Hat Cat by Troy Wilson,
illustrated by Eve Coy
Candlewick Press, 2022, 32 pages
Every day, Hat Cat's human, an elderly man, would place some peanuts in the crown of his hat and go outside, where he would sit under a tree and wait for the squirrels to come to eat their treats. One day, he find a kitten hiding under his hat and takes it home. Hat, as the kitten is called, is doted on by his human, but Hat is never allowed to go outside. His human is afraid Hat would run away or scare away the squirrels. When his human suddenly disappears for days, a Black woman and her daughter arrive daily to feed Hat and give him belly rubs. When Hat manages to escape one day, the daughter realizes he is looking for his human. Finally, the elderly man returns, and it is clear he has had some kind of health issue. When he heads outside with the mother and daughter, Hat is finally allowed to join them. The realistic watercolor and colored pencil illustrations in a bright, colorful palette capture the affection between human and cat, and all their different emotions - from surprise to happy and playful to scared and finally happy again. This is a story that may help young readers understand and feel empathy for their elderly relatives and neighbors.
Ear Worm by Jo Knowles,
illustrated by Galia Bernstein
Candlewick Press, 2022, 32 pages
It's happened to us all - suddenly a bit of song is running through your head and you don't know where it came from or why. And that is just what happens to Little Worm one summer day as he goes off to play. Suddenly there is a song in his head. When he runs into Owl, who wants to know what he's singing, he learns he has an ear worm and that Owl has one, too. But Little Worm wants to find out where his ear worm came from, so the two go off together. Pretty soon, they run into Chipmunk, Bunny, and Fox and discover they also have songs running through their heads. It doesn't take long for everyone to start having fun, dancing and singing to their individual songs and Little Worm forgets all about finding out where his ear worm came from. But what a surprise when he gets home and Papa Worm puts him to bed that night. This is such a delightful bedtime book for young kids, and even if they don't know what an ear worm is, they will by the end of the story. I loved how each of the animal friends has their own tune, that repeats throughout the book, and a few reading will have your kids singing along. The digitally created illustrations are as delightful as the text. I read this several times to my young readers, and after we finished, we made Little Worm, Owl, Chipmunk, Bunny, and Fox finger puppets and so can you. You can download the ready to print sheet from Jo Knowles' website HERE
And you can download a Teacher's Guide, which I found helpful, from Candlewick Press HERE
written and illustrated by Sang-Keun Kim
Abrams BFYR, 2022, 56 pages
Available February 22, 2022
One night, a young boy dressed in bunny pajamas, complete with long ears, just can't get to sleep. Looking at the bright crescent moon out his window, he calls out to it to "play with me." That's when the magic happens - a fishing line with a star attached hauls the child up to the moon where they meet Little Bunny, who rounds up several more little insomniacs, including crab, fox, little bear and big bear. Sitting in the hug of the crescent moon, each holding celestial fishing poles, they are pulled away from the moon to play among the stars. Pretty soon, everyone begins to yawn and feel sleepy, and after a cuddle with Little Rabbit, he sends the night's insomniacs home to bed, sound asleep. This is such a gentle, enchanting bedtime story, full of the kind of imagination and wonder that will definitely make it a nighttime story hit with young readers. Set against a blue night sky dotted with stars in the distance, the mixed-media illustrations are as soft and gentle as the text. The variety of insomniacs playing and having fun together also gives this a nice friendship theme. Don't be surprised if you begin to hear big yawns while you read this during bedtime story time.
A House in the Woods
written and illustrated by Inga Moore
Candlewick Press, 2011, 48 pages
After two Little Pigs go for a walk in the woods, they come home to discover that their houses are being occupied. One Little Pig finds her friend Big Bear living in her den, but he is so big, the den is ruined. The other Little Pig discovers her friend Moose living in her hut, but her hut is ruined when Moose stands up. This left the four of them without a place to live. And that was a pickle. Then Moose suggests building a big house they can all live in together. So they call a team of Beaver Builders to help them, paying them with peanut-butter sandwiches. Pretty soon, the walls are up, and Big Bear is called to help. In no time at all, the house is finished, the bill is paid and the four friends move in. Chores are shared, stories are told, and soon everyone is sound asleep in their new home. I love the relationship of the four friends. My young readers thought the pigs would be mad at Moose and Bear, and this generated some good conversation about friendship. family, and cooperation and how sometimes we just have to make our own family with our friends. I love the detailed, almost impressionistic pencil, pastel and wash illustrations, done in a hazy fall palette. Sometimes we just have to make our own families.
written and illustrated by Inga Moore
Candlewick Press, 2021, 48 pages
In this companion to A House in the Woods, Moose is living in a house with his own family. Every night, they settle in and Moose tells them a story. One night, Moose just can't think of a new story to tell Mrs. Moose and little Moose, so he goes around the neighborhood asking to borrow a storybook, but no one owns any. So Moose heads to the library in town and that night, Bear and her cubs come over to hear Moose read Little Red Riding Hood. The next night even more woodland friends come by Moose's house to hear a story. Soon, it becomes very crowded, with hardly any room for Moose to read. This is a pickle. So, the next day, Moose goes to the junkyard, buys an old bus and fits it out with shelves for books. Then he goes to the library, borrows books for everyone to borrow and read at home. But there is another pickle. No one can read. So Moose teaches Bear, Bear teaches Badger, Badger teaches Fox, until everyone knows how to read and can borrow books from Moose's Book Bus. And even though everyone can read at home now, they miss Moose, because no one can tell a story like he can. Pretty soon, Moose's living room is back to hosting listeners: "Because reading together...is such good fun." I loved reading this to my young readers, some of whom are struggling with reading. But this book makes reading look and sound like such a joy, that even my strugglers enthusiastically got into this book. Themes of family, friends, cooperation, and now, community are explored, and the pencil, pastel and watercolor illustrations, a little less impressionistic here, and done in a springtime palette, are full of wonderful detail about life in this woodland community, for example, Mrs. Moose quietly serving hot drinks to the visitors. This is a story that will be on our favorites shelf for a long time to come, along with A House in the Woods.
Oh, these all look and sound lovely. Time to put some books on hold!
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