D-O-N-'T GOOOOO! Penguin Misses Mom by Michael Dahl

"I MISS MY MOM," SAYS PENGUIN.

Mom has announced that she is going out.

Penguin instantly feels bereft!

Mom picks up her bag and announces that someone has come to stay and play with Penguin until she comes back. She waves cheerily from the door.

" BE GOOD! HAVE FUN!"

Penguin is not exactly feeling the fun. He hugs his comfort cushion and sheds a few tears, but when Mrs. Duck puts her wing around him and reads him a story book, he listens quietly and sadly.

Still morose, he colors with her, but when she shows him how to build a tower of blocks, he begins to get into the spirit of the fun.

And when Mrs. Duck puts out quite a spread for their snack, Penguin perks up. Yummy!

And then Mom comes through that door with a big smile and open arms.

"DID YOU MISS ME?"

But Penguin is too busy snacking on his goldfish crackers to stop right away for the big hug.

It's a good guess that Mrs. Duck will be making a return engagement as the sitter with the mostest, in Michael Dahl's forthcoming Penguin Misses Mom (Hello Genius) (Picture Window/Capstone Books, 2016). Oriol Vidal's artwork pictures an adorable little penguin coping pretty well with his mom's day out. With bright page backgrounds and simple illustrations in contrasting flat color that pop off the page, these Little Genius board books are charming introductions to the experiences with which young kids must cope. Pair this one with Anna Dewdney's popular hit, Llama Llama Misses Mama.

Other books in the Hello Genius series are Dahl's Little Tiger Picks Up (Hello Genius), Little Lion Shares (Hello Genius), and Little Monkey Calms Down (Hello Genius).

Doing the Zoo: Out and About at the Zoo by Jo Lindell

OUT AND ABOUT
IS SO MUCH FUN,
ESPECIALLY WHEN
IT'S WITH MY MUM.

"What is so rare as a day in June," said the poet, and where better to go on a sunny summer day than the zoo? And that just what Mum and son do in Jo Lindell's newly-published Out and About at the Zoo (Create Space, 2012). The two make the tour, taking in all those must-see animals that preschoolers love:

GIRAFFES WITH NECKS,
LONG AND TALL.
I BET FROM UP THERE
I LOOK REALLY SMALL.

Hippos plod and splash, lions and tigers tear into their lunches, kangas hop high, and elephants look as if they're ready for some water-squirting fun, as Mum and child make the rounds. All the animals wear big, welcoming smiles, except for one!

CROCODILES WITH BIG TEETH,
READY TO BITE!

It's just a delicious little fright from safety outside the croc's enclosure, and this little zoo-goer is not in the least deterred by crocodile teeth, so that when when his mother notices it's time to go, he can't wait to invite the reader along on a return trip.

What this colorful little story has going for it is the simplicity of its illustrations and its easy-to-read rhyming quatrains which capture the essence of each animal. The simple black-line and flat primary colors of the pictures likewise capture a stylized, almost iconic, look of each zoo creature, making this book a good choice as an introduction to the zoo or as a reprise of a recent visit to relive the experience. This book is appropriate for lap-sitting toddlers just learning the names of the animals, and with its contextual cues built into the illustrations, even a good beginning book for the emergent reader for an "I can read it all by myself" solo session. The closing text even hints that there may be more "Out and About" books in the offing.