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ABC's, Phonics, Beginning to Read, Read Alone.
Interactive with sounds and word pronunciation. Stories are read. Great colors and graphics.

Read Aloud 2004 Award SkippyJon Jones Ages 4-8

2004 Winner

SkippyJon Jones, by Judith Byron Schachner PREVIEW

Unique, quirky and memorable, SkippyJon Jones is chock-full of rhyme and rhythm. A Siamese kitten, who imagines himself to be a Chihuahua and a sword fighter - anything except an ordinary cat - is the star of this book. The story takes young readers on a wild ride in which they can't help but join along with sing-along songs and chants. Peppered with Spanish expressions and full of energized fun, SkippyJon Jones is not only entertaining for the listener, it's also enjoyable for the reader.

Judith Byron Schachner has been illustrating and writing children's books since 1992.She has illustrated many of her own stories as well as those written by others. Her artwork has been called "absolutely delightful" by School Library Journal. In 1999, her book Mr. Emerson's Cook was among the Carolyn Field Notable Books.

To find out more about Judith Schachner, visit her web site.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3 Ages 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 -This is a wildly wonderful book about a hyperactive kitten, Skippyjon Jones, whose head and ears are too big for his body, and whose imagination is too intense for his mama. According to her, he needs to do some serious thinking about what it means to be a Siamese cat instead of a bird (Skippyjon always wakes up and eats worms with his feathered friends). She sends him to his room, where he imagines he is a Chihuahua ("My name is Skippito Friskito./I fear not a single bandito"). Chock-full of rhyming chants and Spanish expressions, the feline's adventure as a doggy Zorro ends in chaos. His frazzled mother gives him a hug anyway and says, "Say good night, Skippyjon Jones." "Buenas noches, mis amigos," says the kitten, as he bounces on his bed all ready for another adventure. The buoyant and colorful cartoon illustrations match the exuberant text perfectly. Spanish-speaking children will be especially delighted by the words and humor; others may be a little bewildered by all of the foreign phrases and will need some explanation, but the story definitely has the potential of a fun read-aloud. A good multicultural offering.
Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Read Aloud Winner 2005 Wild About Books Ages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

2005 Winner

Wild About Books
By Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown

Wild About Books is a rollicking rhymed story of Molly the librarian who accidentally drives her bookmobile to the zoo and introduces the birds and beasts to a new something called reading. Molly finds the perfect book for each animal --- tall books for giraffes, small books for crickets, joke books for hyenas - and has them going "wild, simply wild, about wonderful books." Author Judy Sierra combines clever prose with laugh-out-loud book selections for the animals:

"She even found waterproof books for the otter,
who never went swimming without Harry Potter."

Judy Sierra is renowned for her funny and brief retellings of folktales, most recently in the delightful collection of Silly and Sillier. Equally adept at rhyme, she wrote a collection of amusing poems about penguins, Antarctic Antics, which was a bestseller. Ms. Sierra devotes considerable time to storytelling and reading to children at schools and libraries, endeavors that help her know exactly what makes children laugh. Judy lives in Castro Valley, California. Click here to visit Judy Sierra's web site.

A rollicking, loving tribute to Dr ...

.... Seuss (to whose memory this is dedicated) and to books and libraries. Here's a rhyme that works, without clunking but with inspired silliness in the best Seussian meter. Librarian Molly McGrew ... more », resplendent in hot-pink trousers and a tropical striped jacket, drives the bookmobile into the zoo, with delightful results. The animals become fascinated by reading, and by words, and she strives to satisfy them: tall books for the giraffes—titled Skyscrapers, Redwoods, and Basketball in Brown's clever take—books in Chinese for the pandas, "And llamas read dramas while eating their llunches." The insects write haiku, critiqued by the scorpion—not only a lesson in verse, but quite hilarious: the Dung Beetle writes: "Roll a ball of dung— / Any kind of poo will do— / Baby beetle bed." The scorpion sniffs, "Stinks." Brown's paintings, rich in pattern and detail and wonderful color, show graceful, cheery animals. A storytime spectacular. (Picture book. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc.

PreS-Gr 2-In a rhyming text that is both ...

... homage to and reminiscent of Dr. Seuss's epic rhyming sagas, Sierra spins the tale of librarian Molly McGrew who mistakenly drives the bookmobile to the zoo. The various denizens are attracted to ... more » her read-alouds and soon are reading, writing, rhyming, and going wild about those wonderful books. With Molly's encouragement, the animals start their own Zoobrary so they can read to their hearts' content. Sierra's text has a wacky verve and enough clever asides and allusions to familiar characters to satisfy bibliophiles of all ages. The author's sense of playfulness in plot and language ("llamas read while eating their llunches"; a hippo wins the "Zoolitzer Prize") creates a lavish literary stew. Comic moments abound, including bugs writing haiku and unruly bears licking illustrations right off the page (until Molly gently teaches them how to treat books properly). Brown's cheerful, full-color illustrations stretch his trademark art with ever-so-slightly stylized spreads that are rich in pattern, texture, and nuance. On each spread, he plays with perspective and layout to create an electric sense of excitement as the animals discover what kids have known for a long time-reading is fun!-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI

Reed Business Information (c) 2004

2006 Read Aloud Award If I Built a Car Ages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

2006 Winner, Picture Books

If I Built a Car, by Chris Van Dusen
$15.99 Penguin Young Readers Group PREVIEW

Young Jack is giving an eye-opening tour of the car he'd like to build. There's a snack bar, a pool, and even a robot chauffeur named Robert. With Jack's soaring imagination in the driver's seat, readers are off on a wild ride of imagination!

Chris Van Dusen's interest in art began at a young age when his mother gave hiim and his four brothers pencils and paper to keep them busy. After high school, Chris pursued his interest in art by studying painting and illustration at the University of Massachursetts at Dartmouth, graduating in 1982 with a BFA. In 1985 he returned to Maine and settled in the coastal town of Camden. He is also the auhtor of Down to the Sea wit Mr. Magee, and A Camping Spree with Mr. McGee. In his spare time, Chris likes to hike and bike all over the Maine coast with his family. Click here to visit Chris Van Dusen's web site.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-With descriptions and a rhyme scheme clearly inspired by Dr. Seuss, a little boy relates all of the wonderful things about the car he plans to design, including safety features, a pool, a robot driver, and the ability to go underwater and fly through the air. The rhyme scheme works well enough, although at times the rhythm falters. The artwork is the real draw here. The brightly colored, crisp, cartoon-style illustrations, reminiscent of the Jetsons, are likely to keep viewers' attention. The full-bleed pictures are animated and detailed, and the boy's dog, which appears in each picture, ties the images together nicely. This slight story may attract young fans of vehicles, but readers looking for a plot will be disappointed in what is essentially an extensive laundry list of the automobile's attributes.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
K-Gr. 2. A young boy decides to design a better car than the old family station wagon. Driven by a robot, his sleek, supercharged vehicle can drive underwater and fly, and the interior includes a snack bar and swimming pool. The story is told in jaunty rhyming couplets, but the fun really comes from the illustrations, which perfectly parody 1950s' visions of the future, as depicted in such magazines as Popular Mechanics. The car glides past neat suburban homes with wide and perfect lawns, where everything is bathed in pastels. This may appeal more to parents (or, perhaps more accurately, to grandparents) who remember these renderings of technological dream worlds. Still, children will enjoy the exuberance and goofiness of the double-page spreads, such as the close-up of the expansive snack bar, which dispenses burgers, fries, and Cheez Whip on command. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.