Little Spooky Stuff! Where's the Witch? by Ingela P. Arrhenius

Let's look for all the Halloween spooks!

The very youngest little book lovers now have a Halloween board book just for them. Inside on each double page spread there's a Halloween character hiding under an easy felt lift-the-flap just waiting for little fingers to view the big reveal.

Where is that SKELETON? Oh, lift the flap and.... there's one!

There is a SPIDER, inspecting a pumpkin with possibilities!

There is a VAMPIRE, complete with matching black sarcophagus for napping!

Is there a WITCH! Lift the flap to see her fly in front of the moon!

But where are YOU? I dare you to lift that curtain and see!

And there, behind the soft flap, is a mirror and ... Who is that looking back? Who's that you see?

It's YOU, in Angela P. Arrhenius' little toy-and-movable board book just right for the youngest Halloween-goers, Where's the Witch? (Nosy Crow Books, 2019). There's a little vocabulary lesson built into this first book, in which the usual suspects of the holiday are cute comic characters from the spooky season in this small, easy-for-small-fingers fun first Halloween book.

Among the several other beginner board books by Ingela P. Arrhenius are Where's the Duck? and Where's the Unicorn?

One Fish, Blue Fish! Follow Me! (Finding Dory) by Bill Scotton

DORY MAY NOT HAVE A GOOD MEMORY, BUT SHE SHE HAS GOOD FRIENDS.

That bright blue fish, Dory the blue tang, memorable but memory-challenged, is back as the star of her own movie and spin-off books for the youngest movie-goers.

It seems Dory does remember her mom and dad and longs to be reunited with them, and her oldest buddy, Nemo, along with his dad Marlin, are on board with her quest.

As Dory swims and swims, she meets up with Hank, the septopus (one leg short of being an octopus) and Destiny the bowhead whale, who both know where Dory's parents used to live, Bailey the beluga, who helps with his echolocation skills, and Becky the loon, who, er, tries to be helpful in her loony way.

All of these friends and more wind up following Dory to find her family, in Bill Scotton's charming shiny and shaped little board book, DisneyPixar Finding Dory: Follow Me! (Studio Fun International, 2016). which introduces the youngest readers to the cast of characters in the just released movie. Fun for little ones too young to know all about Finding Nemo, this sturdy and inviting board book is a good preview of the coming attraction playing soon in movie houses everywhere.

Cuddly Creatures: Mommy Loves Baby by Troy Muilenburg

... AND BABY LOVES MOMMY.

Mommy love (and Daddy love, too) is the simple theme of Troy Muilenburg's Mommy Loves Baby (Curtis Christine Press, 2015).

Parent and child together--from the roly-poly pandas on the cover, the s-l-o-o-w-l-y snuggling sloths in the treetops, to the emperor penguin papa protecting his chick from the chill between his feathered feet-- all are shown in fond familial poses. A gorilla father offers a young one a juicy leaf, and Mama Elephant gently touches her trunk to her baby's in a shared kiss.

Author Troy Muilenburg's easily repeated refrains are set off in facing pages with illustrator Andrea Dickkut's soft but realistic portraits of mothers and fathers separately or together nurturing their little ones. This sturdy board book also teaches little ones the names and a bit about the habitat of animals from tiger to koala, rhinoceros to hippopotamus. The notes and chords for an accompanying song are printed at the bottom of each page of text, providing a bonus lullaby for little humans at bedtime.

Spring Forward! Happy Spring, Chirp! by Satoshi Iriyama

Spring has sprung, and little peeper Chirp springs into action when Mama Hen asks him to take a basket of fresh flowers to Auntie Duck's birthday party. With a peep and a cheep, he's off with the bouquet basket in his beak.

OFF CHIRP GOES.
BUT WHO IS HIDING BEHIND THE BUSHES?

Through a cutout on the verso page, Cheep spots a fuzzy face and part of one ear!

With a page turn we see Bear pop up with a big BOOOOO!

Cheep drops the basket and the flowers are scattered, a little the worse for wear!

Bear apologizes and offers an alternative idea for replacing the posies.

"I'LL TAKE YOU TO GET A NEW PRESENT!"

Chirp clings valiantly atop Bear's head, as with a beep, Bear bumbles on, even swimming across a pond with much splishing and splashing and a spooked Chirp precariously hanging on.

And there they are, at Bear's favorite strawberry patch. Bear hunkers down to eat a few, while Chirp searches for the sweetest, biggest, most perfect strawberries to fill his little basket. He assures Bear that he knows just how to find Auntie Duck's pond all by himself, but after a while all the meadows begin to look the same. As Chirp stops to get his bearings, a bird swoops down and makes off with the most perfect strawberry from the basket. The startled Chirp drops the basket and the birthday present berries begin to roll down the hill, with Chirp tumbling behind....

Will Chirp fail in his solo mission? Not to worry, in Sateshi Triyama's just published Happy Spring, Chirp! (Chirp the Chick) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015). In a grand eight-page gatefold spread, Chirp and his berries tumble down, down, right into Auntie Duck's pond just in time to make  a dramatic splash at the birthday bash.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUNTIE!" SAYS CHIRP.

"THANK YOU, MY SWEET CHICK," SAYS AUNTIE DUCK. "AND A HAPPY SPRING, TOO!"

With flaps, cut-outs, pop-ups, and vertical and horizontal gatefolds done up in sturdy stock, there is plenty for young fingers to do in this sun-drenched, pastel-paletted springtime story. Chirp is as cute as an Easter basket peep, and with the many critters--rabbits, ladybugs,caterpillars, moths, beetles, and birds--in the background, youngsters can have fun seeing how many of those pictured on the endpapers they can spot throughout the story.

Triyama's latest "toy and movable book" board book joins the earlier Good Night, Chirp (Chirp the Chick).

Chicken for Dinner? Dinnertime for Chicks by Janee Trasler

"DINNERTIME, CHICKIES. LET'S ALL EAT

WASH YOUR WINGS AND HAVE A SEAT."

If only it were as easy as their nannies, Cow, Pig, and Sheep, try to make it sound. But it's not so simple to get lively young ones to sit down and eat a proper dinner.

Cow's Tex-Mex tacos are too spicy and Sheep's noodle dish is too drippy. The Chickies insist that they'd prefer something more...um... "chocolate chippy."

But Pig insists that vegetables and meats come before sweet treats, and soon the Chickies are smacking their beaks and chowing down.

PASS THE PEAS...
PASS THE SPUDS AND BROCCOLIS!

Will their tummies have any room left for dessert?

Janee Trasler's dining outing for her darn cute little Chickies, Dinnertime for Chickies (HarperFestival, 2014), has all the appeal of her earlier toddler treats, with a poofy, padded cover, polished pastel palette, and deceptively simply comic characters. Trasler gets a lot of expressive faces out of circles, dots, lines, and a few squiggles, and her vivacious verses are just as memorable. Little listeners will pipe up to finish the clever punchlines the second time around, and the Chickies may even inspire some kids to eat their peas and broccolis when it's their dinnertime.

Trasler's companion board book stories include Bedtime for Chickies, Pottytime for Chickies, and her latest hot and tasty, A New Chick for Chickies.

What's Behind That Door? Haunted House (Funny Faces) by Roger Priddy

DARE YOU COME AND LOOK AROUND

THIS DARK AND SCARY PLACE?

What is behind that orange door guarded by the black cat?

Little fingers will do the walking as very young trick-or-treaters opt to go inside and see for themselves! And there are plenty of jolly Halloween treats inside.

Gwen the spider is spinning a web to fill her rumbly tummbly. D. J. Bones is looking funky, and Headless Harry the Knight seems to have found his helmeted head! Wendy Witch flies through as a Ghost says Booooo!

Roger Priddy's Funny Faces Haunted House (Priddy Books, 2012) has all the usual suspects inside his little shaped board book. Hanging out with the Halloween gang gives little fingers lots to explore--googly eyes persist on every sturdy page along with cut-out shapes and fuzzy creatures to feel. A first book about Halloween from Roger Priddy's Funny Faces series that is a treat for little eyes.

Please Don't Pet the Bats! Vampire Pets (Funny Faces)

CHESTER IS A GHOULISH CAT

WITH A JET BLACK CAPE TO WEAR.

But then, all the residents living there, in what is clearly a vampire's lair, are ready for Halloween.

There's an ghostly owl named Ollie,  there's Freaky Freddie, a toad who swims in a slime-filled cauldron, and of course some black bats who love to flap through any empty haunted house. And then there are Suzy and Sammy Spider, ready to spin webs to add atmosphere to your Halloween party.

Roger Priddy's new seasonal addition to his Funny Faces series. Funny Faces: Vampire Pets (Priddy Books, 2014), features a flocked cover and die-cut, moving googly eyes for his cover boy, Chester. But open this sturdy board book and the little reader finds those round black eyes staring back from the face of Ollie, and then Freddy the Frog in his black cauldron. Bats and spiders fill out the crew of this haunted cadre, all with that Here's lookin' at you charm. Rhymes describe the denizens of this haunted house where a spooky beat invites dancing feet.  With just a touch of frightfulness and lots of inviting Halloween characters, this one is just right for the youngest ghosts and goblins.

What to Wear: Happy Halloween, Daniel Tiger! by Angela Santomero

"I'M DANIEL TIGER!

WE'RE DRESSING UP FOR HALLOWEEN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD!!"

Dressing up in half the fun of Halloween. What to be? What will the others look like on Halloween night?

In the latest Daniel Tiger board book, Daniel and his neighborhood friends plan their costumes. In this Lift-the-Flap book, each double-page spread features a question, and raising a flap reveals the answer. What will White Kitty be? Hiding behind the door is Kitty, dressed and equipped as a firefighter! Owl is revealed as a blinking traffic light. More surprises follow as the dressed-up crew gather for their Halloween adventure.

It all ends in a jolly Halloween parade in Angela Santomero's Happy Halloween, Daniel Tiger! (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood) (Simon Spotlight, 2014). Fans of Daniel Tiger will love the revelations behind each flap, as the favorite characters in Daniel's Neighborhood appear in costume. This book makes a nice Halloween treat for the trick-or-treat pumpkin and helps youngsters just getting used to the idea of costuming to have a trial run for the big event ahead of time with a favorite character.

Bright & Early! Early Bird by Toni Yuly

EARLY BIRD LIKES TO WAKE UP EARLY.

She stretches tall as she can and eyes a butterfly, already up and on the wing. The sun is coming up, the sky is blue, and the morning air is fresh.

It's time to see what else is UP!

Early Bird runs across the bright green grass, through the dewy flowers, and dodges under a spider web. She is in luck as she zips by a cat, only one eye yet open and too sleepy for a chase.

But Early Bird is on a morning mission. She soon finds herself in the garden, where she discovers there is someone else up and at it--Early Worm!

Toni Yuly's captivating debut picture book for the youngest readers, Early Bird (Feiwel and Friends, 2014), is a standout, with her digital art bright but classic with a pleasing use of  clean lines and shape. Early Bird herself is streamlined and curvy, with the big head and round eyes of a young one, little symmetrical wings of black and short legs against her red body.  In clean, stylized lines, everything reduced to its simplest essence but still clearly identifiable, each page a pleasure to the eye.  Yuly's story is as fresh as the morning dew, full of  the exuberance of the young.   As Publishers Weekly puts it, "This Early Bird does indeed get the worm, and what she does (and doesn’t) do with it creates some fun moments of suspense and humor in the final pages."

And that Early Worm? Not to worry, as he and Early Bird breakfast on strawberries together! There's only one thing left to make this morning complete. Birdsong! And Early Bird's got that one covered, too! Pair this one for older tots with Jill Esbaum's springy new story, I Hatched! for a veritably vernal story time.

Pack Your Trunks! That's Not My Elephant by Fiona Watt

. . .ITS TRUNK IS TOO LEATHERY.

A welcome addition to Usborne's beloved Touchy Feely Books series, That's Not My Elephant-- follows the familiar format as a set of little fingers try out the pictured elephant for certain features. The first elephant's skin isn't just right; his large feet are too scritchy-scratchy, and his toenails are too lumpy-bumpy. Even his tufted tail is just too much of a good thing!

Will the next elephant have the right stuff? Let's check out his tusk!

Author Fiona Watt and illustrator/designer Rachel Wells bring us another winning tactile board book for babies. If your little one is looking for just the right elephant, bring That's Not My Elephant-- home for an instant adoption.

Trucksation! Tons of Trucks by Sue Fliess

TONS OF TRUCKS
BEFORE OUR EYES,
IN EVERY COLOR,SHAPE,
AND SIZE.

STRONG TRUCKS,
BIG TRUCKS,
SCOOP AND DIG TRUCKS!

Millions and billions and trillions of trucks--all are on the move every day, and Sue Fliess' and Betsy Snyder's' forthcoming (July 3) interactive board book, Tons of Trucks, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012) gives toddler's digits something to do as these big and little movers scoop and scoot, lift and load, honk and haul. There are fire trucks that squirt, tar trucks that spread, milk trucks that m-o-o-ve, bigfoot mud trucks, and little red lift trucks, with plenty of surprises for little fingers to find.

There is sticky tar from the paving truck, a fork lift that goes up and down, a fire truck that lengthens to show off its long ladder, a power shovel that swings back and forth, a car carrier that folds out to reveal even more capacity, and several whose loading doors open to show off their cargo.

Artist Betsy Snyders opts for the spot art technique as she sets her bright illustrations off against a bright white board background, and there are a variety of movable devices to let youngsters play with these trucks on the page--pull tabs on the army truck which open the sides to show their top secret contents, and a wheel to turn which makes the cement mixer tank turn and the sweeper truck's broom revolve. Numerous flaps open to show off monkeys, mice, and many other critters working and having fun with their vehicles.

And as parents prefer with any book for toddlers, the action slows down for bedtime as s final spread puts these truck friends to bed (hint hint). Snyder switches to a midnight blue background as the trucks park peaceably under a goodnight moon that actually rises, while flaps open to reveal the trucks'passengers readying themselves for snooze time. Ponies snuggle in their trailer, mice brush their teeth and literally hit the hay, while a lion reads a bedtime story to the croc snacking on popcorn in the scraper.

TRUCKS PULL IN WITHOUT A BEEP.
DREAMY TRUCKS
DRIFT OFF TO SLEEP.

Mermaid Magic: Three Little Mermaids by Mara Van Fleet

THREE LITTLE MERMAIDS
WHO LIVED IN THE SEA...

When adorable little mermaids--a blonde, a redhead, and a brunette--decide to invite friends for tea, it's a party that youngsters aren't going to want to miss.

Veteran author Mara Van Fleet's Three Little Mermaids (Paula Wiseman Books) (Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster, 2011) has everything a board book needs to delight tots--very sturdy covers and pages, tear-resistant flaps which inspire guessing what's beneath, glowing colors, sparkly adornments, touchy-feely surprises for young fingers to find, a rubbery octopus with sticky treats, for example, and even a movable tab page in which four seahorses appear and disappear again in a kelp forest.

Add to these visual and tactile pleasures a set of rhythmic rhymes and a counting text which goes all the way up to ten sparkly jelly fish, and it's a seaside hands-on tale for tots. Pair this book with Van Fleet's equally delightful Little Color Fairies for merry mermaid and fairy fun.

Who Very Soon Will Come Our Way? Must Be Santa by Tim Moore and Pete Whitehead

WHO'S GOT A BEARD THAT'S LONG AND WHITE?

You know and I know who owns that iconic beard, but for those tots just coming into one of their first holiday seasons, this sturdy little book based on the familiar popular song, a staple of the season right up there with "Jingle Bells," is just in time to introduce them to everyone's favorite saint.

Featuring the familiar folk call-and-response format, Must Be Santa (Big Little Golden Book) offers charming double-page spreads, complete with red-clad Santa and his precious pack, gambling green-clad little elf helpers, and the requisite pajama-ed tots spying as he makes his rounds at the fireplace and Christmas tree, as one by one the questions of the song are posed.

In most cases, the following page features the answer, telling the reader that You-Know-Who has a beard that's long, white and so on through the song. Each call and answer has its own recap, as we work through the entire description of Santa, giving kids time to learn the answer and chime in with the verse or sing along with the song. With more jolly verses describing the whole operation, Santa's reindeer and sleigh, Santa soon coming our way...., the conclusion sums up the whole description with Santa's complete M.O., working backwards to the beginning:

CAP ON HEAD,
SUIT THAT'S RED,
SPECIAL NIGHT,
BEARD THAT'S WHITE...

It must be Santa who's coming our way with lots of anticipation for his visit from holiday newbies, and here to put some HO-HO-HO in the holidays is Tim Moore's new Must Be Santa (Big Little Golden Book) (Random House, 2011). Pete Whitehead provides the perky comic characters and all the trimmings, and the book's simple but effective design catches the infectious rhythm of the song to a T for tots.

Jaded adults may have heard this tune a time or two, but for tiny tots it's a great NEW song--easy to sing and offering learning opportunities in its cumulative format, recurring rhyme scheme, as well as great opportunities for the narrator to ham it up and for group singalong opportunities which make it a staple for seasonal storytimes. If you're rusty on the music, watch Raffi's traditional run-through for kids here at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U7MZkSlsOU or for a refresher with a more offbeat adult presentation, Bob Dylan, complete with mystery fugitive, polka-dancing revelers, and look-alike accordionist, does it all here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8qE6WQmNus&ob=av2e

School Library Journal says, "Charming, colorful cartoon illustrations accompany the classic song written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredricks in 1960."

Off to School: Mouse's First Day of School by Lauren Thompson

ONE BRIGHT MORNING MOUSE FOUND A HIDING PLACE...

THAT TOOK HIM TO A BRAND-NEW PLACE!

Unbeknownst to him, Mouse stows away in a school backpack, and soon he finds himself whisked away to a preschool classroom filled with delights for an adventurous mouse.

Mouse first finds blocks--blocks that count: One, Two, Three Four!, and books that spell with the A B Cs. There is a mouse-sized toy car that goes VRRIM, VRUM, VROOM! when he climbs into the driver's seat, and paints--RED, BLUE, AND YELLOW--just waiting for artwork. Even the snacks have their own appeal:

SSIP, SSLURP, CRUNCH!

SNACKS!

There are BLINKY, CUDDLY, CURLY dolls in the play corner and FEATHERY, FLOPPY, BOPPY hats in the dress-up center, and CLANG, BANG, STIR pots in the cooking center. Mouse tries out all the centers before it is time for everyone to gather together in a friendly circle--wiggly, giggly friends to make and remember when the day is done!

Lauren Thompson's top-selling Mouse's First Day of School (Little Simon) is now newly available in a handsome and sturdy board book edition for those little ones just getting ready for their first day at preschool or day care. Mouse makes a merry model as he explores the pleasures of the classroom, complete with plants and puzzles, toys and various types of hands-on learning opportunities, and, as in all the Mouse books, artist Buket Ertogan adds his bright acrylic illustrations to delight the eye of the youngest budding scholar. A great ice-breaker which gives the very young child a chance to become familiar with the preschool classroom and draws out questions about what the world of preschool will be all about.

Hot Bot: The Robot Book by Heather Brown

A ROBOT IS MADE OF SO MANY PARTS...

And in creator Heather Brown's clever design, it seems all of them are moving parts. In a sturdy and appealingly colored board book format, Brown's new Robot Book,The (Accord, 2010) gives youngsters a chance to see how all those mechanical parts go together to make the friendly robot on the cover.

Many gears, slides, and rotating body parts give little fingers intriguing things to do on each page, and a big bonus of this book is the incidental lessons in mechanics--how gears engage to move each other and how levers work to move things up and down--which kids will absorb as they engage with each page. All moving parts are carefully constructed and almost indestructible in regular use.

Against a shiny black background, the lively muted pastels of the robot stand out in a near 3-D effect, revealing a jolly robot whose facial features , formed entirely of gears, manage to look altogether friendly. One arms rotates in a 365 degree circle, and this metal man even has a heart geared up for lots of giving.

For visual and tactile appeal, Robot Book,The, an inventively-designed "movable" book for the youngest bibliophile, has a lot going for it. As Publishers Weekly puts it, "It's an elegantly simple design with care paid to every detail."

'Sno Way! That's Not My Snowman! by Fiona Watt

THAT'S NOT MY SNOWMAN.

HIS SCARF IS TOO FLUFFY.

Fiona Watts' newest Touchy-Feely book, That's Not My Snowman (Usborne Touchy Feely) (Usborne, 2010) is an appealing little addition to this most popular of board books series. As in the others of these top-selling tactile books for the very youngest, the emphasis is on engaging the senses--large, colorful illustrations set spot-art style against bright white backgrounds to focus and delight the eye, and a predictably repetitive text, enlivened by a bit of alliteration to catch the ear of the young listener.

But the main fun lies in the tactile inserts on each page, each of which entice little fingers to feel, scratch, and rub. The cover snowman sports a felt fedora, soft and with just a hint of fuzziness, and his scarf features fluffy red fleece. His big black buttons are bumpy; and his mittens are as fuzzy as only the scrubby side of a dish sponge can be. But the real deal appears on the final page where the right snowman appears with his big, polka-dotted orange nose, appropriately squashy! Now that's a snowman!

That's Not My Snowman (Usborne Touchy Feely) joins such earlier holiday-themed hits by author Watts and illustrator Rachel West as That's Not My Reindeer (Usborne Touchy-Feely Board Books), and That's Not My Santa (Usborne Touchy-Feely) as super seasonal stocking stuffers for the littlest bibliophiles.

What Time Is It? Duck & Goose: It's Time for Christmas by Tad Hills

GOOSE!

IT'S NOT TIME FOR CATCHING SNOWFLAKES.

IT'S NOT TIME FOR MAKING A SNOW GOOSE.

Goose is obviously a carpe diem kind of guy. There's a fresh white snowfall on the ground, and he just knows it's time to throw snowballs, build snow forts, sled and skate, and create snow angels while the snow falls, so to speak.

Duck, however, is a task-oriented sort. There's a job ahead and there's no time like the present to get it done. What time is it?

Well, it's Christmastide, and it is obviously Duck's self-appointed purpose to push and prod his happy-go-lucky pal to get cracking with the Christmas tree. What Duck fails to heed all along, of course, is that Goose, despite his momentary heedless hedonism, is planning ahead as well. Concealed behind his back is a large gold star, all ready for topping the tree at just the right moment.

With Tad Hill's new holiday board book treat, Duck & Goose, It's Time for Christmas (Schwartz & Wade, 2010), it is well nigh impossible not to spout words like "cute" and "adorable" and "charming," because that is exactly what it is. That odd couple of the board book set, Duck and Goose, are delightfully darling in their stocking caps and mufflers, and their final product, the little snow-decked Yuletide tree, freshly wound with cranberry and popcorn strings, is, well, quite cute! Just in time for the holidays, the youngest board book lovers will welcome this addition to the series.

Other books about Duck and Goose are Duck and Goose (Duck & Goose), Duck, Duck, Goose (Duck & Goose), What's Up, Duck?: A Book of Opposites (Duck & Goose,) Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3, Duck and Goose: How are You Feeling? (Duck & Goose), and Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin. A selection of these, er, charming little board books makes a great pre-Christmas or stocking-stuffer gift for any, er, totally adorable toddler you know.