Holiday Reading 2002

Picture Books

Ahlberg, Alan A bit more Bert: A follow up to the wonderful The adventures of Bert. Again illustrated by Raymond Briggs.
Ahlberg, Allan. Miaow!: A lift the cat-flap book
Anholt, Catherine. Chimp and Zee and the big storm: It's a stormy, windy, rainy day in the coconut tree, and Chimp and Zee are squabbling and driving everyone bananas. But they get more than they bargained for when a huge gust of wind sweeps them off on another adventure.
Auch, Mary Jane. The princess and the pizza: An inventive tale about how the first pizza was accidentally created. An out-of-work princess applies to become the bride of Prince Drupert, but first she must pass several tests, including a cooking contest.
Barton, Byron. My car: Sam describes in loving detail his car and how he drives it.
Blake, Quentin. Loveykins: One morning, after a night of gales in the woods, Angela Bowling discovers a small helpless bird who has fallen from his nest. Determined to help, she bears him home, to wrap him in the softest blankets and feed him the finest food. But Augustus is growing up and one night the storms rage again.
Blake, Quentin. The sailing boat in the sky: On a great adventure around the world in a ruined old sailing boat, Isobel and Nicholas see a world that has lost its way. At each place they stop to help and finally they are able to mend the sailing boat with the help of their new friends.
Browne, Eileen. Handa's hen: Handa and Akeyo are searching for grandmother's black hen, Mondi. In the process they find all sorts of other animals. Finally they hear a cheeping noise and there, under a bush, is Mondi with ten brand-new little chicks.
Carle, Eric. "Slowly, slowly, slowly," said the sloth: The sloth moves very slowly and takes life very gently; all the other animals in the rainforest want to know why he is so slow, so quiet, so boring and so lazy. The sloth's reply is a surprising one, a philosophical statement in favour of slowness.
Catalanotto, Peter. Matthew A.B.C: .A new boy named Matthew joins Mrs. Tuttle's class, which already has twenty-five students whose first names are Matthew and whose last names begin with every letter except Z.
Child, Lauren That pesky rat: Pesky Rat longs to be someone's pet, so he puts an ad in the pet shop.
Child, Lauren. What planet are you from Clarice Bean?: When Clarice has to do a school project on the environment, she and her family become eco-warriors in an attempt to save a tree on their street.
Cowell, Cressida. Claydon was a clingy child: Claydon will not let go of his mother's leg - a bad idea when your mother is into dangerous sports!
Cronin, Doreen. Giggle, giggle, quack: When Farmer Brown goes on vacation, leaving his brother Bob in charge, Duck makes trouble by changing all his instructions to ones the animals like much better.
Deacon, Alexis. Slow Loris: Slow Loris wasn't his real name, but that's what everyone called him. Everyone thought he was dead boring, but Slow Loris didn't care. Why not? Because he had a wild, secret life of his own.
Doyle, Malachy. Cow: Oil-on-canvas paintings tell of a day in the life of a cow, from the dawn rising and the early morning walk to the barn to be milked, through the hot summer's day, the evening milking, and dusk. The large, life-like illustrations give a real sense of being there.
Doyle, Malachy. Sleepy Pendoodle: A girl tries to follow her uncle's instructions for getting her puppy Pendoodle to open his eyes.
Dunrea, Olivier. Gossie: Gossie is a gosling who likes to wear bright red boots every day, no matter what she is doing, and so she is heartbroken the day the boots are missing and she can't find them anywhere. Also Gossie & Gertie.
Ehlert, Lois. In my world: Describes some of the many things in the natural world such as worms, seashells, flowers, and stars.
Falconer, Ian. Olivia saves the circus: At school, Olivia tells about her summer vacation and how, when she went to the circus and all the performers were sick, she saved the day, becoming Olivia the Tattooed Lady, Olivia the Lion Tamer, The Amazing Flying Olivia, and more.
Fisher, Leonard Everett. Sky, sea, the jetty, and me: A young boy describes how a storm sweeps over the ocean jetty where he likes to spend time.
Fleming, Denise. Alphabet under construction: A mouse works his way through the alphabet as he folds the 'F', measures the 'M', and rolls the 'R'.
Fox, Mem. The magic hat: A wizard's hat blows into town, changing people into different animals when it lands on their heads.
Gay, Marie-Louise. Stella, fairy of the forest: Stella's little brother, Sam, wonders whether fairies are invisible. Intrepid as ever, Stella decides to explore the forest in search of them. But Sam is getting bigger and bolder, and he surprises Stella and himself by having a few ideas of his own.
Graham, Bob. Jethro Byrde, fairy child: Annabelle's dad says she'll never find fairies in cement and weeds. But Annabelle does.
Grey, Mini. Egg drop: The egg has always dreamed of being able to fly, but it doesn't really know much about making the dream a reality. The only method that seems guaranteed to work is to get to a very high place and then jump. Not a good idea for an egg.
Gunson, Christopher. Animal surprise!: This picture book contains bright and simple artwork of different animals plus onomatopoeic language that should engage the very young. Every spread has a simple development of an idea and only one word per picture, with a punch-line behind the final fold-out flap.
Henkes, Kevin. Owen's marshmallow chick: Owen has an Easter basket full of chocolate and sweets, and eats them all except the marshmallow chick which he keeps to play with.
Holabird, Katharine. Angelina and Henry: Angelina and her cousin Henry go camping in the Big Cat Mountains with Uncle Louie.
Hort, Lenny. The seals on the bus: Different animals including seals, tigers, geese, rabbits and monkeys make their own sounds as they ride around the town on a bus.
Hughes, Shirley. Annie Rose is my little sister: Shirley Hughes's popular character, Alfie, shares the story of his little sister Annie Rose.
Hutchins, Pat. We're going on a picnic!: Hen, Duck, and Goose go on a picnic but have trouble deciding where to stop and eat.
James, Simon. The birdwatchers: "When I go birdwatching, things happen," Grandad says. "Birds are amazing." Jess isn't sure, so one day she goes with him.
Kerr, Judith. Goodbye Mog: Mog was tired - dead tired. She thought, "I want to sleep for ever." And so she did. But a little bit of her stayed awake to see what would happen next. So Mog keeps watch over the upset Thomas family, who miss her terribly, and she wonders how they will ever manage without her.
Kitamura, Satoshi. Comic adventures of Boots: In comic strip adventures, including "Operation Fish Biscuit", Boots gets up to all sorts of mischief.
Lawrence, John. This little chick: A little chick shows that he can make the sounds of the animals in his neighbourhood.
London, Jonathan. What the animals were waiting for: In simple, stirring verse, this book tells the story of the dramatic cycles of life on the African savanna.
Marceau, Marcel. Bip in a book: A new book captures the genius of Marcel Marceau in a series of thirty-six photographs featuring his most beloved routines, including The Cage.
Macaulay, David. Angelo: While restoring the front of a church, an old plasterer rescues an injured pigeon and nurses her back to health.
McCaughrean, Geraldine. My grandmother's clock: Grandma says you can tell time without a clock. You can count seconds by the beating of your heart, an hour is how long it takes the bathwater to go cold, and you know each day is over when your mother kisses you goodnight.
McKee, David. Elmer and butterfly: Elmer frees a butterfly that is trapped, and the grateful butterfly promises to help him if he ever needs it. The intrepid elephant laughs, "a butterfly saving an elephant - that's a good one!" But when the cliff path he is treading starts to crumble, it doesn't seem so ridiculous!
McMullan, Kate. I stink!: A big city garbage truck makes its rounds, consuming everything from apple cores and banana peels to leftover ziti with zucchini.
McNaughton, Colin. S.W.A.L.K.: A new Preston Pig story
McPhail, David. Edward in the jungle: Edward loves to read about Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, and one afternoon he becomes so absorbed in his book that he finds himself deep in Tarzan's jungle.
McPhail, David. The teddy bear: In this touching story a teddy bear, lost by the little boy who loves him, still feels loved after being rescued by a homeless man.
Masurel, Claire. Two homes: Alex enjoys the homes of both of his parents who live apart but love Alex very much.
Meserve, Adria. Smog the city dog: Smog the City Dog is worn out by the busy, buzzy city. All the bins on his street are empty and he's hungry. "I'm out of here!" he says and scampers off across town to try his luck by the quiet canal. Sure enough, he spies … dinner!
Murphy, Jill. All for one: Marlon tries very hard to be part of the neighbourhood games until he finds something else to do that makes everyone want to join him.
Nicoll, Helen. Meg up the creek
Paul, Korky. Winnie's magic wand: At last it's the day of the Witches' Magic Show and Winnie has a new spell to perform and a beautiful new dress to wear. When she sees she has spilt jelly on it, she pops it into the machine - along with her wand! The dress is clean, but her wand is just not the same. Can Wilbur the cat help?
Peake, Mervyn. Captain Slaughterboard drops anchor: On a fantastic island populated by unusual animals, a pirate captain finds a trustworthy companion in the little "Yellow Creature". Originally published by Country Life in 1939.
Prater, John. Hold tight!: Baby Bear is busy playing in a box while Grandbear is trying to get the washing done and tidy the house. Will Grandbear ever get the washing done? Not until Baby Bear gets one last ride - a Grandbear piggyback ride. Good rhythm and predictable structure.
Ringgold, Faith. Cassie's word quilt: Names the people and objects that make a girl's New York City apartment, school, and neighbourhood special.
Ross, Tony. One hundred shoes: When a centipede trips over and hurts his foot, the only thing for him to do is obtain a set of shoes for all of his feet!
Schwarz, Viviane. The adventures of a nose: A nose looks for a place where it will fit in.
Shannon, David. David gets in trouble: When David gets in trouble, he has excuses right up until bedtime, when he realizes he really is sorry.
Shannon, David. Duck on a bike: A duck decides to ride a bike and soon inspires all the other animals on the farm to ride bikes too.
Sis, Peter. Madlenka's dog: The author of Madlenka uses lift-up flaps and peek-through windows to create a magical world where play and fantasy make wishes come true for Madlenka, who wants a dog but whose parents won't allow it.
Smith, Lane. Pinocchio: the boy: Pinocchio has been turned into a boy but no one, not even he, realizes it as he walks through Collodi-town trying to get some hot chicken soup for Geppetto.
Steig, William. Potch & Polly: Lively Potch pursues the girl of his dreams, the darling Polly Pumpernickel.
Steig, William. Which would you rather be?: Two children play a game with a rabbit, who gives them choices he pulls out of his hat.
Stevenson, James. The castaway: During a family holiday, Hubie the mouse falls out of a dirigible and is stranded on a tropical island where a very inventive fellow castaway, Leo, helps him overcome his fear.
Taback, Simms. This is the house that Jack built: The classic children's rhyme is retold with a twist as Jack builds a house and fills it with cheese from around the world, which attracts the rat that stirs up the cat, etc.
Thomas, Frances. One day, Daddy: Little Monster is worried because he wants to grow up to be an explorer in outer space, but that means leaving his parents behind. Sequel to Supposing …
Vulliamy, Clara. Small: When Tom goes to Grandma's house to stay, he remembers to pack everything - except his favourite toy, Small. Tom can't sleep without Small and imagines him sad and lonely in his bedroom in the dark. Small can't sleep either, so he goes looking for Tom. Will Tom and Small find each other?
Walton, Rick. Bertie was a watchdog: Bertie is a watchdog. A very small watchdog, the size of a watch! But size isn't everything as one great, big horrible robber finds out.
Willis, Jeanne. Don't let go!: A little girl wants to visit her father and she wants to learn to ride her bicycle, and it seems to her that that is the perfect reason to persuade him to help her learn! She has trouble with balancing and speed control - but at last she is whipping down the path.
Willis, Jeanne. Manky monkey: In this picture book take on evolutionary theory, a monkey realizes that his tastes are different from his relatives, the apes, so he wanders off to find a new way of life. He discovers he can walk upright and so takes up residence in a cave. He is lonely at first but soon a lady companion arrives.
Wormell, Christopher. George and the dragon: Far, far away in the darkest cave lives a huge and terrifying dragon who can burn down a forest with one blast of his fiery breath. This awesome beast fears nothing except mice. Enter George: he may not look like much of a hero, but a hero he turns out to be!