Sonderbooks     Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

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I don't review books I don't like!

*****= An all-time favorite
****  = Outstanding
***    = Above average
**      = Enjoyable
*        = Good, with reservations

Picture Book Picks

Within each category, books are listed by rating with the most recent reviews on top.

Enjoy these books with a child!

Animal Characters

*****The Wolf's Chicken Stew, by Keiko Kasza
****Momma's Magical Purse, by Paulette Bogan
****Mr. Maxwell's Mouse, by Frank Asch, illustrated by Devin Asch
****Mister Seahorse, by Eric Carle
****I, Crocodile, by Fred Marcellino
****Duck for President, by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin
****The Cat Who Walked Across France, by Kate Banks, pictures by Georg Hallensleben
****Henrietta and the Golden Eggs, by Hanna Johansen.  Pictures by Käthi Bhend
****Sitting Ducks, by Michael Bedard
****George and Martha:  The Complete Stories of Two Good Friends, by James Marshall
****Score One For the Sloths, by Helen Lester

Audio Accompaniment

*****Philadelphia Chickens, by Sandra Boynton
****Rhinoceros Tap, by Sandra Boynton, music by Sandra Boynton & Martin Ford
****Pictures at an Exhibition, by Anna Harwell Celenza.  Illustrated by JoAnn E. Kitchel
****Once Upon a Fairy Tale, edited by Karen Kushell
***Yellow Umbrella, by Jae Soo Liu.  Music by Dong Il Sheen

Contemporary

****Robert's Snowflakes, compiled by Grace Lin and Robert Mercer
*****Michael Rosen's Sad Book, by Michael Rosen, pictures by Quentin Blake
*****Ish, by Peter H. Reynolds
*****The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds
*****In English, of Course, by Josephine Nobisso.  Illustrated by Dasha Ziborova
*****Yellow and Pink, by William Steig
****Bittle, by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
****Crêpes By Suzette, by Monica Wellington
****Catherine Certitude, story by Patrick Modiano, pictures by Jean-Jacques Sempé
****Martin MacGregor's Snowman, by Lisa Broadie Cook, illustrations by Adam McCauley
****The Teddy Bear, by David McPhail
****Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Paul Yalowitz
***Here Comes Our Bride! by Ifeoma Onyefulu
***I Only Like What I Like, by Julie Baer
***Pancake Dreams, by Ingmarie Ahvander.  Pictures by Mati Lepp
***Peepers, by Eve Bunting

Delightfully Silly

*****The Adventures of Cow, by Cow, as told to Lori Korchek
*****Serious Farm, by Tim Egan
*****Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
*****Officer Buckle and Gloria, by Peggy Rathman
*****Clever Cat, by Peter Collington
*****Rainy Morning, by Daniel Pinkwater
****Terrific, by Jon Agee
****The Blue Day Book for Kids, by Bradley Trevor Greive
****A Spree in Paree, by Catherine Stock
****Everything I Know About Monsters, by Tom Lichtenheld
****Hungry Hen, by Richard Waring, illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church
****The Singing Hat, by Tohby Riddle
**** The Book of Bad Ideas, by Laura Huliska-Beith
****The Bravest Ever Bear, by Allan Ahlberg, illustrated by Paul Howard
****The Three Pigs, by David Wiesner
****The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups:  The Second File, by David Wisniewski

Fantasy

*****Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude, by Kevin O'Malley
*****Sleeping Ugly, by Jane Yolen
****The Witch's Walking Stick, by Susan Meddaugh
****The Yellow Balloon, by Charlotte Dematons 
****The Princess Knight, by Cornelia Funke
****Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter, by Diane Stanley
****The Princess and the Pizza, by Mary Jane and Herm Auch
****Milo's Hat Trick, by Jon Agee
**** Nobody Rides the Unicorn, by Adrian Mitchell, illustrated by Stephen Lambert
****Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by William Steig
****The Book of Beasts, by Edith Nesbit
****The Three Golden Keys, by Peter Sis
***Letters from Father Christmas, by J. R. R. Tolkien
***The Witch's Children, by Ursula Jones.  Illustrated by Russell Ayto
***The Dog Prince, by Lauren Mills.  Illustrated by Lauren Mills and Dennis Nolan
***The Ring of Truth, by Teresa Bateman

Folk Tales

****Kibitzers and Fools, by Simms Taback
****The Wolf's Story, by Toby Forward, illustrated by Izhar Cohen
****Zen Shorts, by Jon J Muth
****The Weight of a Mass, by Josephine Nobisso, illustrated by Katalin Szegedi
****The Wishing of Biddy Malone, by Joy Cowley, illustrated by Christopher Denise
****William Tell, retold and illustrated by Margaret Early
****Sense Pass King, retold by Katrin Tchana.  Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
****Juan Verdades: The Man Who Couldn’t Tell a Lie, retold by Joe Hayes
****Master Man, by Aaron Shepard, illustrated by David Wisniewski
***The First Olympic Games, retold by Jean Richards, illustrated by Kat Thacker
***Pascual and the Kitchen Angels, by Tomie dePaola
***Sing Me a Story, by Grace Hallworth.  Illustrated by John Clementson
***Hiawatha and Megissogwon, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Jeffrey Thompson
***The War, by Anais Vaugelade

Good for Very Young Children

*****Bark, George! by Jules Feiffer
****Food for Thought, by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers
****Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild! by Mem Fox.  Illustrated by Marla Frazee
****Gossie & Gertie, by Olivier Dunrea
****Jesus' Christmas Party, by Nicholas Allen
****The Baby Blue Cat and the Whole Batch of Cookies, by Ainslie Pryor
****Pete's a Pizza, by William Steig
****10 Minutes Till Bedtime, by Peggy Rathman
****Elephant elephant, by Pittau & Gervais
****Snow, by Uri Shulevitz
****Toot and Puddle:  I'll Be Home For Christmas, by Hollie Hobbie
****Bunny Party, by Rosemary Wells
***Dr. Pompo's Nose, by Saxton Freyman and Joost Elffers

Historical

****Old Thunder and Miss Raney, by Sharon Darrow, illustrated by Kathryn Brown
****Christmas Tapestry, by Patricia Polacco
***Fancy That, by Esther Hershenhorn, illustrated by Megan Lloyd
***Squanto's Journey:  The Story of the First Thanksgiving, by Joseph Bruchac.  Illustrated by Greg Shed
***Goin' Someplace Special, by Patricia McKissack, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Special Read-Alouds

*****Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert
*****The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig, by Eugene Trivizias
****Leonardo the Terrible Monster, by Mo Willems
****The Piggy in the Puddle, by Charlotte Pomerantz, pictures by James Marshall
****Little Quack, by Lauren Thompson.  Pictures by Derek Anderson
****Simply Delicious, by Margaret Mahy, drawings by Jonathan Allen
****The Sneetches and Other Stories, by Dr. Seuss
****Click, Clack, Moo:  Cows That Type, by Doreen Cronin
****Eat Your Peas, by Kes Gray
***Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming, illustrated by G. Brian Karas
***Book, Book, Book! by Deborah Bruss


= Available at Sembach Library

Sonder is a German prefix meaning "special."

Copyright © 2005 Sondra Eklund.  All rights reserved. 

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