PICTURE BOOK - 20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street by Mark Lee

Illustrated by Kurt Cyrus

2013 Candlewick Press

HC $15.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.84 - 393 ratings

My rating: 4

Endpapers" Bright rusty red

1^st line/s:  "One ice-cream truck selling everything sweet
Breaks down and blocks the middle of our street."

My comments:  I've been reading picture books at storytime at the library to toddlers...and this book would be loved by many of them!  I have some toddler boys who have a difficult time paying attention when they even HEAR a truck go by on the street below.  Rhyming (though the rhythm is off in a few places) and great illustrations by Kurt Cyrus, along with the opportunity to count trucks...all the way up to 20...make this a great, fun read.

Goodreads:  If you’re a little boy on a bike, an ice-cream truck on your street is always a welcome sight. But what if it the truck breaks down and blocks the mail truck behind it (now there are two), not to mention a third truck carrying hay? One by one, trucks of all types and sizes and functions are sure to pile up behind, offering ample opportunity for ogling — and counting. And maybe the boy’s idea for putting one of the trucks to good use might even save the day!

The Twelve Days of Springtime - Deborah Lee Rose

A School Counting Book
illustrated by Carey Armstrong-Ellis
2009, Abrams Books for Young Readers
32 pages
$15.95
Endpapers:  Lime/springtime green
Title Page:  Colorful, four of the students outside playing just after a rain shower

"On the first day of springtime, my teacher gave to me . .
. . . a garden to water carefully."

There are eight kids in the class, each with their own separate personalities.  Their outfits and activities change as each day passes.  The teacher's facial expressions are great - they always react to what the kids are doing.  We watch a couple of aquariums in the classroom change as the days pass, one with caterpillars, the others with tadpoles.  There's so much to see in each illustrations, Ella and I poured over each one.

At the back, the artist described how she created the illustrations, first sketching, then outlining in pen and ink, then painting with gouache and detailing with colored pencils.  Very cool book.

Cats Night Out - Carolyn Stutson

A Foot-Tapping, Finger Snapping Counting Book
Illustrated by J. Klassen
Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster, 2010
$15.99
ages 4-8
32 pgs.
Endpapers: Mustard

This sing-songy musical book is catchy and fun and uses great words. In twos, and adding more and more at each turn of the page, pairs of cats dance. It becomes a counting book that counts by 2's!

"Six cats tango in red capes....up and down the fire escapes."
"Sixteen rumba in the dark, twitching silk bottoms through the park."

We see cats doing the samba, boogying, tap dancing, line-dancing, doing the twist, fox-trotting, doing the polka, the conga, and even the waltz...until neighbors complain.

The illustrations are dark - it's night after all - in numerous shades of browns and creams with just a subtle touch of pink and pinky red here and there. No white.

Exceptionally cool book.
I want to read it aloud!

This Tree Counts - Alison Formento

Illustrated by Sarah Snow
Albert Whitman & Co, 2010
$16.00
32 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Repeated squares of four oak trees - one for each season

Only one (big beautiful) tree lived on the Oak Lane School grounds. So Mr. Tate's class decides to plant more trees.

We learn a lot about oak trees - what lives in them as well as all sorts of useful info for young readers. The illustrations are lovely, simple, completely covering most pages. I'm very drawn to the oak leaves. Their shape is so recognizable.

Lovely book. Go Earth Day! Go treeeeees! I love trees.

Ten Rowdy Ravens - Susan Ewing

Illustrated by Evon Zerbetz
Alaska Northwest Books, 2005
$15.95
32 pgs.
For: kids a bit older than the usual "counting book" age...
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Large purple and lavender squares with numbers and cutouts of ravens

First of all, this book is just gorgeous. The illustrations are from carved linoleum prints that are then hand-colored. They're beautfiul. And secondly, the word choices, the alliteration, the writing is clever and deosn't talk down to kids.

"Eight rougish ravens
Pilfer piles of loot,
Cheater swipes some pretty pearls,
Seven give pursuit."

"Five unruly ravens
Gobble up chop suey
Noodles make a bellyache,
Now there's four. Aw, phooey!"

That was a lot of alliterative "r" adjectives! And at the end of the book, a 7-page "Daily Kaw", True News from Around the Raven World, that includes true stories of mischievous ravens, information about these trickster birds, and even "Corvid Classifieds" - all done with superb humor.

I went through a second time for a really close examination of the illustrations. Fantastic!

The Strange Case of the Missing Sheep - Mirceau Catusanu

A Thriller
Viking, 2009
$16.99
For: preschool
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Orange, hands with outstretched fingers, sheep and number at tip of each finger.

There's a cute video on You Tube that you can watch - it's only a minute and a half long, but it's fun!

There's something about these sheep, this cool burnt orange, the expression on the sheep's faces - that just makes you want to grab and ingest. And who can resist reading a book by an author/illustrator with a name like Mircea Catusanu?

Ten sheep live in Happy Valley, cared for by "one Super Sheep Dog named Doug.: He counts them every night as they go to bed. But then one night, they are missing. Now, guess who lives in nearby Dark Forest. Yup. Wolf. And he needs sheep. (When we find out why he needs them, not only are we relieved, but we are giggling....) So he lures them away with a clever trick (candy!).... Super Sheep Dog Doug to the rescue!

Very cute story with lots going on in the very cool illustrations. You can see the texture of the canvas and hunt for all sorts of things being said and going on. So much fun. PLUS, you can reiterate to kids about going off with strangers for any reason.....