lerner Publishing Group Editor Carol Hinz and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since. She said, “We’re going to be releasing the most gorgeous picture book I’ve ever worked on.” That book was A Leaf Can Be… . It’s since been released and getting nothing but high praises, so this is certainly a book to be on the lookout for!

Pick Up A Leaf Can Be… by Laura Purdie Salas and Illustrated by Violeta Dabija:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Interested in learning more about our feature “The Year of the Picture Book“? Please check out our opening post and be sure to leave your recommendations as well as links on that post. Thank you so much for your participation!

Another Brother by Matthew Cordell

Life for Davy was glorious as long as he had his mother and father to himself. But then he got a brother, Petey. When Davy sang, Petey cried. When Davy created a masterpiece, Petey spat up on it.
And then he got another brother, Mike! And another, Stu! And another, Gil! Until he had TWELVE LITTLE BROTHERS! And that was only the beginning!

Initially I became aware of Matthew Cordell from his illustrations for Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie by Julie Sternberg, which I loved! So when I learned he has a new picture book out I couldn’t resist posting about it. Make sure to check out the book trailer below and then head over to Mr. Schu’s site Watch. Connect. Read. to read his review of Another Brother by Matthew Cordell!

Pick Up Another Brother by Matthew Cordell:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Interested in learning more about our feature “The Year of the Picture Book“? Please check out our opening post and be sure to leave your recommendations as well as links on that post. Thank you so much for your participation!

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

From the award-winning author of Little Pea, Little Hoot, and Little Oink comes a clever take on the age-old optical illusion: is it a duck or a rabbit? Depends on how you look at it! Readers will find more than just Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s signature humor herethere’s also a subtle lesson for kids who don’t know when to let go of an argument. A smart, simple story that will make readers of all ages eager to take a side, Duck! Rabbit! makes it easy to agree on one thingreading it again!

Author/Illustrators Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld are two of our absolute favorites, but this is perhaps our favorite book produced by the fantastic duo. We’ve read, reviewed and loved numerous books by both, including The Little Pea series and Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site, but this is definitely our top pick. I recently heard that the duo are back at it again! Take a look:

From Publishers Weekly Children’s Bookshelf:
Scholastic has bought a new Amy Krouse Rosenthal picture book, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld at auction; the two previously teamed up for the bestselling Duck! Rabbit! The new book, titled “!”, is about “an emphatic but misplaced exclamation mark trying to find his way in the world.”

This is certainly exciting news and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for another fantastic book from this marvelous pair! Until then, enjoy a little video about the book Duck! Rabbit!:

Pick Up Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Interested in learning more about our feature “The Year of the Picture Book“? Please check out our opening post and be sure to leave your recommendations as well as links on that post. Thank you so much for your participation!