Babies in the Bayou by Jim Arnosky

In Babies in the Bayou, young readers are told the story of the variety of animal life in the water. They are introduced to alligators, turtles, raccoons and ducks and some of their habits. One habit all these animals have in common is that their mothers work to keep the babies safe; just like their mothers keep them safe.

Beautiful full page pictures accompany the simple, yet powerful text. I really enjoy the fact that animals considered dangerous, like alligators, are also included in this story along with the cute ducklings and turtles in order to show all mothers care for their babies. Some of the survival techniques in the bayou are also touched upon such as the duck keeping her children away from the alligator and the raccoons digging for turtle eggs. I like the fact that the author shows how everything in nature is related.

Butterfly,Butterfly: A book of colors by Petr Horacek

Lucy is playing in the garden one day and finds a butterfly. She spends all day playing with the butterfly. When she looks for the butterfly the next day, it is nowhere to be found. She spends the whole day searching for the and discovers all the other creatures living in the garden. At the end, when Lucy relaxes and just stares at the sky, she finds her beautiful butterfly.

With cut outs that emphasize the colors of the garden creatures and a huge pop-up of the colorful butterfly on the last page, this is one of those books that always seemed magical to me as a small child. The interaction between the young reader and the book creates a relationship that is only built upon as the child reads more and more. This is a wonderful beginning book and a great introduction to colors and all the life outdoors as well.

Bob and Otto by Robert O. Bruel

The more children's books I read, the more the feeling of sitting and learning my first life lessons come back to me. Bob and Otto is no exception. Two friends, one an earthworm and the other a caterpillar learn than even though they may look different, they are both still equally important and necessary to each other. What a wonderful lesson that is and what adult still doesn't grapple with that same issue throughout their life?

Bob and Otto spend all their days together doing the same things until Bob decides to climb up a tree to see the view. He stays up there munching on leaves while Otto burrows under the ground making tunnels. Eventually, Bob turns into a beautiful caterpillar and goes down to see what Otto is up to. Otto feels bad because he doesn't have wings like Bob. But Bob reminds him that without Otto's work underground, the trees and leaves wouldn't grow for Bob to eat and he wouldn't have his beautiful wings. They need each other and they are both important even though they don't look the same anymore.

My Colors, My World; Mis colores, mi mundo by Maya Christina Gonzalez

A little girl (who is actually the artist/author) lives in the desert. After a sand storm, she searches for the colors in her world. She finds pink sunsets, purple irises, the blue night sky and the beauty of nature all around her. The little girls journey is accompanied by more abstract, whimsical illustrations in bold, bright colors. The English words are written on one page with the Spanish words written on the opposite page. What a wonderful way for children to learn and be exposed to another language; either Spanish or English. Learning colors in another language is fun and easy with bold pictures all in that color and the word for that color printed in that same color. There is also a bilingual color glossary in the back of the book.

I would like to see more books like this in other languages as well so our kids to be exposed to the rest of the world. I plan on buying this book as well as Los Gatos Black on Halloween for my neice.

Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrop

I haven't been exposed to children's books for so long, I've forgotten how wonderful they can be! I absolutely loved this book! I want Big Smelly Bear to get a little older so I can use him in my middle school classroom too! This problem does not go away! If anything, it gets worse! We need you in the 8th grade, Big Smelly Bear!

Big Smelly Bear has no friends. Why? Well, because he's a big, smelly bear that never bathes! Due to being dirty, he gets an itch he can't reach. A big fluffy bear says she'll itch his back if he takes a bath. After much arguing, Big Smelly Bear agrees and finds he's not alone anymore if he takes care of himself and doesn't smell. He says he won't bathe again, but he does at night when no one is looking. As long as it gets done, if can happen anytime!

Marked: A House of Night Novel by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

I'm a big fan of the Twilight series. When I read the summary of this book, I thought, "Great! A Twilight knock-off! This is going to be cheesy!!" I was so wrong! Now, I'm going to have to read the rest of the series!

Zoey is a typical high school student with typical family problems in a not so typical world where vampyres are a way of life and have their own training school in town. Contrary to popular belief, you are not bitten by a vampyre in order to become one. You are marked and forced to make the change to vampyre, or die. Sometimes, the change doesn't work and you die as well. Since things aren't good at home, Zoey goes off to school at the House of Night and encounters a new world full of the same high school cliques and problems she is used to. She makes friends with Stevie Rae, Damien, Erin, Shaunee and her new love interest, Erik. There's also the the "bully, Aphrodite, and her group of Dark Daughters that cause havoc around the school. Along Harry Potter lines, Zoey has to learn to deal with the great powers she has been gifted while keeping the real dark powers at bay including the "ghosts" of fledgling vampyres who didn't make the change.

Nothing by John Agee

Otis runs an antique store. He has sold his last product and has absolutely nothing for sale. Suzie Grump comes in and wants to buy nothing. She pays $300 for the wonderful nothing! All the other shop owners in town throw out their goods in order to make money off of nothing. Eventually, Suzie Grump realizes she need something and goes back to Otis to buy everything she needs. Otis sells out again and the vicious cycle almost starts all over with Tubby Portabello, but Otis shoves him out of the store!

The story has short, quick sentences in a larger font and big pictures that start off in light colors then, when everyone is busy searching for nothing, the pictures become filled with activity and brighter.

This was a very humorous story and one that could easily strike up a quite in depth conversation with a child.