The Diamond in the Rough

So you've read all the books from my previous post? Not wanting to siphon through thousands of books at your library to find the 'good' ones? Here are some books that we really enjoy that are not 'common' books.

 "Great green gorillas growing grapes in a gorgeous glass greenhouse."

If you are looking for an alphabet book about animals that is FULL of alliteration check this out! The crazy, fun drawings are fun to look through too. See if your kiddos can find words that start with the letter. Besides the words mentioned above, on the "G" page we found a guitar, goose, gong, gauge, goat, glasses, giraffe, gnome, gecko, and more! Ages 2-6

 "If you dug a little further; you'd see hundreds of criss-crossing pipes. Some bring electricity to light up all the streetlamps...and some bring clean water to each and every house."

I LOVE this book! My kids aren't the only ones that wonder what all is under the ground! It starts by showing plant roots, then ant hills, rabbit holes, electric & water pipes, subway tunnels, dinosaur bones, and more. I love the illustrations. What a fun, practical, good read. Ages 2-8

 "My mother sings high, my mother sings sweet. My mother can dance on both of her feet." This is a sweet story about a mother, all she can do, and she is mine! It has two simple phrases and a drawing of an animal (mother & child) to go with it. Ages 1-3

  "I wish I were an astronaut, hurtling into space. I wish I were a cowboy, with the fresh wind in my face. "

I wish I were a Pilot by Stella Blackstone is a great book for seeing all the ways that we can move from one place to another. It's simple, but beautiful illustrations help kids to really see a pilot, balloonist, racer, sailor, coachman, cowboy, and more live. At the end there are a couple of paragraphs about each form of travel describing the history. Cute book, interesting tidbits at the end! Ages 1-5

 "The doctor is sleeping. Everyone feels well. The grocer is sleeping. Food's ready to sell."

LOVE THIS BOOK! This book introduces a lot of community helpers in simple rhyming sentences, but that's not why you should look at this book. The illustrations are so clever, fun, and downright silly. The postman sleeps with a carrier pigeon animal and a quilt made of stamps. The police man sleeps with a blanket that looks like roads, a whistle in his mouth, a jailbird raccoon animal, and cars in each hand. We love giggling at the illustrations! Ages 1-5

 "They play and splish-splash till the day is all done. Mama, being just Ducky was just ducky fun."

This is such a sweet story with nice illustrations. Ducky is lonely and tries to find a friend to play with. After striking out with mouse, bee, and frog he feels discouraged. But then he realizes how much fun he can have by himself. Isn't that something we want our kids to learn! Ages 1-5

  "He's as strong as a gorilla, and as happy as a hippopotamus. He's all right, my dad."

Tired of the Mom & Dad books with pictures of sweet, soft cuddly animals. This one is a great change of pace. This kids believes his Dad can do anything and there are pictures to show it!  But best of all "HE LOVES ME! (And he always will.)" Ages 1-5

 "We go together like horse and wagon. We got together like fire and dragon. We go together like stripes and skunk. We got together like elephant and trunk."

And fun, sweet, rhyming book to read. I love how it goes through all the things that go together (great pre reading skill!) and the nice illustrations of each. At the end we see that "we go together; that's what we do. We go together because you love me and I love you!" Ages 1-5

 "Swing around with Rosie, Swing around with Rosie.

Smashes! Bashes! It all falls DOWN."

If you have a truck lover in your home, and even if you don't, this is a really fun book! All the classic nursery rhymes are retold 'a la truck' style! They are fun to read and have cute illustrations to go with them. You will read this book over and over! Ages 1-8

 "CLUNK wheels up, WHIRR flaps up. RATTA-RATTLE-SHAKE There's bumpy air as you ascend. See how the wings are made to bend?"

All kids seem to have a fascination with airplanes! Who can blame them? It is pretty amazing & scary that these large objects with all those people in them get off the ground & get you to your destination safely! This is a good book that goes through all the noises an airplane makes. What a great idea! Great prep if you are going on a trip; fun to read even if you are not! Ages 2-7

So...did you find any new ones in this batch? Let me know if you found a new family favorite!

Beth