How Do We See The Sea? My Ocean Is Blue by Darren LeBeuf

What is the ocean? It's too big to be any one thing!

It's the rough wooden boardwalk, warming the girl's walk down to the beach. It's the warm brown sand where she and her mother spread their beach towel, their home base for the day.

THIS IS MY OCEAN.

The ocean is wide, spread across the horizon, but it can be as small as a handful of sea water with a tiny hermit crab in it. It is as dry as driftwood and as wet as a splash in her face as the girl and her mother play in the waves. It's as rotten as a dead fish at the high tide mark, or as fresh as the breeze over the sea oats. It is as sparkly as the sun on the water and as dull as the brown beach sand where she sketches an octopus.

MY OCEAN SPLASHES AND CRASHES AND ECHOES AND SQUAWKS!

Seagulls fuss and flap. There are dolphin smiles as they race with a boat, surfacing and diving. Meanwhile, a pelican facing into the wind on a post is still as still can be.

The ocean is as pink as a wet starfish, as orange as a rusty anchor, and as white as a sun-bleached seashell. But....

MY OCEAN IS MOSTLY BLUE, ENDLESS BLUE.

The ocean is many things, but mostly blue, in Darren LeBeuf's lovely little tone poem to a glorious day beside the sea, My Ocean Is Blue (Kids Can Press, 2020), portrayed with skill in Ashley Barron's mixed-media collaged illustrations, in a picture book that itself is a collage of sensations and feelings. Nothing is better than being a child on a day at the seashore, but this book will take parents reading it aloud down to the sea along with their children. Says Kirkus Reviews, "A joyful marine romp!"

The Night Shift: Three Baby Owls

ONCE THERE WERE THREE BABY OWLS--SARAH AND PERCY AND BILL.

THEY LIVED IN A HOLE IN THE TRUNK OF A TREE WITH THEIR OWL MOTHER.

All is cozy and safe inside their house in the tree until the middle of one very dark night when the three owlets awake and their Owl Mother is nowhere to be found. The three wonder where she went.

Sarah is clearly the oldest. She thinks for a moment and suggests their maybe their mother has gone hunting. Percy perks up. He thinks that she must be hunting for food for them.  Little Bill has only one thought.

"I WANT MY MOMMY!"

Sarah leads her brothers out of the hole in the tree. She perches on a big branch. Percy sits on a small branch, and Bill sinks into a clump of ivy. Their eyes get even bigger and rounder. What if Mommy is lost? Percy wonders aloud if a fox might have gotten her.

Sarah is positive she'll be back. Percy hopefully suggests that she'll be back VERY soon. Little Bill sticks to his line.

"I WANT MY MOMMY!"

They wait nervously. Sarah suggests that they all sit on the big branch with her. Little Bill scoots in between Sarah and Percy. The forest is eerie, moonlit but shadowy and dark, full of spooky, rustling fronds and ferns and vines. Sarah tries to think positively. Maybe their mother will bring them some nice mice, she says, hopefully. Percy quietly supposes that's possible. They try to brave.

"I WANT MY MOMMY," SAYS BILL.

And then their Owl Mother is back, softly swooping down beside them.

The three owlets bounce with joy. Sarah and Percy claim they knew she was coming back soon, and little Bill just loves his mommy even more now that she's there, in the notable author Martin Waddell's tender story of the anxious vigil of the three adorable owlets, Owl Babies (Candlewick Press). Separation from a parent is a common childhood anxiety, and author Waddell deftly suggests the differences that age and sophistication makes in handling that common fear. With just the right touch of worry and humor, this is a bedtime story that both builds suspense and yet reassures youngsters of their parents' constancy. Artist Patrick Benson adds much to the power of this story with his striking pen-and-ink drawings, loosely washed with watercolors and textured with meticulous cross-hatching and stippling. A near perfect picture book for all. "... a hauntingly lovely book," says Publishers Weekly.

For a turn-the-tables view of owl bedtimes, see Jonathan Allen's story of a determined insomniac little owl, I'm Not Sleepy! (Baby Owl) here.

Mom's Big Day! I Love You, Mom (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood) by Maggie Testa

Daniel Tiger loves his very own Mom.

But on a special day,

What is the best way

for what he wants to say....?

Daniel Tiger thinks about it.

THERE'S THE DRAWING WAY....

He crayons a big red heart for her. He shares with her a pre-sampled cake in a big red heart-shaped box, but there's something missing!

And then he finds the right way to say it. Say it in a song to share!

His mom would love a special song, one they can sing together, and Daniel's mom does, in Maggie Testa's I Love You, Mom (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood) (Simon Spotlight). This sweet board book with its soft padded cover and familiar characters is a good gift for mother and child on Mother's Day or any day.

Moms' Day Your Way! Mothers' Day Stories

Yes, mothers are indispensable.

Moms bear the babies, bring home the bacon, make the bread, make your bed, find your shoes, and tell you the news, all the while doing all those other jobs that make the world go round.

They deserve their own holiday.

And there are plenty of stories for bringing up Mom, fooling Mom, schooling Mom, and being your best for Mom.

You'll find a sample of all kinds of Mothers' Day stories to celebrate all moms right here.

A Winter's Tale: A Big Bed for Little Snow by Grace Lin

When winter began, Little Snow's mommy made a big new bed just for him.

"Now you have warm feathers to sleep on," Mommy said."

"Remember, Little Snow, this bed is for sleeping, not for jumping."

JUMPING?

That motherly suggestion is heeded about as much as the famous folkloric advice not to put beans up your nose!

As soon as Mommy goes away, Little Snow jumps. And Jumps. And JUMPS on his bed!

And in the morning when he doesn't hear Mommy stirring, he jumps some more!

Tiny feathers squeezed out of his bed and fluttered down.

This jumping goes on secretly. Mommy never catches him at it, until--

Once, Little Snow jumped so high and landed so hard, he made a rip in his bed!

What a lot of feathers fell that day!

Snowy feathers fill the floor of Little Snow's room, and feathery snow fills the landscape outside.

Did Little Snow do all that? What a powerful jumper Mommy's boy must be. The jig is up with Little Snow's bed, in Grace Lin's latest, A Big Bed for Little Snow (Little, Brown and Company, 2019). As in her lovingly illustrated companion book to Lin's Caldecott Honor Book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star, Lin combines beautifully realistic illustrations with a fantasy-tinged bedtime story of a first snow--inside and out. This new one is a tender story of motherly love and a mischievous boy that warms the heart as the snow falls outside his bedroom window. Now it's time to jump in real snow as Mommy sews a new feather bed, and all's well that ends at last with a laugh, inside and out.

"A wondrous, wintry read." says Horn Book's starred review.

Steppin' Up! Mama's Work Shoes by Caron Levis

Perry knew all of Mama's shoes.

Mama has fuzzy swushy shoes for around the house, and zippy shoes for playing at the park. She has flip-flops for sunny beach days and yellow stump-stump boots for rainy days.

But one day Mama comes home with new shoes--tall shoes that click and clack across the floor.

"Today, we are starting a new routine." said Mama.

Perry is not happy. "New routine" means click-clack shoes for Mama, two lunch bags, one for each of them, and being dropped off at their friend Nan's house while Mama goes to a place called Work.

Perry likes Nan, but she likes it more when Mama is there, too. Mama reminds her that she'll be back, and they can say what they always say at Nan's door.

"KNOCK KNOCK!

Cookoo Clock!

But the day at Nan's without Mama is not much fun. Mama finally comes and they walk back to their house, Mama's shoes click-clacking all the way. Despite Mama's reminder that her work shoes are also her coming-back shoes, that night Perry decides the shoes are the problem. She hides the click-clack shoes, and just to make sure, she hides ALL of Mama's shoes, too.

But Mama finds her work shoes and wears them again, as Perry sadly drags her feet on the way to Nan's again. But this time, she manages to have some fun with Nan. They dance the shimmy, and they are giggling over a tea party when Perry hears a KNOCK KNOCK! at the door. And that night Mama puts on her shushy shoes and they do everything they like together, including wearing no-shoes feet that go...

Tickle-tickle--together.

Caron Levis' brand-new Mama's Work Shoes (Abrams Books, 2019) is a bit of bibliotherapy for older toddlers and preschoolers experiencing their first day-long separation from their mothers, a time that creates some angst in child--and mother--and author Levis' story softens the anxiety without ignoring the very real sadness that such separation engenders. Levis' narration doesn't skip too lightly over the distress, while keeping the reassuring message and the secondary theme that each child has her or his part to play in their family's well-being. Artist Vanessa Brantley-Newton's sensitive but humorous illustrations support the leitmotif gently and sweetly. "Charming... dynamic, and colorful," says Kirkus.

But HOW DO I... Fly! by Mark Teague

This fledgling flight denier thinks he's got it all figured out.

THE NEST IS BEST!

It's been a cinch since he hatched. He waits in the nest and Mama Robin brings him breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. What's not to like?

The only problem is the lack of scintillation in his diet. Worms for every meal and snack? Bo-RING!

!!!

Baby Robin is the avian contrarian version of the terrible twos! Mama Robin is fatigued and frazzled with her youngster's tantrums!

But--OOPS! Baby Robin's little food fit flips him right out of the nest. He flutters and flops all the way to the ground. Now what?

Mama suggests he flap his wings and fly back up to the nest. Baby suggests she carry him back up on her back. Mama suggests he try flapping his own wings. Baby is stubborn. He's oppositional. He's a classic case of FAILURE TO FLEDGE!

He summons up images of alternative modes of flight--from piggy-back to pogo stick, from hot-air balloon to vintage aircraft. from super-hero soaring to ski jumping. Mama is steamed. Enough of this silliness. Autumn is coming. She's ready to fly to Florida--soon. Baby suggests alternate means of travel--

Orange Blossom Special? Skateboard? Little Red Convertible?

Mama Robin decides it's time to stop this stonewalling and scare her litigious little fledgling straight!

Cat? (Yawn!) Dog? (Piece of cake!)

OWL?.... YIKES!!!!!!!

It's up, up, and away for this reluctant little launcher, in best-selling author-illustrator, Mark Teague's latest, Fly! (Beach Lane Books, 2019). Mama knows best in this terrific wordless story, and although simple enough for a savvy toddler who understands the concept of speech bubbles, preschoolers can "read" this one with ease, and even older kids will giggle at the graphic absurdities and the subtleties of this war of the wills.

Teague, the illustrator of Cynthia Rylant's top-selling  Poppleton series, Teague's own Mrs. LaRue series, and Jane Yolen's uber-popular How Do Dinosaurs... (see reviews here), is a modern master of illustrative humor, and as Publishers Weekly's starred review says, "Teague proves that a picture can be worth a thousand words--and almost as many laughs."

Huggable! A Caboodles of Cuddles for the Baby You Love by Alice Luffman et al

ONE LITTLE BEAR CUB

ONE BIG BEAR HUG.

Where does baby belong? Why, with his or her family, in a warm embrace, of course!

Roger Priddy Books has a new style of board book, the "Picture Fit Board Book," with tactile raised figures of a series of endearing babies and fond families--a puppy, penguin, bear, dolphin, and koala--and the sort of hug he or she loves, whether it be in a pod, basket, or eucalyptus tree--which fit into the recessed facing page. The animals are pictured simply, yet identifiably, and the repetition in the text is enticing.

There are endearing baby animals with names to learn and some ear-pleasing alliterated text to engage the youngest in this Picture-Fit title, Picture Fit Board Books: A Caboodle of Cuddles (Priddy Books/St. Martin's Press, 2018), created by Alice Luffman, Nocole Friggens, Penny Worms, and Amy Oliver, a fun salute to family affection just published for young board book lovers.

How Do I Love Thee? Love by Emma Dodd

LOVE IS IN THE MORNING WHEN YOU WAKE AND SMILE AT ME.

LOVE IS WHEN WE TALK TOGETHER, HAPPY AS CAN BE.

A most loving mother rabbit counts the ways she loves her child. Their day begins early in their warm burrow and continues as they venture out into a field deep with blooming yellow daisies like sunlight.

They continue their day in the quiet of the deep woods. Mama Rabbit is there to catch Baby as he almost tumbles off a big rock, and to keep him warm as they huddle to shelter from a sudden shower, and to smile with joy when they stop to sniff a flower. Mama Bunny loves her baby, even when he's naughty and does something wrong.

THE WORLD IS MUCH MORE LOVELY SINCE YOU CAME ALONG.

The love between mother and child fills Emma Dodd's Love (Emma Dodd's Love You Books) (Nosy Crow, 2016). Dodd's couplets are simple but expressive, and her illustrations are lovely, with blackline outlines and soft, digital colorization highlighted with gold-leaf accents that give the fields and woodlands a soft glow. Mother love is the first love, and Emma Dodd knows how to show it in this and others of her small books for the very young, such as Together,(Emma Dodd's Love You Books) Happy (Emma Dodd's Love You Books), Always (Emma Dodd's Love You Books), and Forever (Emma Dodd's Love You Books).

Mamacentric Universe? Everything Is MAMA! by Jimmy Fallon

EVERYTHING IS MAMA, ACCORDING TO YOU.

BUT THERE ARE OTHER FUN WORDS YOU'LL WANT TO KNOW, TOO!

Which comes first? DA-DA? Or MA-MA?

Whichever is the first word, the Big Two stand alone as the initial achievement for Baby.

Still, there's a big wide, wonderful world of words out there just waiting to be voiced, and most word-loving moms can't wait to hear them from Baby's lips.

But some kids get stuck in a rut!

SUN! (says Mom Turtle).

MAMA! (says her son, dutifully wearing his sunglasses.)

But logophile mothers keep trying with a bunch of child-pleasing nouns. Come on, Kid! Read my lips! Say--Waffle? Hat? Boat? Ball? Balloon?

But little monkeys, ostriches, tigers, and penguins don't follow their leader. They all fall back on their favorite word! And we all know what that is, don't we? Well, one doesn't. Given the word, Boat, he comes back with Quack!

There's one in every crowd.

A mama giraffe with a very nice neck slurps a very long Noodle! Who could resist trying that nice oodly oodle word? Her baby, that's who. A mama zebra tries another juicy word--one with a plosive initial consonant and rhyming syllables--Pajamas! Back comes that favorite word.

Mother 'Gator blows Bubbles, Mother Owl hoots Moon, and Mother Sloth bestirs herself to juggle Apples, all to no avail. At least all the critter tots are consistent. (Well, not that duckling. He's gotta be the exception that proves the rule.)

Can't anybody say anything but Mama?

A companion book to late-night star Jimmy Fallon's best-selling, Your Baby's First Word Will Be DADA (see 2015 review here), his just-published Everything Is MAMA (Feiwel and Friends, 2017) gives mothers their due. It's probably true that the local version of "mama" is the most spoken word world wide, and Fallon's new picture book will have youngsters gleefully chiming in on that oft-repeated word on every double-page spread. Artist Miguel Ordonez takes up right where he left off in the first book with his soft, simple, and stylized animals in sight gags that even the littlest will find funny: a little turtle refuses to say "sun" but shows that he knows to don his sunglasses when he sees it, and a stubborn little duckling deadpans a quack right back in a species-specific response. It's all in good fun, because as all little ones know, for Mama. . .

EVERYTHING IS YOU!

Bringing Up Mother: How to Raise A Mom by Jean Reagan

Raising a happy, healthy mom is fun... and important!

Are you ready for some tips?

In a flip-flop of the usual "how-to parent" books, this kid has his own manual for how to bring up his mother, complete with stick drawings (labeled Fig. 1, Fig. 2), which hitting the high points of what a mature mom has to be and do. For example, moms definitely have to be in great shape:

"Strong arms, fast legs."

But before Mom hits the gym or begins her strenuous day, first things first!

"First of all, help your Mom ease into the day:

Let her sleep just a little longer. Then kiss, kiss, kiss, her awake."

So far, most moms will be pleased with this regime. But then comes helping Mom get dressed. The costume for Mom can't be too silly--or too serious--or too sparkly. Eight hair bows are enough!

And then there is that crucial moment when Mom always forgets something when she dashes out the door. Teach her to pile everything she needs right by the door--snacks, library books, her phone, and the all-important keys.

As any savvy kid knows, Moms need to learn to be organized. They need lists, schedules, routines--but also recreation. Remember to take Mom to the park: it's really good for her to practice her social skills, sitting and drinking coffee, yakking with her friends. And while she's working, let her know that you can be counted on to pull out quiet crafts and good books. And don't forget--Moms need their shuteye to keep healthy, so make sure at night that, after a nutritious supper, you get her moving right along briskly to brush her teeth, put on her PJs, and hop into bed for an early story time.

Jean Reagan's latest how-to, How to Raise a Mom (Alfred A. Knopf Books, 2017), is out just in time for the advent of Mothers Day, with everything a kid needs to know to mother their own mothers. With her familiar format well in place, Reagan's latest kids' manual is illustrated as usual by the clever comic drawings of Lee Wildish, who can make even nutritious carrots and broccoli funny. Other books in Reagan's popular series range from her How to Babysit a Grandma through How to Babysit a Grandpa and How to Surprise a Dad, to her hit holiday how-to, How to Catch Santa.

A Friend in Need: Dot in the Snow by Corinne Averiss

Miki wanted Mom to play in the snow, not fish on the ice.

Snow was soft, and fishing looked hard. Miki wasn't reading to dive.

Mom is busy with grown-up stuff, and Miki wants to have some snow play, so leaving Mom with her head down a seal hole on the ice, he clambers up a snow ridge, looking for some fun. At the top, he looks across the wide space of white below. And that's when he sees it.

A dot in the snow.

Miki keeps his eyes on the red dot, which seems to be growing bigger and bigger. Suddenly he realizes that it's a person, a little girl in a red parka and mittens, walking straight toward him. Miki has never seen such a thing. But he is intrigued.

He liked its twinkly face.

And the gurgling sound it made.

And Dot Girl likes to play. She smiles and giggles as they make and throw snowballs and slide down the snow slide they build. But suddenly Miki notices one of her red mittens is missing. Her bare paw looks very cold! Miki sees that Dot Girl is sad, but just then the ice begins to crack and separate under their feet.

The red mitten drops through a crack and into the sea. Somehow, Miki knows just what to do.

Miki dives.

But when he comes back up with the mitten, there's another problem. He and Dot are marooned on an ice floe which is beginning to float away from the land. This is not what he had in mind when he went off to play! But Miki sees what he has to do.

Miki showed the Dot how to jump!

Safe back on land, the two notice that it is beginning to snow. Now the air is almost all white, too, just like the land. But then through the flakes they see a larger red dot coming closer. It's the Dot's mom in her own red parka, looking for her. Dot is happy to see her mother and gives Miki's nose a quick rub with her own before she runs to join her mom.

Making a new friend is fun, but seeing Dot going away with her mother makes Miki miss his own mom. Where is she? He looks all over and at last has an idea. He bravely puts his head under the cold green sea, and -- and there, under the water is his mom, swimming to find him.

Miki has had fun, made a new friend, and gotten over his fear of diving into the sea. Fishing seems like something he can handle now, too!

But right now Miki needs a ride home on Mom's furry back and a bit of a sleep back at the den, in Corinne Averiss's A Dot in the Snow (Sterling Books, 2016). Averiss's story of a little wandering polar bear cub is told cleverly by the charming illustrations of artist Fiona Woodcock, shown in both panels and full-and double-page spreads, with little Dot's red parka the only spot of warm, strong color amid the whites of snow, ice, and bear, and the cool aquamarine of the sea, in a charming story of an unexpected rescue and an unexpected playmate, and with just a bit of a nudge toward a welcome bedtime.

Missing! Love Matters Most by Mij Kelley and Gerry Tulley

Why is the bear staring into the night

At a world that is a chillier sight?

She's looking for something.

She plods purposefully away from her den, into icy, frosty, windy landscape, with no living thing in sight, except for a small yellow bird. What would make a bear walk out into a storm? Could it be the dried red berries on a bush? The bird perches among them, but the bear presses on past them.

She follows the icy shore, the tall dark pines standing starkly along the foot of the mountains, white against the deep, dark blue sky. She comes to a stream, where salmon are leaping in silvery flashes from the icy waters.

Is this what she came for?

No. She seems to follow the yellow bird who flies on ahead as if scouting for her, now and then perching on a twig to wait for her to catch up.

She's searching for someone.

LOOK!

And there is her missing baby, lost, but now found. Love finds the way, in Mij Kelley's and Gerry Tulley's Love Matters Most (Little, Brown and Company, 2016), a sweet story of mother love. Kelley's and Tulley's illustrations are striking, done mostly in a palette of pale gray snow, white snowflakes, and a pale blue sea, brightened by touches of the dark blue-green evergeens, an intriguing swirl of the northern lights, red berries, and the bright yellow of the faithful bird. Mother and child are back together again, and that is what matters most.

Mom On the Case: The Runaway Bunny (75th Anniversary Edition) by Margaret Wise Brown

ONCE THERE WAS A LITTLE BUNNY WHO WANTED TO RUN AWAY.

"IF YOU RUN AWAY," SAID HIS MOTHER, "I AM RUNNING AWAY.

FOR I AM YOUR MOTHER.

Bunny is feeling a bit adventurous--and perhaps a bit argumentative.

"I WILL BECOME A FISH," COUNTERS BUNNY.

Mother Bunny responds that she will become a fisherman and catch him in her net. Unabashed, Bunny continues, saying he will become a sailboat on the sea, and Mother Bunny's comeback is that she will become the wind. Now who's in charge here?

Bunny challenges, saying that he will run away to become a rock on the high mountain, and Mother Bunny says she will be a mountain climber.

That's a hard one to top, but Bunny tries, stating that HE will be a trapeze artist in the circus, but Mother takes it to a higher level, claiming she'll be the tightrope walker on the high wire.

Well! What if Bunny becomes a boy who runs into the house? Mother Bunny happily reports that she'll be there to give him a hug!

"SHUCKS!" SAYS BUNNY. "I MIGHT AS WELL STAY AND BE YOUR LITTLE BUNNY!"

Second only to Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny: A 75th Anniversary Retrospective (Harper, 2017) was among the first to use the character of "the little runaway," which became an oft-used picture book premise that has flourished ever since. It is fitting that this classic get a brand-new edition to delight new generations of youngsters who will respond to the calm voice and dedication of Mother Rabbit to her little rebel, and Brown's gentle illustrations are just as humorous and sweet as ever. A fine book for Easter or Mothers Day or anytime.

Mom's Never Too Busy! Busy, Busy by Eileen Spinelli

FROG IS VERY BUSY LEAPING.
BEAVER HAS NO TIME TO PLAY.

MAMA BIRD IS BUSY TEACHING
LITTLE BIRD TO FLY AWAY.

It seems everyone is busy in the springtime. Bees buzz back and forth to the hive, and bears work at fattening themselves up after the long winter. Mama Duck has got eggs to hatch, while Groundhog is checking the warming ground for his shadow.

Raccoon forages in the trash, and Squirrel's busy building his stash.

Even Mom is busy setting out seedlings in her spring garden.

MOMMY'S BUSY,
ALWAYS BUSY,

SHE HAS LOTS OF WORK TO DO.
BUT SHE'D NEVER BE TOO BUSY...
FOR A CUDDLE-UP WITH YOU!

It's first things first for Mom, who always has time for a kiss and snuggle with her little helper in his yellow gardening boots, because that's what moms do, in Eileen Spinelli's just published board book, Busy, Busy! (WorthyKids, 2016). Spinelli, a mother of six children and a noted wordsmith, poet and storyteller for the very young, knowa what it means to be a busy mom, but not too busy to give mothers their due in this gentle story.

Bad Bears, Good Bears: Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman

ONCE THERE WERE THREE BEARS, DASH, CHARLIE, AND THEO.

ONE DAY WHEN THEIR MOTHER WAS OUT, THE THREE BEARS DID SOMETHING THEY REALLY SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE.

Little bears will be little bears. Mama Bear has put the honey jar well out of reach of greedy little paws, but unfortunately, she has chosen the mantle where some of her pretty things are displayed.

As bad luck would have it, in their climbing up, they knock her beautiful blue seashell off, and it shatters all over the floor.

The bear boys know they are going to be in big trouble. Hoping to head off Mama's ire, they quickly push off their little sailboat and head out to find an island with another beautiful  blue seashell in hopes of replacing the broken one before she comes home.

But it's not so easy   No sandy shell beaches are in sight.  The three little bears hail a passing raft, but the ragged drifters haven't seen such a place.  On a passing whaler christened The Melville, the sailors wave their harpoons, dismissing such a silly quest.  Finally they cross wakes with a crusty Big Salty Bear who mumbles something about an island with a tall headland, a tree, and a cave, and says, with a cavalier wave of his mighty paw,

"JUST LOOK IN THE RIGHT PLACE."

The bears finally make landfall on the island, but their trudge all over yields nothing like a blue seashell. Obviously, this is not the right place. The three bears blame each other for getting them into this mess.

"WE'RE STUCK OUT HERE, JUST BECAUSE OF YOU!"

But their squabble is forgotten when an angry thunderstorm approaches and a rogue wave threatens to capsize their little boat.

When they recover from their fright, properly chastened, they admit that they are all to blame for breaking Mama's beautiful blue seashell. Nearly becalmed, they float at last up to their own island, with their little cottage blissfully in sight. And there, on their very own beach, is an even bigger, more beautiful blue seashell.

"SO THIS WAS THE RIGHT PLACE?"

There's no place like home for the three little penitents, and bearing their offering carefully, they carry the shell sheepishly up to Mama, standing at the door. What will Mama Bear say now?

David Soman's Three Bears in a Boat (Dial Books, 2014) offers a familiar tale of missing little miscreants and their return home. With illustrations reminiscent of Else Minarik's Little Bear (An I Can Read Book)  and a story line not unlike that of the misbehaving little Max in Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, this one has the charm and style of a modern classic. Kirkus' writer points out that Soman tucks a couple of witty tongue-in-cheek allusions to Huck Finn and Moby Dick for grown-ups into the story, adding, "with watercolor seascapes so luminous that readers will want to jump in, this is a book to be treasured for years to come."

Heart-y Story: Baby Penguins Love Their Mama by Melissa Guion

Mama Penguin is pooped!

A flock of baby penguins to feed and teach is tiring!

Monday there are swimming lessons for the brood, and Tuesday it's time for sliding on their stomachs. Wednesday brings waddling lessons, and on Thursday, it's time for a tutorial on preening those ruffled feathers, not exactly the fledglings' favorite!

Friday brings fishing lessons, with lots of fun, but Saturday is squawking day, which would give any mom a headache!

ON SUNDAY, AFTER A LONG WEEK, MAMA TOOK A NAP!

While Mama dozes on the ice floe, what do her little ones do? They prepare a surprise, with streamers and hearty hearts which bespeak their appreciation for Mama!

Mama is proud and promises them (and herself) that they will soon be able to do everything big penguins can do.

"AND WHEN YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING I CAN DO, WHAT WILL I DO?" SAID MAMA.

The baby penguins proudly hold up the big, streamer-decked snow heart they have made for her.

"YOU WILL BE OUR MAMA!"THEY CHEER.

Penguins are popular in picture books these days, and Melissa Guion reprises her popular polar setting in the sequel to her piquant 2012 penguin flash mob story, Baby Penguins Everywhere! (see my review here) in her brand-new heart-y tale, Baby Penguins Love their Mama (Philomel, 2014). Guion makes the most of alliterative text, and her juxtaposition of the baby penguin's rainbow streamers and big blue heart against the black and white of their feathers and the snowy landscape are most pleasing to the eye. With a sympathetically humorous nod to mamas, sitters, and teachers everywhere, these stories make a perfect penguin pair for the holiday season.

Snow or NO? Big Snow by Jonathan Bean

"MOM," SAID DAVID, "WHEN WILL IT SNOW?"

"I THINK SOON," SAID MOM.

"WHY DON'T YOU HELP MAKE COOKIES WHILE YOU WAIT?"

Christmas is not far away and Mom is getting ready for company, but David's mind is on the promise of snow.  Outside the trees are almost bare, the clouds are lowering, and there's that hushed expectancy in the air.  David gets out  his red sled and looks at the sky, the houses on his street, the grass browned, the streets swept bare. It seems as if they, too, are waiting.

Back inside, it's warm and bright, and David tries to help Mom bake to fill the cookie jar, but the flour that he spills on the floor just reminds him of snow.

"MOM, DO YOU THINK IT WILL SNOW TALLER THAN THE GRASS?"

Mom says it could, cleans up the mess, and goes upstairs.  David tries to help Mom spread fresh sheets on the bed in the guestroom, but the settling white top sheet reminds him of a clean blanket of new snow.  Outside, he spots a few scattered flakes.

"MOM, DO YOU THINK THE SNOW WILL COVER EVERYTHING?"

Mom says it certainly might, straightens and tucks the sheet, and heads for the bathroom. She lets David spray the bubbly white tub cleaner while she scrubs. It's fun, but it only reminds him of snow once more. Mom wipes up, and he heads outside and sees that there is a little snow coming down, just sticking to the dead flower stalks.

There's no big snow yet, so Mom suggests that they have lunch and David agrees to just a little nap if he gets to sit in the big chair by the windows, but his dreams are big--A BIG SNOW which piles up higher than the windows, a snow that pushes the doors open and fills the living room with drifts, drifts so high that David tries to shove the doors shut to help, grabbing the snow shovel to clear the way, while his valiant Mom has to pull out the vacuum to suck  the snow up.

A THUMP SHOOK THE HOUSE.

DAVID WOKE UP. THERE WAS STOMPING AT THE DOOR. IT WAS DAD, HOME FROM WORK EARLY!

Dad has come and so at last has the big snow. The snow is now deep and ready for David's sled, in Jonathan Bean's warm account of waiting for the first snow, Big Snow (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013). Bean's evocative palette transforms from the yellows and browns of a neighborhood in late autumn to the gray, blue, and white magic of new snow at twilight, as the family ventures outside, hand in hand, to leave the first sled tracks down their street.  Snow has its travails for grownups, but for preschoolers the wait for first snow has plenty of dramatic tension, worth the wait. Bean's slowly developing plot, contrasting the mundane housekeeping chores with the the boy's growing excitement, makes this snow story a great early winter read, along with the classic snow tales such as Keats' The Snowy Day and Brigg's The Snowman.

Publishers Weekly says Bean's "subtly rhythmic prose and elegant, astute watercolors hit just the right notes of comedy, suspense, and fantasy."