Rex Wrecks It!
By Ben Clanton
Candlewick. $15.99
Rex is one of those individuals who loves to see things fall down or topple over and, of course, he really loves starting the process. His friends construct all sorts of cool things, but Rex always shows up and wrecks the finished project.
This becomes a little tedious to say the least. So the little dinosaur’s three buddies, Gizmo, Sprinkles and Wild, put their heads together and create something that will be “Rex-proof”. Well, not really. Yup, he knocks it apart!
Is there any way to make playtime fun for everyone? Well, once again the friends put their heads together and come up with an ingenious plan that looks like it will work beautifully.
Obviously, I won’t spoil the fun here, but you and your child will get a chuckle over what the “solution” to the Rex situation is. This humorous picture book for children three and older explores the idea of friendship, the benefits of working together and, of course, the thrill that accompanies destruction!
Vanilla Ice Cream
By Bob Graham
Candlewick. $16.99
A small sparrow begins a long journey from its home in rural India. Free to go where she wants, the bird travels on a truck of rice that is heading to a seaport. When the bags of rice are loaded on a ship the little bird, unnoticed by the crew, decides to accompany them since she always follows or stays with her source of food.
Once the vessel arrives in a port city the bird flies off and finds a park to set up her new home. Then a most remarkable event occurs. If you are wondering what the book’s title has to do with this story, you’ll find out at this point. But, I’ll let you discover the surprising turn of events that end the story.
The illustrations here capture this wonderful adventure and show how the most unlikely occurrences’ and situations can have some surprising and delightful consequences.
The Way to the Zoo
By John Burningham
Candlewick. $15.99
When Sylvie, the little girl featured in this picture book, finds a mysterious door in her bedroom at bedtime, she decides to see what’s behind it. What she discovers is a long passageway that leads to the zoo.
The little girl decides to ask a little bear if he wants to go back to her bedroom for a sleepover. Of course he agrees and, thus, Sylvie begins a number of nocturnal trips to the zoo to bring back other animals.
One night she brings back some penguins and they splash in the bathtub but make a big mess. Then a monkey comes along but because he steals things, the nimble-fingered monkey is sent packing.
This continues until one day the little girl forgets to close her magic door tightly when she goes off to school. When she gets home Sylvie is in for a big surprise. The zoo animals have taken over the living room and now there’s a big mess to clean up before her mother gets home.
Featuring John Burningham’s expressive artwork, this fantasy is a lot of fun and what child won’t love to have zoo animals for housemates?
The Mouse Who Ate the Moon
By Petr Horacek
Candlewick. $15.99
Little Mouse loves to gaze at the moon each night. In fact, she says, “The moon is very beautiful. I would love to have my very own piece of the moon.”
Then, lo and behold, the mouse finds a banana. “My wish has come true,” she cries, thinking the banana fell from the sky and is part of the moon.
Because the “moon” looks so inviting and delicious, the little mouse nibbles on some of it. It is so good she eats a whole lot! “Oh, no! Now the moon won’t be round anymore,” says the mouse with a look of chagrin on her pointy face.
It will be up to the mouse’s friends to convince her she hasn’t altered the moon and that it was really just a banana she ate.
This is the kind of silly story young children love and Petr Horacek’s illustrations make it all the better. You’ll love this moon-struck mouse with a big appetite!
Is There A Dog in This Book?
By Vivian Schwartz
Candlewick. $16.99
Three cats, Tiny, Moonpie and Andre, are convinced there’s a dog in this book. Convinced dogs are “snappy, smelly and noisy, hairy and scary…and dogs HATE cats” the cats, want to hide. Will the dog find them in the piano? Or in a closet? Or squeezed into a suitcase? Good question!
You’ll be lifting a series of flaps to see where these cats are hiding. Then, the unthinkable happens. The cats discover that this little dog is not snappy, scary or noisy. And suddenly everyone is on friendly terms until the little dog becomes afraid of one of the bigger cats that wants to hug. Now it is the dog’s turn to run away and hide. And you get to lift some more flaps to see where he is.
By the time you reach the final page the animals will have worked things out but you will have enjoyed this fun hide-and-seek romp from start to finish.
This is certainly one of the more amusing and clever lift the flap books available today. You’ll discover dogs and cats can share the same turf too!
Click, Clack, Peep!
By Doreen Cronin
Illustrated by Betsy Lewin
Atheneum. $17.99
There’s a new duckling in Farmer Brown’s barn and no one is getting any sleep with the continual noise the new arrival is making. The animals try everything, but the only way to escape the continual duckling chatter is to go outdoors.
Finally Duck takes off his headphones, places Baby Duck in a bucket, covers her with a blanket and then heads for Farmer Brown’s tractor. Off the duo go and soon baby Duck is asleep. Thank goodness!
Now it is just too bad that Duck didn’t know how to carefully steer the tractor because Farmer Brown has fences to fix and fields to replant!
You can’t go wrong with any of the “Click, Clack” titles. Children love all of them!