What's Up with Fall? Fall with Lily and Milo by Pauline Oud

The weather is changing. It's windy and perhaps threatening to rain, but Lily and Milo want to explore the changes in the woods. The first decision is what to take--a woven basket or a little wagon?

That's easy. Lily takes the basket and Milo pulls his cart.

Now what to wear? Raincoat or swimsuit? Rubber boots or flip-flops?

That's easy--it's beginning to rain!

Lily and Milo walk into the woods. Look! No more rain! Lily points out a spider web, and Milo spots the spider. They notice apples have fallen and get busy gathering them up. But Milo finds an odd-shaped fruit. What is THAT? A pear! What is THAT cute little critter? A hedgehog. And here's a snail with eyes on stalks. Lily says the hedgehog lives under a bush and the snail lives in the shell on his back. Milo want to take everything back home with him.

Lily sees red mushrooms with white spots. They are so pretty!

"We can't pick mushrooms," says Lily. "They have to stay in the woods."

Lily puts apples and pears in her basket, but Milo loads his wagon with fallen leaves and acorns. Milo doesn't notice that some of the creatures are sneaking a ride home along with the leaves. It's beginning to look like autumn, and some of it critters have come to Lily and Milo's house, too, in Pauline Oud's early autumn expedition party, Fall with Lily and Milo (Clavis, 2019). Oud's jolly, colorful blackline drawings make for a perfect backdrop for fun in the out-of-doors in early autumn, just right for toddlers and preschoolers who are ready to search for signs of fall! Says Kirkus Reviews, "Thick, durable pages make this perfect for multiple readings and page turnings for the youngest listeners."

Some Bunny Loves You! I Love You, Funny Bunny! by Sean Julian

Some Bunny loves Funny Bunny...

... from whiskers to toes...

And, goodness knows... all the way to that pinkish nose. This Funny Bunny has style and a winning smile...

All their time is hugging time and singing time, reading time, and especially at bedtime.

Some big Bunny loves all the times with Funny Bunny!

Sean Julian's sweet board book is filled with soft and fuzzy love in his I Love You, Funny Bunny (ZonderKidz, 2019) in a rollicking, frolicking rhyming book that any bunny and every bunny would love. Julian's softly textured big bunny and baby bunny are an endearing pair of parent and child who clearly enjoy being together, reading, wrestling, talking and singing through their day.

Guess Who? I Am A Bunny by Richard Scarry

I AM A BUNNY.

MY NAME IS NICHOLAS.

For kids who just can't get enough of bunnies at Eastertide...

... there's nobunny like Nicholas, the little cottontail rabbit created by the venerable Richard Scarry, who happily shares his world with kids.

Nicholas lives in a hollow tree, shelters from the rain under a giant toadstool, and likes to show off his woodsy home. He likes to watch bluebirds fly over, pick daffodils, chase after all kinds of butterflies, and he knows just when the dandelions seeds are ready to take flight with a big bunny blow!

In this sturdy edition of Richard Scarry's and Ole Risom's I Am a Bunny (A Golden Sturdy Book) (Little Golden Books), Nicholas delivers no baskets of eggs and goodies, but he does take bunny lovers along on a tour through his woodland home to see all the sights of spring--and other seasons, too. In this one, Richard Scarry's familiar style, with his careful draftsmanship and big-eyed, anthropomorphic little bunny in overalls has all its charms intact. It's a classic that never goes out of style.

Somebunny Loves You! LOVE from PETER RABBIT

LOVE is all the smiles you give.

I'll never have enough.

Peter and Mama Rabbit count the ways of love--exploring the wide world together, and then going back home, snuggling together in their burrow.

It's holding hands when lost or lonely, cuddling when it's snowy outside, that "just right" feeling when they share time and hugs and kisses, and laughs, especially at bedtime.

With the beloved pastel illustrations of Beatrix Potter, this little book, sturdy but petite enough for small hands, Love from Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 2017), is a sweet but sugar-free treat for the Easter season, especially for the Easter basket, along with the adorable Gund Classic Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit Stuffed Animal Plush, 6.5-Inch., for somebunny who's loved a lot.

Goodbye Moon, Hello, Sun! Good Day, Good Night by Margaret Wise Brown

When the sun came up, the day began.

Who saw the first light?

"I," said a bunny. "The only one."

A small brown bunny (and his orange-striped kitty) are the first ones in the little town see the sunrise over the green hills. Sitting quietly on his grassy hill, he watches the town wake up.

First comes the milkman (from the Harey Dairy), placing bottles of fresh milk on each porch as the early bird  tunes up with his first song of the day and catches his first worm for his nestlings. The first bees buzz slowly up from the hive.

Soon the whole town is abuzz, too.  Storekeepers sweep the sidewalk in front of the stores and get ready for their first customers.  Little ones wander out, looking for friends to play ball with them. And our bunny gets in a game and then does his chores, delivering the newspaper to each doorstep and riding his bike home.

Every day is a new surprise.

And all too soon it seems the sun begins to drop lower in the sky.  Bunny and Kitty watch the bees return from their work. Every bunny makes his or her way toward home, and the baby birds sleep under their mother's wings. Bunny says goodnight to the town as twilight comes.

Good night, Kitty. Good night, Bear.

Good night, people. Everywhere.

And if that couplet sounds familiar, it should. In the first publication of this never-before-published book, Good Day, Good Night (Harper, 2017), by beloved author Margaret Wise Brown, we hear the echoes of her most famous bedtime book, Goodnight Moon, still to be written. To bring this brand-new edition to life, noted artist Loren Long creates a cozy bedroom, with red windows and rocking chair reminiscent of that famous nighttime scene, as well as a most charming village of rabbits. Long's illustrations bring this lost story to life in a new book that celebrates the day and the night, and gives youngsters a look at that bedtime bunny's future days and nights. Says Kirkus Reviews, "With pleasing echoes of Brown's famous classic, including bookends of a cow jumping over a moon, this bedtime story will entice families back again and again."

How Did This Happen? Uh, Oh, Bunny! by Pamela Kennedy

BUNNY COLORED ON THE WALL.

UH-OH, BUNNY!

Bunny also knocked over Mama's plant. Broken pottery, plant, and potting soil were everywhere. Uh-oh!

Bunny got excited about seeing what was on the next page of his book and ripped it quite out of the book. UH-OH!

Little ones often get caught up in the moment and do things that later look like a big mistake. Learning to stop and think first is not easy, especially for little bunnies who are excited about the possibilities of everything.

That is when Mama steps in to find out who did it.

Luckily, Little Bunny confesses to the truth of his deeds, and his mother praises him for owning up. Next time, perhaps he'll stop and think first.

Pamela Kennerly's little board book Uh-Oh, Bunny (Worthy Kids/Ideals, 2017) follows her adorable Bunny as he gets himself into some childish transgressions.  Walls look just perfect for drawing and scribbling, but they are costly messes that Mama has to fix. Broken plants can't always be saved, and a book missing a page can be sad, but Mama shows her little one that she appreciates his confessions and hopes he'll do better in the future. Clare Key's bunny tot is lovable, even when caught in the act of drawing himself on the wall, and kids will no doubt recall times--long ago, of course, back when they were really little-- when they did thoughtless things. This simple and charming book offers a moment for thinking about the things we do!

All Aboard! Bunny Bus by Ammi-Joan Paquette

How do you get to the Easter Parade?

"HURRY! DON'T BE LATE!"

The Bunny Bus is at the gate!

Little critters, brothers and sisters, scurry to squeeze aboard. This bus has big ears, a cottony tail, and a smile with big chompers. What could it be but the Bunny Bus.

But as more and more boarders climb on, things become a bit tight inside. The little riders get worried.

"WE NEED MORE ROOM!"

BOOM!

It's a small explosion! Eggs, carrots, fox kits, bunnies, and kitty cats all tumble out! The Bunny Bus is out of commission!

But not to worry, after all--all the bus needs is a quick overhaul, and they're on their way and ready for the parade in a critter cavalcade, in Ammi-Joan Paquette's Bunny Bus (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017.) In the style of Richard Scarry's cute pastel critter pal stories, artist Lesley Breen Withrow's illustrations show the little celebrants arriving for the Easter Parade right on time.

B Is For Bunny: P Is For Peter illustrated by Beatrix Potter

A is for A cozy dormouse.

B is for sleepy Bunnies.

Of course, those best-known mischievous bunnies, Peter Rabbit and his buddy Benjamin Bunny, are mostly busy, not sleepy, but even these little runaways must nap sometime!

But in P Is for Peter (Peter Rabbit) (Frederick Warne, 2016), the usual suspects are behaving well, helping to teach their letters to precocious preschoolers.

P is for Peter, that famous rabbit, who has a forever friend, practices his jumps, is sometime good, who nibbles on healthy veggies, listens to ducklings quack, tells tall tales, and sometimes snoozes, ZZZZZZ, wherever he chooses.

Using the familiar drawings of Beatrix Potter, with a pastel palette anchored by soft polka-dotted blue letters, this little board book is a fine choice for a first alphabet book and a pre-primer introduction to the famous characters in the tales of Beatrix Potter. This charming little one doubles as both an alphabet book and a holiday treat for Easter.