It's Easy! All You Need Is Love by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Bears are known to be a bit grumpy when they emerge from hibernation, and this rumpled bear is no exception. Melting snow is making chilly puddles all around. Bah!

But what's that sound?

It's a happy bluebird whose song seems to call forth the spring itself. Trees begin budding and bright flowers push up out of the muddy fields.

The bluebird perches on Bear's head and offers him a freshly picked flower and then leads him through the landscape.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

ALL YOU REALLY NEED IS LOVE!

And as Bear and Bird make their way down the road, spring unfolds before them and a joyful throng assembles as the parade progresses to a happy "happening" in the park.

NOWHERE YOU CAN BE

THAT ISN'T WHERE YOU'RE MEANT TO BE!

Altogether, now, everyone:

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED!

In a sweet tribute to fellow-feeling and spring joy, the lyrics to Lennon and McCartney's anthem to love, so familiar to Baby Boomers and Beatles fans, becomes the lively rhyming text to All You Need Is Love, illustrated with great charm and visual humor by noted picture book artist, Mark Rosenthall. Love may not be all we need in these times, but it is what we need for sure, love for life, love for our lovely world, and love for each other. School Library Journal sums it up: "The illustrations are as inspiring as the lyrics, with bright rainbow colors, and lighthearted, animated characters. The diversity of human characters is to be appreciated, and the change of setting as the parade marches on adds interest and intrigue. VERDICT A cultural must-have for all well-rounded library collections."

Shark Song! Meet Baby Shark

Get ready to do those "DOO-DOO, DOO-DOO DOO DOOS WITH THAT TRICKY RHYTHM, FOLKS!

Just in time for the Stocking Stuffer Season, it's Harper Festival's Baby Shark: Meet Baby Shark (Harper Festival Books, 2019), a board book for the youngest, introducing Baby Shark's toothy family and some of his maritime friends. Mommy Shark, Daddy Shark, Grandpa Shark, and Grandma Shark--not to mention Baby Turtle, too--each gets to sing a line or two of Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo-Doos as they appear in their underwater world.

Each member of the scat-singing shark family get to doo-doo do it their own way, with their own two-page spread accessible with their own thumb tab for easy discovery. Join the world-wide GLOBAL PHENOM, for a little seasonal sing-along under the mistletoe and do it with Baby Shark.

The New Monster Mash? Monster Boogie by Laurie Berkner

Creak!

The kids are nestled all snug in their beds, when... SOMETHING big, with horns, fangs, and claws comes through the door!

I'M THE BIGGEST MONSTER
YOU'VE EVER SEEN.
MY EYES ARE PURPLE,
AND MY TEETH ARE GREEN!

But the kids don't scream and run! They get up and DANCE!

They turn a little purple and begin to giggle, as the monster shows them how to do the Monster Wiggle!

Laurie Berkner, the famous song and dance gal for the preschool set, has an new assistant who knows how to twist and shout, in her latest dance book, Monster Boogie (Simon and Schuster, 2018). As depicted in the lively illustrations of the noted artist Ben Clanton, this monster is not exactly pretty, but he gets the tots away from their screens and moving--a good thing any day. Other books about polishing those monster moves are David Catrow's Monster Mash and Josie Bissett's Boogie Monster (read reviews here).