Booklist Online: More than 130,000 book reviews for librarians, book groups, and book lovers - from the trusted experts at the American Library Association

Lynn: Meet Sylvie, a young flamingo definitely in the “why” stage. “Mama,” she asks, “Why are we pink?” It’s a great question and when Mama answers that it is because the shrimp they eat are pink, the curious Sylvie gets an idea. What happens if she nibbles items of other colors? (Sylvie has obviously heard [...]

Cindy: What child doesn’t plead, “higher, higher” when they are being pushed on a swing? Higher! Higher! (Candlewick, 2009) is a perfect blend of art, clever-but-simple story, and dead-on child psychology. Full disclosure: I am a swing addict going way back and this book is a tribute to those who love to soar. When a [...]

Lynn: Our focus group has been hard at work lately, reading their way through a pile of new picture books. We’ve found some fabulous books (stay tuned for more reviews) but right now a pair of books from Templar Books, a new imprint of Candlewick Press, is at the top of Mason and Hayden’s list. [...]

The Bones You Own by Becky Baines (National Geographic, Feb. 2009) Lynn: The curiosity of children makes them enthusiastic readers of nonfiction but it is hard to find nonfiction geared to the K-2 set. So it has been a delight to find the Zigzag series designed especially for new readers. Big bold text on colorful [...]

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up Book by Eric Carle (Penguin, March 2009) Lynn: It is more than a little soul shaking to relate that I first read the original Very Hungry Caterpillar in my college children’s lit class the year after it published. How can it be forty years ago? This book became a favorite [...]