I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean

I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean

by Kevin Sherry

The giant squid is big. Very big.

She's very proud of how big she is. She even thinks that she's the biggest thing in the ocean - bigger than shrimp, clams, and crabs. Even bigger than jellyfish, turtles, and octopodes.

But she's forgotten that everything has to eat and that even giant squid have predators. Along comes a sperm whale and gobbles her up. Now worries though, optimist that she is, the squid realizes that she's the biggest thing in the whale!

Kevin Sherry's delightfully playful I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean is a delightful read. The pictures are cute and they're even anatomically correct (no eyes on these clams). Packed with humor, this is a fantastic board book for your toddler (or your favorite marine biologist) to explore beautiful art and relative sizes.

I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean
by Kevin Sherry

Teeth, Tails, and Tentacles

Teeth, Tails, & Tentacles - An Animal Counting Book

by Christopher Wormell

1 rhinoceros horn, 2 camel humps, 3 chameleon colors, 4 giraffe legs, 5 starfish arms, 6 frog eyes, 7 black spots on a ladybug... Christopher Wormell's gorgeously detailed Teeth, Tails, & Tentacles - An Animal Counting Book helps the reader count from one through twenty - each page featuring a different animal part (including 16 catfish whiskers and 19 crocodile teeth).

Each image is a gorgeously rendered wood print with a pleasing mix of Warhol's pop art style and incredible attention to detail. Teeth, Tails, & Tentacles concludes with a brief discussion of the natural history of each of the animals in the book.

This is an excellent book to help a young person learn their numbers, appreciate excellent art, and develop an interest in the animals that fill the natural world.


Teeth, Tails, & Tentacles - An Animal Counting Book, by Christopher Wormell

Steam Train, Dream Train

Steam Train, Dream Train

by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

A steam train races across the prairie at night. Stopping at Night Falls station, the all-animal crew quickly loads each car with toys, paints, racecars, and frozen sweets. Once loaded, the animals tuck themselves into their beds and go to sleep.

There are many books that depict a train driving through the night, only to finish up with a parting image of a child, reposed in sleep, while the train graces the floor of their bedroom. Steam Train, Dream Train is my absolute favorite of them.

In Steam Train, Dream Train, Sherri Duskey Rinker's beautifully flowing rhymes are complemented by Tom Lichtenheld's richly lustrous pastel drawings. I adore the highly realistic, beautifully shaded pastel work, highlighted by the deep texture of the paper the Tom Lichtenheld was working with. Not only are these drawings jaunty and playful (my son adores the camel loading a boxcar), they're truly fine art. As a final benefit, for those of us who don't know a hopper from a reefer, the name of each train car is rendered in subtly bold text.

Steam Train, Dream Train
by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

Chu's Day

Chu's Day
by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Adam Rex


Chu is a young panda with a fantastic aviator's cap and goggles who lives in a world surrounded by a wide variety of other anthropomorphic animals. He goes about his day visiting the library with his mum and having lunch in a diner with his papa, always on the verge of sneezing. That evening at the circus when his mighty sneeze finally comes, it ravages his town, leaving chaos and mayhem in its wake.

We all know Neil Gaiman from his multiple genre titles, graphic novels, and YA books. He's also a fantastic children's author, telling a simple yet imaginative story in Chu's Day. Gaiman's text is leavened by hilariously realistic, absurdist images of whale short order cooks, porcine clowns, and leonine lion tamers. My son has had this book for over a year and he still falls out of my lap laughing, every time we read it.

Chu's Day, by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Adam Rex

Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas

Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas

by Lynne Cox, illustrated by Brian Floca

Long distance, open water swimmer Lynne Cox visited New Zealand in 1983. While walking along the Avon river in Christchurch, a boy named Michael and his sister Maggie asked her if she was looking for Elizabeth. Lynne spent the rest of the day talking with them about the famous elephant seal (sea elephant as the kiwis call them) that lived in the river and had been named in honor of the Queen of England

It turns out that having a 2,000 pound mammal residing in your city can be a bit of a challenge to public safety, especially when they like to lie in the middle of nice warm roads. The New Zealand wildlife managers decided to relocate her to a nearby elephant seal colony.

To everyone's amazement, she returned to the banks of the Avon again and again. The people of Christchurch became so attached to Elizabeth that the city decided that it was better to adjust the behavior of people to Elizabeth's presence than to try to make her change her behavior.

Lynne Cox' new book Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas tells the lovely story of Elizabeth and Michael's ongoing friendship (sadly, Maggie is left out of the story). Each time Elizabeth is taken away, Michael longs to see her again and every time she returns, they are delighted to be reunited. Brian Floca's lovingly realistic illustrations bring the story to life. My son particularly delighted in the image of Elizabeth tossing huge clumps of mud onto her back.

On the final page of Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas, there is a brief discussion of the natural history of elephant seals, describing their eating habits, life cycle, habitat, etc. This sweet story is a definite keeper for anyone interested in fostering a love of the natural world and encouraging people to find a way to live in harmony with the world around us.

Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas, by Lynne Cox, illustrated by Brian Floca

If You Hopped Like A Frog

If You Hopped Like A Frog

by David M. Schwartz, illustrated by James Warhola

Your child is probably always asking what, why, and how. Want to wow your kid with amazing animal facts?

David M. Schwartz was just that kind of inquisitive kid - and it turns out that he grew up to be an inquisitive adult and a children's author. In his excellent If You Hopped Like A Frog, hilariously illustrated by Mad Magazine alum (and nephew of Andy Warhol) James Warhola, you will find out just how tiny your brain would be, if it were scaled to the relative size of a brachiosaurus, just how much you could shove in your mouth if you ate like a snake, and just how high you could jump if you had the legs of a flea.

This book is sure to fill your child with absurd anecdotes and a healthy sense of wonder at the world. I highly recommend it.

If You Hopped Like A Frog, by David M. Schwartz, illustrated by James Warhola

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild

by Peter Brown

Mr. Tiger lives a prim, proper life in a prim, proper city, surrounded by other prim, proper animals, in a prim, proper Victorian city. Nothing is surprising. Nothing is exciting. In short, it's boring.

One day, Mr. Tiger gets a wild idea. When he starts going around on all fours, he gets strange looks. When he starts running about, roaring, and leaping from rooftop to rooftop, the other animals are quite disturbed. When he starts going about in just his strips, it's too much and he is sent off to live in the wilderness.

The wilderness proves to be everything he dreamed of - full of running, roaring, hunting, and stalking. But, it's lonely. It isn't home. There's no community.

When Mr. Tiger decides to accept the rules of society and returns to the city, he discovers that quite a few things have changed - some animals are going around on all fours, some have loosened their ties, and some (gasp!) have even taken off their coats and top hats.

With gorgeous, vibrant illustrations (just look for the oranges!), Peter Brown's lovely book shows the importance of treading the fine line between following the rules and making your own way. This book is highly recommended for wild things of all ages.

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown

I Know a Rhino

I Know a Rhino

by Charles Fuge

Have you ever taken a bath with a giraffe? Played doctor with a dragon? Brunched with a bear? Rocked out with an orangutan? The female lead in I Know a Rhino is a little girl with a big imagination. She brings her stuffed animal friends along in all of her imaginative adventures.

Charles Fuge's luscious illustrations in I Know a Rhino made this Yuri's favorite board book from infancy. The text flows nicely, with well-formed rhymes and a good pace. You will quickly be able to read this book with your eyes closed (which is quite handy with a cranky child who's up all night long).

As an added bonus, this is a great book to start working on scientific names of animals (if you're so inclined). A close reader might notice that the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) on the cover seems to become an Indian rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) on the final page.

I Know a Rhino by Charles Fuge

Barbapapa

Barbapapa 

by Annette Tison and Talus Taylor

Barbapapa is a giant shapeshifting creature, who sprouts out of François' garden one sunny morning. Unfortunately, François' parents won't let him stay, so Barbapapa must try to find his place in the world. After a tearful goodbye, Barbapapa has many adventures, before eventually moving into a special home of his own in François' back garden.

Annette Tison and Talus Taylor's sweet story with simple illustrations takes on themes of loneliness, not fitting in, adventure, heroism, and friendship. It is one of my favorite books from childhood and it provided inspiration for the name of this blog.

Barbapapa, by Annette Tison and Talus Taylor