Baby Brains by Simon James

Baby Brains is a funny picture book about what happens when parents push their children far too hard. Mr. and Mrs. Brains do everything to make sure that their soon to be born child will be as smart as possible. They get what they want, and Baby Brains is immediately going to school, college, and medical school. When he flying in outer space as a baby astronaut he suddenly realizes that he wants to be a baby and he wants his mommy. Its a cute, fast paced story that will give most kids a giggle.

Keywords: Babies, Achievement, Mothers, Humor

Ages: 5-8

Powell's Books - Baby Brains by Simon James

Monkey Business by Wallace Edwards

Monkey Business is a fantastically written and artistically drawn book about idiomatic language. The pictures are so detailed that readers will be able to read this book over and over again. This book should appeal to lovers of the I Spy series of books.

Keywords: Idioms, Language, Monkeys, Animals

The Little Gentleman by Philippa Pearce, illustrated by Tom Pohrt

The Little Gentleman is a fantasy book about the relationship between a girl and a mole. Strange premise yes, but it works. This chapter book explores friendship, magic, reading, responsibility, and growing older. The book grows on you the deeper and deeper you go. One word of warning for those slightly squeamish readers--the book has a very detailed and bloody altercation between two animals (I won't say more to maintain the surprise of the story).

Keywords: Magic, Friendship, Moles, Reading, England, sacrifice, Maturity

Ages: 8 to 12 (see warning)

Ten Little Elvi by Laura Henson & Duffy Grooms, Illustrations by Dean Gorissen

I don't have much patience for children's books that are more novelty items than books, but I must say that I loved Ten Little Elvi by Laura Henson and Duffy Grooms. It's not that I'm an Elvis fan, because I'm not. So what was it? The book was just done so well. Fantastic rhymes. Fantastic pictures. There really isn't much new that can be done with counting books, and yet the writers of Ten Little Elvi managed to find an original and very fun subject (for Kid's counting books at least). Check this book out, you will laugh and love it. The final line of the book sealed the deal (I would share it, but I don't want to ruin the big finale!)

Keywords: Counting, Elvis, Impersonators, Music, Rock and Roll

Ish by Peter H Reynolds

Ish is a fantastic book about creativity and following one's dreams. Ramon is a young boy who loves to draw, "Anytime. Anything. Anywhere." When his older brother makes fun of his drawings, Ramon becomes discouraged and almost gives up. His younger sister sees Ramon's skill and love of drawing and encourages his brother. Ramon's love for drawing grows and extends to other creative endeavors. This book shows how other's words have such strong power over us. The whimsical drawings capture the spirit of the book wonderfully.

Keywords: Creativity, Encouragement, Discouragement, Siblings, Art, Emotions

A Sweet Smell of Roses by Johnson, Illustrated by Eric Velasquez

A Sweet Smell of Roses is the story of two girls who sneak away from their mother to join Dr. King and many others in one of the Freedom Marches. This would be a good book for introducing Civil Rights to younger children. The message is very positive and the threat of violence toward the marchers is only hinted at.

Eric Velasquez's pencil and charcoal drawings are amazing. Each picture has just the smallest hint of red either on a teddy bear's bow, a flag's stripes, or a rose's petals. The red just draws the reader deeper into the pictures.

A fantastic thought provoking book.

Keywords: Civil Rights, Freedom, Martin Luther King, protest