72. Buzz Buzz (Audio CD) by Laurie Berkner

Bibliographic Citation:
Berkner, Laurie. (1998). Buzz Buzz [CD]. New York, NY: Two Tomatoes Records, LLC.

Awards/Selection Lists:

None

Format Examined:
Audio music CD

Annotation:
A combination of original and traditional songs which inspire imagination, rhyme, rhythm and movement for preschool children through a combination of guitar-backed and a capella recordings.

Personal Reaction:
This music CD incorporates alliteration, rhyming, and songs that encourage movement and participation. The songs are catchy, with some familiar traditional songs. Some of the original songs encourage the use of musical instruments, and learning is tucked into the lyrics through sounds and actions.

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this CD for use with children 2-5 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Music, movement, rhythm, rhyming, imagination, instruments

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this CD.


Narrative Skills:
The songs on this CD all encourage participation, and many of the songs tell story through their lyrics, such as "The Pretzel Store", "Pig on Her Head", and "Lots of Little Pigs".


Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is embedded within lyrics through rhyming words and alliteration.


Print Awareness:
Print awareness is not a direct focus of this CD.


Print Motivation: 
The songs on this CD can be directly linked to children's books in order to encourage literacy and reading. One example is the song, "Lots of Pigs" is modeled after the classic children's story, "The Three Pigs".


Vocabulary:
Vocabulary included in the lyrics of this CD are based on preschool concepts such as positional words, rhyming, alliteration, and traditional songs.



Author/ Artist Website:
http://www.laurieberkner.com/index.php

51. Chocolate Me! by Taye Diggs

Bibliographic Citation:
Diggs, Taye. Chocolate Me! Illustrated by Shane Evans. New York, NY: Feiwel and Friends, 2011. 36 p. ISBN 978-0-312-60326-7. 

Awards/Selection Lists:
None

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
This book, through the story of a young, African American child, represents differences in race, accepting one's own identity, and accepting others' for who they are.

Personal Reaction:

The combination of the rhyming text with the description of the child's skin color as "chocolate" from his own perspective offers a little levity to a serious issue.  Children who might feel different from other children around them will identify with the main character in this book. The ending of the story demonstrates how our differences can be a positive thing.

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 4-7 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Diversity, self-acceptance, self-esteem, self-identity

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
Children are invited to become part of the narration of the story through the repetition of the title throughout the book, as well as through the rhyming text.


Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is demonstrated in this book through rhyming phrases that are a part of the story.

Print Awareness:
The text of the story is printed on each page in spaces that are open of illustrations. The color of the font is changed on pages where the print may be more difficult to see. The repeated phrase, which is also the title of the book, "Chocolate me" is printed in brown, larger text, drawing attention to the words each time.

Print Motivation: 
The rhythmic, rhyming text of this book make it a fun read. The method of telling the story from the perspective of a young African American child  who feels different from other children in his community provides a realistic view of the way that a young child might feel, and children who identify with this character will enjoy reading this book.  

Vocabulary:
Vocabulary in this book deals with skin color, physical attributes, and self-acceptance. 



Author/ Illustrator Website:
http://chocolatemetoo.com/

50. Tell Me About Your Day Today by Mem Fox

Bibliographic Citation:
Fox, Mem. Tell Me About Your Day Today. Illustrated by Lauren Stringer. New York, NY: Beach Lane Books, 2012. 40 p. ISBN 978-1416990062. 

Awards/Selection Lists:
Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
A boy and his stuffed animals enjoy a bedtime ritual which includes the recounting of the events of the day. 

Personal Reaction:
Mem Fox uses traditional language, paired with soft illustrations, to tell the story of a young boy who loves the rituals of bedtime. The boy and his stuffed animals take turns telling about their day, until they share a hug, and drift off to sleep.

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 4-7 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Retelling the events of the day, bedtime rituals, turn-taking 

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
Narrative skills are modeled by the main character in this book as he takes turns recounting the events of the day with each of his stuffed animals. The format for retelling the events of the day remains the same for each of the stuffed animals, as well as for the little boy, in a repeated series of lines each time. 

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is modeled through repeated rhyming text.

Print Awareness:
Each line of text is printed in white, on a dark blue background, in position around each of the illustrations in order to draw attention to the connection between the illustrations and the printed text on each page.

Print Motivation: 
The soft illustrations and gentle bedtime story make this a book that children will enjoy embedding into their own bedtime ritual each night.

Vocabulary:
The vocabulary in this book is connected to the repeated line spoken to each of the animals and the boy recounting the events of the day ("the who, the what, the why, and the way").



Author/ Illustrator Website:
Author website: http://www.memfox.net/welcome.html
Illustrator website: http://www.laurenstringer.com/Home.html

43. Dancing Feet by Lindsay Craig

Bibliographic Citation:
Craig, Lindsay. Dancing Feet!. Illustrated by Marc Brown. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2010. 40 p. ISBN 978-0375861819.

Awards/Selection Lists:
Gold Winner, National Parenting Publications Awards, 2010
Winner of the Best Books for Babies (Fred Rogers Company), 2011
Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
Children are prompted to predict which animals are dancing as the text and illustrations provide  clues.  

Personal Reaction:
Rhythmic, rhyming text accompanies collage art to provide clues about animals dancing on the floor. The rhythm of the text encourages movement by listeners, while the artwork provides fun visual to each of the animals.

Age Recommendation: 
I would recommend this book for children 2-4 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Rhythm, rhyme, dancing, clues, predicting

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
The rhythmic text and lively collage artwork creates an opportunity for children to participate in the telling of the story throughout the book, as well as make predictions about what animals they think might be coming next.

Phonological Awareness: 
The sounds that different animals make while dancing are represented by silly words that represent the sounds (such as "stompity"). Rhyming text also promotes phonological awareness.

Print Awareness:
Text appears in a dark, kid-friendly, large font on each page. The text becomes part of the graphics on the page, as well.

Print Motivation: 
This book provides a fun, interactive experience that children will enjoy as a group or one-on-one.

Vocabulary:
The vocabulary in this book is connected to rhythms, beat, and animals dancing in the story.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
No official website

42. Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy by Denise Fleming

Bibliographic Citation:
Fleming, Denise. Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2010. 32 p. ISBN 0805081267.

Awards/Selection Lists:
Booklist Starred Review

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
Sleepy animals are introduced at bedtime, along with the repeated phrase, "sleepy, oh, so sleepy", until a human baby appears as part of a big world of sleeping babies at the end.

Personal Reaction:

This book is a naturally calming story and is perfect to read at bedtime. The repeated refrain connects all of the sleeping babies together, animal and human alike, all across the planet. Denise Flemings' pulp paper art works well in combination with the soothing text to create a book that will help lull children to sleep as it is read. 

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 18 months-3 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Bedtime, animals, sleeping

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
Children are invited to softly participate in reciting the refrain "sleepy, oh so sleepy" after each animal is introduced.

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:
The text of the story is printed in black, simple text, drawing attention to the connection between the illustrations and the words on the page.

Print Motivation: 
Soothing text and illustrations make this book work well as a bedtime tradition that children will enjoy.

Vocabulary:
Words that are introduced through the story are connected to different animals in the story.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
http://www.denisefleming.com/

40. Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by by Eric Litwin

Bibliographic Citation:
Litwin, Eric. Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. Illustrated by James Dean. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2012. 40 p. ISBN 978-0062110589.

Awards/Selection Lists:

Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor, 2013

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:

Pete the Cat returns in this book about his four groovy buttons, which he loses one by one, but he keeps his cool throughout the entire book.

Personal Reaction:
Pete the Cat's attitude about life teaches many lessons for children in a very cool way. Using a combination of rhyme (or song, if you download it), and everyday language, Pete teaches that "things will come and things will go", but that we should keep on going with a positive attitude. This book also embeds subtraction of buttons throughout the story.  

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 3-7 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Losing things, positive attitude, subtraction

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
Through the use of rhyming text/song, repeated lines, and math, children are invited to become a direct part of telling the story.

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:
While the actual text of the story is printed in small text, which is not easily seen in a group atmosphere, the numbers included in the subtraction of the buttons is easily seen.

Print Motivation: 
This book is a wonderful book for print motivation, as the song/chant is fun, hip, and easy for children to participate in, and Pete the Cat is a likable character with a contagious positive attitude. 

Vocabulary:
Vocabulary pertaining to subtraction (minus and equals) are presented within the text of the story. Other everyday language is used, including common slang phrases, such as "it's all good".



Author/ Illustrator Website:
Author website: http://www.ericlitwin.com/#!
Illustrator website: http://www.petethecat.com/about

37. Jump Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan

Bibliographic Citation:

Kalan, Robert. Jump Frog, Jump!. Illustrated by Byron Barton. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 1989. ISBN 978-0688092412. 

Awards/Selection Lists:

None

Format Examined:
Paperback

Annotation:

A frog in a pond finds himself in danger numerous times, and the only escape is to jump away, until he is caught by children under a basket, and needs help to get away.

Personal Reaction:
The circular text of this book calls for help from the audience to make sure a frog gets away from danger. The title phrase of this book, "Jump, frog, jump!" is repeated as the frog is almost caught by a fish, a turtle, and a snake, which all eat each other. Finally, a group of children catch him under a basket, but one of the children comes and lifts the basket, and the frog jumps away.

Age Recommendation:

I would recommend this book for children 3-5 years of age. 

Themes/Issues:

Circular story, frog, food chain, pond animals, repetition

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
Narrative skills are emphasized through repeated lines this circular story.

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:
The colorful illustrations of this book are more prominent than most lines of the story, except for the words, "Jump, frog, jump!", which appear on the pages in yellow in order to promote audience involvement.

Print Motivation: 
The circular story of each of the pond animals eating the next, along with the repeated title line makes this fun book one that children will enjoy revisiting many times.

Vocabulary:
Words that are introduced pertain to pond animals and positional directions.

Author/ Illustrator Website:
No official website

29. I Love You As Much... by Laura Krauss Melmed

Bibliographic Citation:

Krauss Melmed, Laura. I Love You As Much.... Illustrated by Henri Sorensen. New York, NY: Tupelo Books, 1993. 22 p. ISBN 978-0688159788.

Awards/Selection Lists:

None

Format Examined:
Board book

Annotation:

A mother expresses her love for her baby through rhyming text that compares her love to the love that different animal mothers have for their children. 

Personal Reaction:

Beautiful painted illustrations accompany a lullaby-type story that a mother shares with her baby as the baby drifts off to sleep. The text is written in rhyme that is poetry-like, and is accompanied by soft, painted illustrations that look like mini portraits on each page. This book makes a nice bedtime book for a parent to read to their child.

Age Recommendation:

I would recommend this book for children 12 months to 4 years of age.

Themes/Issues:

Bedtime, parent-child love, animals, motherhood

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
Older children will be able to take part in naming the types of animals, and after hearing the story many times, should be able to help recite the rhyming text.

Phonological Awareness: 
The rhythm of the rhyming text supports phonological awareness.

Print Awareness:
The text is printed in spaces that do not take away from the illustrations; however, the font is also small, light, and ornate, making it more difficult for children to connect to the words of the story as they are read to them. 

Print Motivation: 
This book, with its sweet text and beautiful illustrations would be a book that children might choose over and over at bedtime. 

Vocabulary:
Vocabulary includes animal names, and words that each animal uses to describe their love. Young children may learn new words associated with each animal's description. 



Author/ Illustrator Website:
Author website: http://www.laurakraussmelmed.com/
No official illustrator website

28. Have You Seen My Duckling by Nancy Tafuri

Bibliographic Citation:
Tafuri, Nancy. Have You Seen My Duckling?. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 1996. 14 p. ISBN 978-0688148997. 

Awards/Selection Lists:
Caldecott Honor, 1985

Format Examined:
Board book

Annotation:

A mother duck thinks the she has lost one of her ducklings and searches around the pond for him. 

Personal Reaction:

The illustrations in this book are nostalgic in color and tone, which matches the familiar storyline well. The simple repetitive text on each page matches the illustrations to help tell the story. The lost duckling appears on each page; however, in the board book version of the book, he is sometimes difficult to see.

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 2-5 years of age.

Themes/Issues:

Family, getting lost, pond animals

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book. 

Narrative Skills: 
The repetitive text encourages young children to take part in telling the story.

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:
The phrase, "Have you seen my duckling?", is repeated in a simple, black font  throughout the book, drawing attention to the text on the pages.

Print Motivation: 
The simplicity of the story work in conjunction with the colorful illustrations of different looking pond animals to hold the attention of young children. The book's heartfelt storyline is also one that will have young children wanting to read this book again and again.

Vocabulary:
The word "duckling" may be a new word for young children. Different types of birds that may also be unfamiliar are represented in the illustrations, which may be identified by the reader.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
www.nancytafuri.com 

27. It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

Bibliographic Citation:
Shaw, Charles G. It Looked Like Spilt Milk. New York, NY: HarperFestival, 1993. 13 p. ISBN 978-0694004911.

Awards/Selection Lists:

None

Format Examined:
Board book

Annotation:

Something that "looked like spilt milk" changes into different shapes on each page of the book, until it is discovered to be a cloud. 

Personal Reaction:

This classic book combines repetition, prediction, and shape recognition in the form of simple white text and shapes printed on blue pages. The repeated line, "but it wasn't" leads from one possible shape into the next object until it is revealed to be a cloud. Children are invited into the narration of the story through making predictions about what the shape will become.   

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 2-4 years of age.

Themes/Issues:

Shapes, repetition, prediction

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
Children are encouraged to participate in the narration of the story through predicting shapes and what they think the white object on the page actually is.

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:
The text is printed in a simple, white font with a dark blue background that calls attention to the words on the page as they connect to the illustrations.

Print Motivation: 
The simplicity of the text and illustrations make this a story that children will want to repeat, and even read on their own, as they learn the shapes represented in the book.

Vocabulary:
The vocabulary represented in the story is based on the different shapes represented by the "spilt milk". 

Author/ Illustrator Website:
http://charlesgreenshaw.com/

22. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Bibliographic Citation:
Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. New York, NY: Philomel, 1981. 32 p. ISBN 978-0399208539.

Awards/Selection Lists:

National Education Association "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children", 2007
School Library Journal, "Top 100 Picture Books", 2012

Format Examined:

Hard cover

Annotation:

A little caterpillar is born, then eats holes through all sorts of food until he becomes a large caterpillar who spins a cocoon, and turns into a butterfly.

Personal Reaction:

This classic books uses Eric Carle's tissue paper collage to tell the story of a small green caterpillar who is born from a tiny egg. The reader experiences the caterpillar's path of eating holes through different types of food on different days, until, at the end of the week, he eats through so many different foods that he develops a stomachache. The caterpillar then spins a cocoon and takes a long rest. When the caterpillar finally emerges, he is a beautiful butterfly. The combination of all the parts of the story teaches counting skills, days of the week, food types, and the stages of the life cycle of the butterfly. 

Age Recommendation:

I would recommend this book for children 3-5 years of age.

Themes/Issues:

Colors, food, days of the week, life cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly, counting

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills:
Children are encouraged to help tell the story through naming types of food, counting, naming days of the week, and predicting what will happen to the caterpillar. 

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:
Each day that the caterpillar eats through different pieces of food is accompanied by supporting text that includes the day of the week and the number of pieces of food that the caterpillar eats. All of this works together to draw a child's attention to the connection between the illustrations and the words that make up the story. 

Print Motivation: 
This classic book has been a favorite of preschool children for many years. The colorful artwork and the text based on counting pieces of fruit as the caterpillar moves through the days of the week provides an interesting story to support a child learning about the life cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly. The illustrations encourage children to be excited about this book.


Vocabulary:
Children learn the names of the days of the week, types of fruit, and the names of each stage of a caterpillar's life leading up to becoming a butterfly.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
www.eric-carle.com

20. I Went Walking by Sue Williams

Bibliographic Citation:
Williams, Sue. I Went Walking. Illustrated by Julie Vivas. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books, 1996. 30 p. ISBN   978-0152007717. 

Awards/Selection Lists:

1990 American Library Assn. Notable Children's Book

Format Examined:
Board book

Annotation:
A young child goes walking and sees various animals along the way in this rhyming book for young children.

Personal Reaction:
Rhyming text and colorful illustrations invite children to participate in this book through predicting which animals a young child will meet along the way during a walk. In the end, all of the animals appear together. Different colors are used to describe the animals, encouraging children to help describe each animal and its color.

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 2-4 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Animals, colors, prediction, repetition, rhyming 

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
Children are encouraged to participate in the narration of the story through predicting animals that are described.

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:
The words of the story appear in large, black print, accompanying the illustrations on each page. The words on the page foster print awareness through connecting directly to the illustrations on the page.

Print Motivation: 
Rhyming and repetition describe animals and invite children to predict animals. The predictable text creates a fun format which children will enjoy reading many times. As children become familiar with the text, they will be able to recite the words themselves.

Vocabulary:

Descriptive color words are incorporated into the story in a way that children have to focus to verbally put together with the animal names (such as "yellow dog", "red cow", green duck").

Author/ Illustrator Website:
No author website

No illustrator website

16. Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

Bibliographic Citation:

Feiffer, Jules. Bark, George. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1999. 32p. ISBN 978-0062051851

Awards/Selection Lists:

• Florida Children’s Book Award
• Georgia Children’s Picture Storybook Award
• Arizona Young Readers’ Award
• Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (North Dakota)
• Keystone to Reading Book Award (Pennsylvania)
• Buckeye Children’s Book Award (Ohio)
• Maryland Children’s Book Award
• Charlotte Zolotow Award Honor Book
• ALA Notable Children’s Book
• ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice
• Parents' Choice Silver Honor

Format Examined:

Hard cover

Annotation:

A dog's mother repeatedly tells him to bark, but each time he makes a different sound, including meowing, quacking, oinking, and mooing. George recovers his bark after visiting the vet.

Personal Reaction:

With its bright cartoon-like illustrations and humorous text, this is an enjoyable book for children and adults alike. Young children are tested on their knowledge of animal sounds as they are also encouraged to repeat the refrain, "Bark, George!". George makes the sounds of various animals, which are pulled out one by one by a vet. After the last animal is removed by the vet, George barks at long last. One last humorous problem arises when George and his mother walk home past people, and George says, "hello", rather than barking.   

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 4-7 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Humor, animal sounds, repetition, imagination

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge:
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills:
Children participate in the telling of this story through the repeated refrain, "Bark, George!", as well as through participation in the animal sounds and naming of animals throughout the story. The story also lends itself to a dialogic reading experience as the reader asks listeners what they think will happen and why George isn't able to bark.

Phonological Awareness:
Animal sounds are phonetically represented for each of the animals in the story.

Print Awareness:
The type representing the sound of each animal is displayed differently in order to draw attention to the words on each page.  

Print Motivation:
The humor used in the story, along with comic-style illustrations, animal sounds, and repetition of text make this an enjoyable book that easily holds the attention of children, and encourages interest in reading.

Vocabulary:
Vocabulary represented in this book is connected to animal sounds and identification of animal types. The introduction of a vet (animal doctor) also encourages discussion of what a vet does.

Author/ Illustrator Website:

No current official website