Rabbit Rousing! Pete the Cat and the Five Little Bunnies by Kimberly and James Dean

What do bunnies do?

They HOP!

Now Pete's in a pickle! He's taken on the job of baby-sitting five little bunnies, and when he tries to corral them for bedtime, nature takes its course.

The bunnies start hopping all at once.

Five little bunnies jumping on the bed.

One fell off and bumped his head.

Bunny heads are going bump in the night! And not surprisingly, Pete finds himself in a predictable babysitting situation.

He calls the doctor for medical advice, and of course he gets practical advice. Don't let them DO that!

But the bunnies keep bouncing and the heads keep bumping, until poor Pete the Cat calls the doctor again. The doc points out the only solution:

Put those bunnies straight to bed!

Taking a page from Eileen Christolow's classic Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (Padded Board Book) (A Five Little Monkeys Story), Kimberly and James Dean's latest, Pete the Cat: Five Little Bunnies (Harper, 2020) doubles as Easter-related bunny story and counting book tale, with their usual Pete the Cat fun for preschoolers and emergent readers. Perfect for a sweet but not sugary Easter basket stuffer.

Pair this one with the James and Kimberly Dean's Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure.

Pint-Sized Power! Three Cheers for Kid McGear by Sherry Duskey Rinker

It's no "Goodnight, Construction Site" for the hard-working heavy-duty machines on this job. It's early morning and this construction site is a fright!

They're all revved up, but this job looks pretty tough. Their work site is at the bottom of a bluff. But then, a flatbed drops off a new member of their crew.

The tarp comes off
and there--SURPRISE!
The crew cannot believe their eyes!

They turn and stare
At the tiny truck that's sitting there.

"I'm a skid steer--Kid McGear!" she says.

The big shovel and back-hoe and and bulldozer try to be polite to their new crew member, but they make it clear she's too small to be of any help at all.

But when Bulldozer and Shovel try to drive down the steep slope to the work site, they start to slip and slide.

HELP

Trapped in trees and mud and rubble,
Excavators--in big trouble.

But Kid McGear has the finesse and all the right moves to get the job back on track, in Sherry Duskey Rinker's latest jolly construction site story, Three Cheers for Kid McGear!: (Family Read Aloud Books, Construction Books for Kids, Children's New Experiences Books, Stories in Verse) (Chronicle Books, 2019), which introduces a new character who uses her speed and quick maneuvers to save the day for her crew, introduced in her top-selling Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site (Board Book for Toddlers, Children’s Board Book). (See reviews here) Kid McGear brings a bit of girl power to this power machinery crew in Rinker's latest installment in this beloved modern classic series, illustrated with the customary verve, zest, and personality plus by artist AG Ford.

Up to Ten and Down Again! One Snowy Day by Diane Murray and Diana Toledano

Spinning and twirling,
They float to the ground.
Millions of snowflakes
Not making a sound.

The house is still sleeping, but the soundless flakes do not go undiscovered. ONE puppy is up, peers outside, and wakes the children with a sharp bark.

TWO sleepy children see the snow covering their trees, and THREE happy faces can be seen in the window.

The kids soon shuck off their pajamas and suit up for  play in the snow, finding their FOUR snow boots by the door.

FIVE pine trees' branches sweep low, and the children spot SIX friends already on the hill, and soon SEVEN sleds are sliding down, leaving EIGHT tracks behind them, and then...

WOOSH!
In a snow bank billow,
Carving NINE snow angels
Swishing in snow.

The kids even let their puppy get into the fun, tossing TEN snowballs for the pup to try to catch.

By this time the youngsters are ready to turn toward home, and it's time to reverse the count, right down to the TWO cups of hot cocoa and ONE perfect snowman, standing tall in the twilight as the soft flakes continue to fall, in One Snowy Day (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, 2018) by Diane Murray and Diana Toledano. It's a perfect snowy day and a chance to practice counting up and down, along with some delightfully rhyming text and cheery illustrations. With a tip of the hat to Ezra Jack Keats classic story, The Snowy Day, Kirkus Reviews says, "The delights of snow-day snow-play in a small town are enumerated in this early concept book for tots."

Wonder Land? I Wonder by Essea White

I wonder...

If sheep knit woolen socks?

Hmm! The rest of the sheep's bodies look snug in their woolly fleeces, but their little black legs do look a bit chilly. And what else would they use to knit with but organic wool yarn?

But how about goats eating ice cream sundaes?

Well, goats will eat anything! So why not?

Essea White goes the gamut from the conceivable to the ironic and all the way to downright silly in her I Wonder (Redemption Press, 2015), an essay on imagination that takes the reader on a trip down-the-rabbit-hole to her own Wonder land. As Alice said, “Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast,”and author White offers fifteen rather absurd possibilities in rhyming quatrains, one line per double-page spread. One spread even offers a would-be stand-up comic beaver who's not quite ready for Comedy Central and who completely befuddles his straight man:

Knock, Knock!

Who's there?

I forgot!

I forgot WHO?

Um, I forgot the joke!

Sigh.

It's quite the show with their offbeat pooches, rock-dancing llamas, kite-flying skunks, and a mariner bear sailing the catboat Clara Mae, all of them done up in pen-and- ink line and lovely color-coded pastel pages that charm the eye.

What impossible things can you imagine before breakfast? Join the free-range fun in I Wonder.

Power Down--Please! Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! by Todd Tarpley

THREE LITTLE ROBOTS, TIME FOR BED.

TIME TO DIM YOUR INFRARED.

A sleepy boy, already in his stripey PJs, leads his three robots toward their beds. But first, there's the nighttime ritual to get through.  They brush their rotors, shower, and, ahem! take care of toileting, making a mechanical mess along the way. The toothpaste extrudes all over the place, the sink overflows, the toilet paper unfurls all over the tiles, and the shower splashes over the rim of the tub.

The boy is clearly weary, but he piggy-backs one little robot, with the other two seemingly sleepy cyborgs behind him, toward his room, where he beds down the three.

QUIET AT LAST, NOT A PEEP.

Or not. One robot turns on the light, and they all have a complaint! One misses his coil. Another holds out his cup for a drink of oil. The last claims his sensor hurts.

The tired boy tugs his toolbox out from under his bed and takes care of their complaints, and they all settle down, or so it seems. But then...

BEEP! BEEP!

One robot waves his Saturn night light. The other two complain about a too-loose belt and a too-tight bolt. The boy sleepwalks through the various fixes. And then they three trundle back to their triple-decker steel bunk beds.  The yawning boy clambers back under his blanket.

Peace at last?

BEEP!

Apparently, all the robots' circuits are still firing, their gears grinding. The boy delivers an ultimatum!

NO MORE BLIPPING!
BLINKING-BOINKING!
WINKING-WHIRRING!
SQUINKING-OINKING!

OINKING?

They're adjusted, given oil, offered nightlights and a coil. What else would a robot want?

Oh.

A BEDTIME STORY.

It's a cyber goodnight at last, in Todd Tarpley's Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! (Little, Brown and Company, 2015), a rhyming story in which Tarpley turns the tables on the kid, giving weary parents a chance to see the bedtime shoe on the other foot. But the robots get the last whirr and wink, because it's the boy who falls asleep first, as the whole cast of characters snuggle down for a bit of co-sleeping in the boy's bed.

Caldecott-Honor artist John Rocco (for Blizzard) struts his stuff in ink-line, watercolor, and digital illustrations that are long on wit, satire, and charm. His boy plays a little grownup, tired and with his patience wearing thin as his electronic charges pull out all the usual sleep-avoiding tricks. Visual humor abounds, a robot on the toilet wound in toilet paper, and a mouse along as observer, soaping his armpits in the bathtime spillage, trudging off to the bedroom in his little fuzzy bathrobe, trying to sleep through the whining and beeping, and at last sacking out on the boys' bed with the rest of the guys. Humor, wordplay, and a clever comic consciousness gives these sleepytime resisters quite a cachet for the story circle set.

Count on It! Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure by Derek Anderson

ONE PIG,

ONE VERY HAPPY PIG.

THIS BATHTUB IS PERFECT

FOR JUST YOU AND ME!

It's shiny, and slippery, and sudsy, and just the right size for one pink pig and his little rubber ducky.

Ahhh! he settles down, neck deep in the warm bubble bath and closes his eyes.

But then Pig Two suddenly shows up, ready to hit the suds.

TWO? TWO??

THIS TUB IS TOO SMALL

FOR A DUCK, TWO PIGS,

AND A BOUNCY BEACH BALL!

And the pigs keep counting up, along with their gear. First a pig in swim fins, one in a pirate hat, then a pig tooting a tuba, and one launching his big boat. The pigs count up, the bubbles pop and the bath water slops. Pig Eight brings a sand castle, while Pig Nine wedges himself into the suds with his fly rod and bait.

Is there always room for one more? It's a big pig cram-jam as Pig Ten and his surf board get ready to hang ten!. Surf's up?

TEN pigs in a tub? But before an all-out water fight begins, one pig spots something coming, and it's not Pig Eleven!

WHAT'S THAT?

In a hurry and a flurry the tub empties as pigs peel out, 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2...., and scurry away, page right. What do they see?

ONE WOLF!

Savvy youngsters will spy the zipper down the front of that wolf suit and guess just which pig is inside, in Derek Anderson's jolly new counting book, Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure (Orchard Books, 2015). Comic critters and rollicking rhymes are author-illustrator Anderson's specialty, and this pink, impolite, and portly porker tale is no exception. Even the rubber ducky's eyes help tell the story, right up the the happy ending, when the "wolf" settles back down in his bath, just the right size for ONE PIG and his yellow floaty pal.

How Big? Gigantosaurus by Jonny Duddle

"BEWARE, MY CHILD,
OF THE GIGANTOSAURUS, SO FIERCE AND WILD!
WITH TEETH AS LONG AS YOU ARE TALL.

HE'LL MAKE A SNACK OF ONE SO SMALL.
HIS FEET GO STOMP! HIS JAWS GO CRUNCH!IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, YOU'LL BE HIS LUNCH!"

Listen to Mama, Cretaceous kiddies! Even a boneheaded ankylosaurus or triceratops is just a crunchy appetizer for this guy.

Four little dinosaurs hear their mamas' warnings, but being kids, it's just a stimulus for a game of bogeyman, big time. At least, it is for young Bonehead, a feisty little ankylosaurus. He offers to play lookout from the top of a giant termite mound while his buddies, Bill, Finn, and Tiny play.

That's prudent! But wee Bonehead is not above a prank or two, or few! Just as the guys get going with their game, Bonehead sounds a warning!

"IT'S THE GIGANTOSAURUS!

QUICK! RUN AND HIDE!"

His three pals scatter and take cover, shivering with fear.

But there's no stomp and crunch to follow. It's only a harmless triceratops papa grazing nearby. Bonehead is convulsed with giggles at his gag.

"YOU RAN! YOU HID!

YOU WERE ALL SO SCARED!"

Bill, Finn, and Tiny are not amused, but Bonehead claims it was just a practice drill and they passed the test, so they go back to their game.

But Bonehead gets bored with his watch. As soon as he sees a diplodocus dad approaching, he can't resist sounding the alarm again, and then again.

The little dinos are definitely steamed. After their third run-through of the drill, they are ready to demote Bonehead from deputy duty. They've had it with the faux frights!

"WE'RE OFF TO EXPLORE.

WE'RE NOT GOING TO PLAY WITH YOU ANYMORE!"

Boney is left alone, and getting a little fearful. There's something big and noisy coming near and he hears a definite STOMP!

Will he wind up as the crunchy lunch?

As Publishers Weekly points out, it's "a witty cautionary tale that boils down to "The Ankylosaurus Who Cried Wolf." in Jonny Duddle's Gigantosaurus (Templar Books, 2014). Duddle arranges a cheerful near miss for his young prankster this time, in a lesson about lying well learned, all set in a rhyming version of the venerable Aesop's fable that gets the ancient truism across. Duddle's illustrations of a leafy and verdant Cretaceous jungle with lots of hiding places for his little herbivores make for some fun page turns, especially the concluding three-way gatefold which shows what almost happens to the little imposter when--not the dreaded gigantosaurus--but an unexpected airborne pteranodon stops by for a quick snack.

Duddle adds an appendix, "Meet the Dinosaurs in This Book," which includes the story characters and other dino denizons of the prehistoric landscape, including the parasaurolophus, and the real big guy of the swamps, the giganotosaurus. For fans of these creatures of the Cretaceous and Jurassic ages. with both exotic and old favorites, pair this one with Tim Myers' Down at the Dino Wash Deluxe. (Read review here).

The Problem With Pink: Paulette the Pinkest Puppy In The World by Tim Bugbird

THIS IS A TALE OF A PUPPY, A PUPPY WHOSE NAME IS PAULETTE.
SHE WAS MUCH LIKE HER SISTERS AND BROTHERS,
WITH A DIFFERENCE YOU'D NEVER FORGET.

BUT ONE QUITE REMARKABLE FEATURE
MEANT PAULETTE WAS NEVER IN SYNC.
A TRULY UNUSUAL CREATURE...
PAULETTE WAS TOTALLY PINK!

Kermit the Frog may have pointed out that it's not easy being green, but being pink is no day at the spa either.

Potential puppy adopters think her coat is absurd, totally off-putting.  Paulette's family try camouflaging some of the pink with a floppy hat, but Paulette can't see where she's going and keeps piling into things--a trike and then a ladder with an unfortunate painter up top...  and wouldn't you know it, his pail of pink paint spills all over her Paulette's mom and the other puppies!  They're all as pink as Paulette!

But being pink, even temporarily, gives the rest of the pups a new insight into the color of their fur. They're the same underneath anyway, and after all... it was really sort of fun being pink!

Author Tim Bugbird specializes in quirky characters and oddball plots, and his Paulette, the Pinkest Puppy in the World (Winkler/Make Believe Books, 2014), with its rhyming quatrains and pleasing perky pastel illustrations, is another outside-the-box fanciful tale which will have particular appeal to the pinkanista pup fanciers in the picture book public.

Lonely Guy: Peepsqueak Wants a Friend by Leslie Ann Clark

AS THE SUN CAME UP OVER THE FARM, ALL THE BABY CHICKS WENT RUNNING INTO THE YARD TO PLAY.

TWO BY TWO, TWO BY TWO, TWO BY TWO

By the time Peepsqueak arrives on the scene, all the other chicks are paired off and oblivious that he is the "only one" all alone.

But the perky Peep figures out the social scene right away.

YOU ARE TWO AND I AM ONE.
MY SEARCH FOR A FRIEND HAS JUST BEGUN!

His friends only notice him as Peepsqueak skitters off into the woods, ignoring the suddenly solicitous warnings of the other chicks.

Peep soon finds some sizeable tracks which for some reason seem promising to follow. Along the way he encounters several naysayers--two hedgehogs and  a duo of birds who point out that it's raining. Peep picks a large leaf to hold over his head, recites his oft--repeated refrain, and keeps on skipping through the puddles as he presses on. A couple of raccoons munch on apples and point out that it is lunchtime, but Peep persists in his quest until the footprints end--as foreshadowed--in a dark cave.

Will Peepsqueak find a friend in that cold, dark cave. Does he dare enter?

Leslie Ann Clark's brand-new story of the persistent Peepsqueak, Peepsqueak Wants a Friend! (Harper, 2012) finds the persevering Peep on another mission impossible, looking for love in all the wrong places! Of course there's a happy ending beyond the entrance of that forbidding cave, a furry friend whose fuzzy lap (and shoulders and head) have room for all of Peepsqueak's friends back at the farm. And our loquacious little protagonist has a newly-minted personal proverb all apropos for the occasion:

FRIENDS DON'T JUST COME IN TWOS.
REAL FRIENDS HAVE ROOM FOR ALL. 

As in her first book, Peepsqueak!, Clark's illustrations, done in black ink-and-pen, digitally colored in beguilingly bright hues, show off their so-cute chick  to best advantage. This story is good for reading aloud any time when kids need to be reminded that it's not all about themselves and their best buddy, that they need to stay inclusive as well.

'S No Mystery: Tracks in the Snow by Wong Herbert Yee

JUST OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

THERE ARE TRACKS IN THE SNOW.

WHO MADE THE TRACKS?

WHERE DO THEY GO?

Who could resist following those mystery tracks? Not our little girl, bundled up in her red snowsuit, boots, and cap, off to explore a snow-transformed world.

The tracks lead her off through the trees as she considers the clues. These tracks too large for a rabbit's, and the bears are all asleep for the winter. A hippopotamus? Nope. That big white shape ahead is just a snow-covered bush.

The little girl stops to make a few snow angels as she gazes up at the bare branches of the trees and comes across the opening to a hibernating woodchuck's burrow, but the tracks continue on.

WHAT'S THIS?

SOMEONE'S LOST A MITTEN!

The girl's excitement rises as she finds this clue and feels she's finally closing in on the quarry of her quest. Although her feet are cold and she's a little tired, she picks up her pace and stays with her trail. The mystery track maker must be near!

WAIT--I KNOW WHERE THESE TRACKS GO!

Yep, you guessed it. She's been following her own tracks from another day, and they have led her right back to her own house, where thankfully inside there are hot tea and cookies waiting.

Gentle, feathery illustrations, as soft as a snowflake, give Wong Herbert Yee's Tracks in the Snow, (Henry Holt, 2010), fresh as new-fallen snow in its new paperback edition, a charm and eye appeal reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keat's classic The Snowy Day. in this charming winter's tale of a small child experiencing a white-clad outdoor world alone.

Hop, Skip, and...: Jump! by Scott M. Fischer

WELL, I'M A BUG, I'M A BUG,

I'M A SNUG LITTLE BUG,

AND I'M SLEEPING ON A JUG,

UNTIL I SEE A FROG,

AND I. . .

JUMP!

Ah, nature! What a rosy scenario--that cute little ladybug lolling on a jug.

But not when there's a hungry frog with a long sticky tongue on the loose, and our ladybug speedily takes it on the lam when he shows up. Time to exit, page right!

But when the presumably satiated frog makes his bed in a bog for a post-prandial nap, look out! There's a prowling cat about to pounce! Time to JUMP for his life!

Yep, it's the old food chain in action. The cat makes her catch, but no sooner does she come to rest to digest when here comes trouble. . .

WELL, I'M A HOUND, I'M A HOUND,

I'M A ROUND LITTLE HOUND. . .

You can see where this one is going. The hound is astounded by a croc on a dock, the croc is marked as prey for a shark, and the shark soon is swallowed by a whale on a sail, who soon sees that it's time to take this tale full cycle, and with a mighty SPLOOOSH! spouts everyone back where they belong.

Scott Fischer's merry little Jump! (Simon & Schuster, 2010) makes the most of his easy rhymes to reel in the reader/listener, who will soon be chanting "JUMP!" in all the right places. His merry comic drawings take the peril out of predation, while his rhyming words painlessly introduce his patrons to pre-reading skills while offering practice in predicting, the basis of literary analysis. Double-page spreads provide plenty of action as each animal leaps for his life, culminating in a vertical double-page view of the shark leaping high out of the water to avoid the whale. Emergent readers will, um, eat this one up, and pre-readers will find the format conducive to just sitting solo and following the story. Big-time kinetic fun and a nice little leap toward literacy for the preschool set.