Little Dog Lost! I'm A Baked Potato by Elise Primavera

THERE WAS A LADY WHO LOVED BAKED POTATOES. SHE ATE ONE EVERY DAY.

SHE ALSO LOVED DOGS, AND ONE DAY SHE GOT ONE.

The dog was round and brown and warm, so she called him "Baked Potato." They ate together by the fire and slept together at night. But one day the nice lady went out.

Later the little dog went out the open door, too, and wandered far away. At last he met a dog, who wanted to bite him.

"YOU LOOK LIKE A GROUNDHOG!" HE SAID.

The little dog went on down the road, hoping to find the lady. It got darker and colder, and then he met a fox who invited him into his warm kitchen. The fox told the dog he looked more like a tasty bunny rabbit and opened his creepy oven door. But the little dog was rescued by a wise owl, who told him that he was not a baked potato or a groundhog or a bunny.

"YOU ARE A DOG, GOOD AT FINDING THINGS WITH YOUR NOSE!"

And the little dog sniffed his way back down the road where he met the Lady looking for him, and now he knows who he is and where he belongs.

It's a happy reunion, in Elise Primavera's simple book of self-discovery and coming home, I'm a Baked Potato! (Funny Children’s Book About a Pet Dog, Puppy Story) (Chronicle Books).

In this simple story of a little lost shaggy dog, veteran author Primavera takes on the big subject of what and who we are and where we belong, part of the important knowledge of early childhood. Artist Juan Medena provides the humorous textured and blackline drawings that make for this warm homecoming doggy tale and gives children a reason for chuckles at the obvious mis-identities applied to the main character. A good, somewhat silly, but cozy and reassuring story of belonging where love is.

Board the Big Bus: Off to School!

IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

WE SAY GOOD-BYE TO OUR MOMS AND DADS AT THE BUS STOP AND GET ON THE BUS.

Leaving the preschool days behind and taking a seat on that official (and very large) yellow bus is one of the rites of passage in early childhood. Some kids find the big bus the scariest part of the day, and others can't wait to enter those special, swishing doors, the portal to leaving their "baby" days behind, and climb into that "big kid" zone that only "big school" kids can claim as their own.

Barron's attractive little die-cut (with the top of all windows open) board book, Off to School (Barron's, 2010) takes rising Kindergartners on a virtual tour of that epic bus ride and the first day of school that follows. A teacher's aide lines up each class and leads them to their classroom where (Gulp!) their TEACHER awaits them--luckily with a smile. What follows is a birds-eye tour of stuff to know for the first day--the coat hooks, cubbies, their all-important seats with their names already on them, the story circle, the morning snack time, arts and crafts, the playhouse and interest centers, music (with real instruments), and the playground with its big climbing toys--before the big yellow bus pulls back into the driveway to take the kids home to their parents, eagerly awaiting to hear all about it.

For kids just beginning to take that first giant step out into the world, this little yellow bus-shaped book makes a good place to start the countdown to Kindergarten.