1001 stories 1-929132-92-1 Publisher's Weekly

Hello Hello introduces young children to the telephone.

Hello Hello by Fumiko Takeshita (Kane/Miller Book Publishers, ISBN 1-933605-11-1) serves as an introduction to using the telephone. As a picture book for young children (ages 3-5), it shows the many ways we use telephones: emergency calls, social calls, and pizza delivery calls.
What was life like before the telephone was invented? Hello Hello encourages children to ask themselves how they would talk to far-away friends and family if telephones were not yet invented. Would they have to travel great distances to talk to someone? Would they write a letter?
What about the future? What will telephones be like in the distant future? Will the people of the future place phone calls to Earth from outer space? From another planet?
Hello Hello gets children interested in exploring communication by raising interesting ideas about the telephone. This book also provides the perfect introduction for teaching children how to properly use the telephone.
Originally published in Japan, Hello Hello’s eye-catching illustrations capture the imagination of children. We see animals using the telephone to say thank-you for a gift, to call 911, and to simply chat with a friend.

Hello Hello is a fun and educational experience. A great asset to both parents and pre-school teachers!
A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy (December 29, 2006):

The Plot: How to use the telephone.


The Good: Seriously. A book about the telephone.

You have no idea how many parents and preschool teachers want simple books like this about basic things for their young children. And how difficult it is to find!

This isn't all techy about phones. Three sentences explain the invention: "It used to be, we could only speak face to face. Later on, we could write letters. But now, we have telephones. 'Hello, hello!' It's fast and easy."

With that set forth, it's all show and tell about telephone manners and etiquette, but without ever using those words. Instead, it shows animals making phone calls in different situations. "[The telephone] can be helpful when we're hungry," and the colorful illustrations show a pig calling for a pizza, with the next page the pizza delivery motorcycle (just like the photos at Here and There Japan!) By the end of this story, even the youngest kid will be shouting Hello, Hello. (Or, as in my nephew's case, saying Hi Hi.)

HIT THE BALL DUCK

1-929132-96-4

Kirkus Reviews (February 15, 2006):

Impulsive Duck’s fifth U.S. outing takes him and friends into the fields for a bit of baseball. Goat’s first pitch is almost the last, however, when a tree captures not only the ball that Duck wallops, but the bat and glove that Duck tosses up in an effort to dislodge it. It’s little Frog, relegated to the sidelines, who suggests that Sheep climb up on Goat’s shoulders, Duck atop Sheep and so on. Alborough’s rhyming may be a bit forced—“Hold still,” croaks Frog. “I may be small, / but I can make your team more tall”—but his rounded, soft-looking figures, all of whom stand on two legs, give the episode a child-friendly air, and the theme of cooperation is always worth a fresh presentation.

Booklist (February 15, 2006):

This brightly illustrated sequel to Duck in the Truck (2000) and Duck’s Key: Where Can It Be? (2004) begins with Duck batting in a pickup game of baseball. When the ball he hits gets stuck in a tall tree, he tosses up his bat and a glove to knock it down, and soon all three are caught in the branches. At the story’s outset, little Frog is dismissed as too small for ball with his bigger friends, but he surprises Goat, Sheep, and Duck with a clever play at the story’s end. The rhyming text flows along rhythmically, while the illustrations dramatize the action and underscore the visual comedy of the narrative. This simple baseball story is a good choice for young children, who will empathize with Duck’s difficulties and savor Frog’s moment of triumph.

Through the Looking Glass (April 1, 2006):

Duck and his friends are going to the park to play a little baseball. It is decided that Goat will pitch, sheep will catch, and frog (because he is rather small) will call out the plays. With great enthusiasm Duck hits the first pitch. Unfortunately he hits the ball straight into a very tall tree where the ball promptly gets struck. Now what are the animals to do? The duck gets the idea to throw the bat up into the tree to knock the ball off the branch it is stuck on. Unfortunately Duck’s idea misfires and the animals now have both their bat AND their ball where they cannot get to them. Full of shouts and sounds, and with wonderful illustrations showing the action from various angles and perspectives, this amusing rhyming picture book not only highlights funny duck and his baseball misadventures, but it also shows that team work is essential in a game of this kind and that even the smallest member of a team can play a very important role in the game. This is one of a series of books about the adventures and misadventures of Duck and his animal friends.

Copley News Service (April 2006):

Alborough's first two books about Duck - Duck's Key, Where Can It Be? and Duck in the Truck, were well-reviewed, fun read-alouds for the preschool crowd. His latest hits the mark with a zippy story about teamwork, friendship and the pure fun of outdoor play. After a group of animal pals loses its baseball in a tree, they decide to throw the bat after it. What happens next? The bat gets stuck, too. Then they throw the glove, and well, pretty soon all the sporting equipment is up the tree. The mischievous, playful farm animals put their heads (and bodies) together to figure out a solution, and then happily get back to playing baseball. Enticing blue skies and the playful story will remind youngsters of the pure joy of a neighborhood ballgame.

Times Herald-Record (April 16, 2006):

Duck and his friends are on their way to play baseball in the park. When Duck hits the first pitch, the ball gets stuck in a tree. What should they do? Duck knows - throw the bat up and knock it down! Oh, no - now the bat is stuck, too! Told in rhyme, this rollicking fun story and animated illustrations will have younger children laughing and cheering for these friends, their teamwork and the funny surprise ending.

Book Carousel (May 27, 2006):

Here's a great picture book that will appeal to the tiniest baseball fans! In Hit the Ball Duck, Duck, Goat, Sheep, and Frog go to the park to play baseball. On the first pitch, Duck

"swings the bat - they hear a SWOOSH!

Then with a C-R-A-C-K the ball goes WHOOSH!

Up and up and up it flies.

"Catch it Sheep!" the pitcher cries.

But the ball gets stuck in a tree. The friends suggest various ways to get it down, but Duck decides to use the bat to knock it down:

SWISH goes the bat. But where does it fall?

On a branch in the tree. Now its stuck like the ball.

When Duck spies the glove, his friends try to stop him, but up it goes too. So Frog, who was "much too small" to catch, comes up with a team-building solution to retrieve their equipment and even catches an out!

This picture book does a great job of telling a story that's non-stop action! It's rhyming couplets and lively style will keep the attention of very young children and its use of onomatopoeic words (words that sound like the thing they describe) in large bold fonts makes this a great read aloud story. Duck is a very recognizable child - full of enthusiasm, all action, anxious to be the leader- and Frog, the brains of the group, is an amusing little hero (he carries the huge cooler out of the car while his friends say he's too small to catch).

The illustrations are brightly colored and the pages include a wide variety of rectangular vingettes, both horizontal and vertical, that keep the action flowing and keep the single park scene visually interesting. The friends are often oversized and step outside the illustration's lines. (Alborough uses this oversizing very cleverly in the last two panels so that Frog and Duck seem to be the same size.) The animal friends are goofy and rambunctious and will make children laugh.

A great little book for your favorite little slugger!

KidsBookshelf.com:

Duck and his friends are ready for a fun day of baseball. But with the first hit Duck knocks the ball right into a tree, and it gets stuck. Duck tries to knock it down with the bat, but then it gets stuck too. Duck then tries to knock it down with the glove, but that gets stuck also! Then Sheep climbs on Goat's back and Duck climbs on Sheep's back, but the ball, bat and glove are just out of reach. Can Frog, the smallest of them all, save the day and the game? The rhyming text and wonderful illustrations will delight young readers.

Children's Book Center's Cooperative Services for Children's Literature (November 6, 2006):

In the picture book Hit the Ball Duck, Alborough departs from his flap books to create a riveting fictional story about animals that want to play baseball, but everything goes wrong. Alborough rhymes throughout the story to make the story flow and bounce. Readers will enjoy the color-drenched, vibrant illustrations that enhance the storyline by drawing the audience into the world of the animals. Full-page spreads and borders produce originality in the pictures. Overall, Alborough generates an invigorating piece of work.

Curled Up Kids.com (November 9, 2006):

Duck is up to his antics again as Jez Alborough delivers another great adventure. In Hit the Ball Duck, Duck and his friends Goat, Sheep, and Frog are off to play ball in the park. It doesn’t take long until Duck has the ball stuck in a tree. In true Duck fashion, he manages to make the situation worse by also getting the bat and glove stuck in the same tree. Not to fear, however, as Frog, although he is too little to play, is surely there to save the day.

This book is full of quirky rhymes, great action words, distinct characters, and a sense of doom for duck’s decision-making abilities. Through teamwork, they are able to solve the problem and prove that size does not always match ability.

An oversized book full of colorful adventurous pictures, it is a draw to both the little and the big. The rhythmic flow and LOUD action-packed words makes reading the story aloud an absolute pleasure.

Hit the Ball Duck is an adventure to read. The rhymes and choice of fun, active words encourage drama in reading and smiles and giggles to those who are listening. Hit the Ball Duck will quickly become a favorite to be read and enjoyed over and over again.
THE HOLES IN YOUR NOSE

0-916291-50-2

1-929132-82-4
Publishers Weekly (Monday, March 21, 1994):

The latest Japanese import in Kane/Miller's My Body Science/Curious Nell series starts out promisingly, with some of the same frank humor that characterized their initial offering (Taro Gomi's Everyone Poops ). Yagyu is certainly informative--he bolsters his explanations of the nose and its functions with diagrams and crisp line drawings, and his largely orange, red and black palette lends a retro-'60s look. Unfortunately, the book goes more than slightly overboard in its exploration of nasal passages. For example, a gorilla with a runny nose denies the offer of a tissue, saying that he plans to “let it dry then pick it off and eat it.” Even the hardiest readers may find themselves opting out of this one. Pass the Kleenex, please.

School Library Journal (Wednesday, June 1, 1994):

There are some imports that just shouldn't make the crossing, and this study of nostrils is one of them. Just like the first in this series, Taro Gomi's Everyone Poops (Kane/Miller, 1993), the pictures are dull, the text is stilted, and the value is nill. Does anyone really care if, when they get older, their nostrils will be bigger? Or, that, according to one young boy with a dripping nose, “Wed the holes in my dose are sdubbed ub, I candt sbell id eved wed I fart?” (This is accompanied by “BRRRROMMMM!” printed next to the subject's rear end.) In fact, runny noses are pictured on several pages; the monotony is broken by depictions of bleeding noses, one caused by “pick(ing) it too roughly.” Other bits of wisdom are also included, such as “If you fill up the holes in your nose with morning glory seeds, the seeds will swell up and begin to sprout. Your nose will hurt a lot.” Not worth anyone's time or money.

Kirkus Reviews (April 15, 1994):

Following up on the success of Gomi's Everyone Poops (1993), Kane/Miller's latest Japanese import explores another child-intriguing topic in similar unblushing detail. Yagyu considers nostrils' shape, placement, and varied functions in different animals and in people, moving on logically to the effects of colds and such fascinating subjects as snot, nosebleeds, and nose hair. The graphically bold, childlike illustrations include a fairly clear diagram of nasal passages; neatly incorporated tips on hygiene round out a book that gives children some seldom-offered information about themselves in a playful yet forthright style that will both amuse and inform them.

The New York Times Book Review (August 14, 1994):

Here, presented in the very matter-of-fact, detailed and mischievous way that children themselves tend to explore issues, is everything a child could want to know about the nose and what comes out of it.

HONEY, A GIFT FROM NATURE

1-929132-94-2
Kids Lit, Green Lake Library (April 10, 2006):

Honey: A Gift from Nature by Yumiko Fujiwara, illustrated by Hideko Ise is a Japanese children's book newly published in the U.S.  It is a story told from the point of view of a little child who could be either a boy or girl.  The father in the family keeps bees for honey and takes the child with him to gather it.  Children listening to or reading the book learn about how honey is made, how beekeepers approach the bees, and how different flowers change the flavor and color of the honey.  The illustrations in the book are gorgeous paintings that are deep with color, evoking the wonder and joy of honey.  This is a nonfiction picture book of a high quality.  Share it with children interested in insects.
Curled Up Kids (May 2006):

Bees work so hard all their lives - and all to produce about a half teaspoon of honey. While eating a breakfast of honey and bread, a young child wonders how the honey came to be. The child decides to go along with her dad, the beekeeper, while he tends to his bees in the mountains. From spring into winter, the bees and the beekeeper are busy. The beekeeper explains the process of how bees turn nectar into honey to his child in a way that is easy to understand. Readers also learn how honey is removed from hives. The book is told in the child’s voice as she sees and learns about honey and the bees. The father introduces his child to the wonder of bees, asking her to feel the warmth coming from the bees on the frame. The father’s (and the author’s) respect for the bees and their work becomes especially clear when he is cutting off the plugs of wax for the honey. The beekeeper’s child also learns the enemies of bees (wasps and bears) and how to protect the hives in the winter. Illustrator Hideko Ise uses many colors in each image; the yellow hat has over eight different colors in it. The beekeeper’s hand is outlined in yellow, green and blue! The result is beautiful to see, up close or far away. The bees seem to have a soft blurry look, and the fall leaves are stunning. Honey truly is a gift from nature - and a gift that will taste different depending on the flowers the bees used. The weather, the bees, the flowers, and people all work together to produce this delicious sweet.

   

I DON’T WANT TO GO TO BED

1-929132-66-2

School Library Journal (December 1, 2004):

Ross's humorous illustrations are well suited to the topics addressed in these books. At bedtime, the Little Princess protests, "Why do I have to go to bed when I'm not tired and get up when I am?" Her complaints fall on deaf ears, and she is carted off to sleep by the Doctor, presumably the court physician. Predictable complaints and demands ensue, including requests for water and protests about monsters and spiders. When an attempted escape is foiled, the King and Queen think they have their youngster settled for the evening, but as usual the Little Princess has the last word. The second title is the more comical of the two as the heroine refuses to part with her beloved pacifier. In a variety of settings, a mysterious hand enters the frame of the picture and removes it. The girl keeps unearthing the missing object from such well-concealed spots as the chimney, the dog's bed, and the trash can. It's not until a young cousin enters the mix that peer pressure accomplishes what adult machinations could not. Strong child appeal should make these books popular.

Children’s Bookwatch (September 2005):

Clever, entertaining, and "kid friendly", "The Little Princess" series is ideal for family, preschool, daycare, nursery school, kindergarten, and community library collections.

I LOST MY DAD

1-929132-04-2

Publishers Weekly (Monday, February 26, 2001):

The creator of Everyone Poops here focuses on a common if less universal experience: a child becomes separated from a parent. Originally published in Japan in 1983, the book has minimal text. What carries the book is Gomi's quirky, stylized art and some diverting graphic manipulations to chronicle a boy's search for his father, whom he loses in a department store. As a result of creatively die-cut pages, the boy repeatedly spies only a portion of what he thinks is the man's image (a single arm and leg of a suit, a pair of shoes, a hat). But each time, a flip of the page reveals that the child has spied someone else instead, until at last the boy finds his missing parent on the escalator. The child wanders into the men's room and spies the backs of two men at urinals--neither of whom, he discovers when they turn their heads, is his father. Children will happily take part in this playful quest, which helps to assuage this common fear with its happy ending, and parents will welcome the opportunity to discuss what steps to take if the situation arises in their own family.

School Library Journal (Tuesday, May 1, 2001):

An important subject to children and their caregivers is given inadequate treatment here. When a young boy loses his father in a large department store, he begins searching for him. He catches several partial glimpses of patterns or clothing that he believes his dad is wearing but each time he is distressed to discover that they belong to someone else. The child finally locates the irritated man on an escalator and the book ends with the boy being led out of the store. The story offers little to children to help them understand or cope with a frightening experience of this kind. None of the adults in the book, who appear either expressionless or frowning in the watercolor paintings, recognizes the boy's situation or offers help, and the reunion between father and son is unsatisfying. The text is stilted and does not sound like the voice of a young child. The pages that are partially cut away to provide the snatches of fabric and clothing the boy spies from afar may provide some interest for children, but the overall mood of the paintings and sparse text is cold and uninviting.

*The Horn Book (Jul/Aug 2001):

A boy, his father, and a crowded department store provide the setting for a familiar theme: Lost! Trust Taro Gomi to provide a fresh approach. Each spread contains a die cut or flap on the right concealing part of a person who "might" be Dad, only to reveal a stranger when the flap is lifted. Gomi's solid, simply painted figures against white backgrounds work well with the turn-the-flap format, the seemingly offhand renderings belying a carefully planned book and sophisticated composition.

Curled Up Kids.com (August 2006):

This story is a simple one. A young boy and his father go to a department store and become separated. The boy realizes he is alone and initiates a search to locate his dad. On numerous occasions, the boy mistakenly believes he has found him after seeing a familiar shoe, hat, or other body feature that bears a resemblance to his lost parent. Readers are invited to participate in the search by lifting up flaps and unfolding book pages to see whether any of the partially hidden images the boy comes across is the father whom he is frantically trying to find. Each time the entire figure the boy believes to be his father is revealed, it becomes apparent that things are not as they appear, and the little boy remains alone, surrounded by strangers, hoping for a speedy reunion.

This description lays the foundation for a charming story, and it is this very potential that makes the book’s failed delivery so incredibly disappointing. As a starting point, even this book’s title, I Lost My Dad is unnecessarily problematic. While the intent may be to suggest a playful game of hide-and-seek between a father and his son, the words chosen suggest that a young boy must deal with the death of a parent. In fact, I came across this book numerous times and hurriedly passed it by for this very reason. It was only after taking the time to peruse its contents (after I learned its author was the same one who penned a favorite of mine, Everyone Poops) that I learned it was not a book about a boy having to come to terms with a terrible loss.

Even if you get past the title, the illustrations only enhance this defect. Despite the allure of the expressionless faces which reflect the same boyish charm as Taro Gomi’s earlier book, the mention of a lost parent accompanied by illustrations reflecting at best neutrality, at worst a traumatic event, will likely deter even more potential readers from picking up this book in favor or those with more inviting covers. These same illustrations add to the fearfulness (or at the very least uneasiness) readers will likely feel as the young boy unsuccessfully searches for his dad through the pages of this book.

Especially in today’s world, where we often hear of traumatic stories surrounding the abduction of small children, it is incredibly difficult to recommend a children’s book that centers around the separation of a child and a parent. Any parent who has lost sight of a child for even a split second or any children who have found themselves in a similar situation will unlikely find much joy in this story, despite the author’s creative presentation and the eventual reunion between the father and son.

   

I LOVE…

1-929132-75-1

*Publishers Weekly (Monday, January 31, 2005):

A Valentine for all ages, all year round, this lovely volume encases poetic prose and accomplished artwork in a small (5 ½” x 6 7/8") softcover shell. French writer Minne furnishes a distinctive array of the delights of girlhood, some just a sentence, others nearly a page. Each passage begins with "I love...," opposite a small painting by Fortier, framed in white - often a full page, other times stamp-size. The experiences captured range from the homely ("I love the smell of my soft, old bunny. He smells like apples, licorice, soap, roses, Mama's perfume, soup, rice, toast, wax, wet dog, and especially, my warm, cozy bed in the middle of the night") to the exotic ("I love it when we're collecting shells and you say, 'I'll be King of the Clams and you be Queen of the Scallops' "), the elegant ("I love it when Mama puts my hair in two braids and I look like an Indian princess") to the quotidian ("I love the sound of raindrops on my red umbrella"). Fortier's palette, delicate outlines and graceful use of pastel call to mind Toulouse-Lautrec's most intimate portraits. The artist draws Clementine and her family as soft, figures with slender limbs; at times, she leaves the outlines of the figures unfilled, and the backgrounds shine through them as if they are ghosts or memories. With wit and respect, Minne conveys much of what constitutes joy for children. Through the author and artist's slice-of-life moments, a complete picture emerges of a loving, fully realized family of four.

School Library Journal (April 2005):

"I love it when I stand in the water and the tide goes out, and it moves the sand under my feet and swirls around them." Full of simple yet vivid descriptions, this long picture book is a collection of moments, impressions, and thoughts. The overall tone evokes feelings of warmth, humor, and dreaminess. Whether the perspective is that of one child's or several is unclear, but the fact that it doesn't matter is one of the book's strengths. It shows that what's universal is often most personal: the sound of raindrops on an umbrella, the satisfaction of picking a scab off one's knee, the comfort of family jokes that only get better with repetition. The sketchy, faux-naive pictures in soft, earthy colors are just right. Text and art are surrounded by abundant white space for an accessible, open look. This French import could be a discussion starter or a springboard for creative writing. Even though it's a bit quirky and possibly not to everyone's taste, those who love it will simply love it!

I’M A PILL BUG

1-929132-95-6

Kirkus Reviews (March 1, 2006):

Rare is the diaper-clad observer who hasn’t marveled at this slow-moving creature with the intriguing tendency to curl into a tiny ball; here’s an import designed to answer any questions that might come up. The information is basic but specific; in simple terms the many-legged narrator shows where pill bugs are found, what they eat and excrete—'As soon as we eat, we poop (lots and lots of square-shaped poop)'—what eats them, how they grow and how they differ from such similar mites as insects and woodlice. Dark gray and thumb-sized or smaller on the page, the pill bugs in Takahashi’s torn-paper collages present an air of lowly harmlessness in keeping with the closing invitation to keep a few (for a while) in a modest terrarium for closer study. Nourishing fare for young naturalists-in-the-bud.

Booklist (March 1, 2006):

Many children know pill bugs as roly-polies and think of them as insects. In this picture book, a pill bug narrates a fascinating account of life among his humble yet admirable fellow crustaceans. In an easy-to-follow, conversational style, he explains what pill bugs eat and excrete, why they live near people, how they protect themselves against predators, why they shed and then eat their shells (“Yum! Very nutritious”), how they reproduce, and more. The final pages explain how to find pill bugs, touch them, and even keep one indoors as a guest before putting it back, since “He’ll want to be with his family during the cold winter!” The lucid, matter-of-fact text answers the main questions children may have about the critters as well as some they might not have thought to ask. Meanwhile, handsome cut-paper collages re-create the pill bugs’ world in realistic yet simplified terms. One series of pictures shows what happens when a pill bug encounters an ant; the pictures allow even nonreaders to “read” what happens: the pill bug curls into a hard ball to ward off the ant’s attack. Like others in the Nature: A Child’s Eye View series, this excellent science picture book was originally published in Japan.

Young Adult Books Central (March 2006):

I found this book highly entertaining. The pill bug--or roly poly, as they are known at my house--does so much more than hide under flower pots and invade the sandbox. I learned why the pill bug is known as the "scavenger of nature," why pill bugs roll into little balls and what happens as they grow and as they give birth. Just in time for spring, little ones will want to capture their own bug for observation after reading the book.

Kids Bookshelf Book Reviews (March 2006):

Told in first person from the pill bug's point of view, this delightful yet simple story takes the reader through the life and adventures of a pill bug. Did you know that pill bugs like to live near people? Did you know that they sometimes eat newspapers, cardboard, stones and concrete? They eat a lot and their bodies need these things, that's why they live near people! A great story that will have kids thinking about "roly-poly's" in a whole new way!

Kids Lit, Green Lake Library (April 7, 2006):

I'm a Pill Bug by Yukihisa Tokuda, illustrated by Kiyoshi Takahasi is a book perfectly designed for children.  It not only has child-friendly illustrations done with paper art, but also presents science in a very child-focused way.  All of the terms are fully explained and each concept is presented in a very accessible way.  Add to that that we all have pill bugs living around us, and this science book gets young children interested in identifying other tiny creatures they can find.  Share this in preschool classrooms doing insect units or in a general story time.  It is a perfect book for introducing nonfiction to small children.  This book was originally published in Japan and has been brought to the U.S. by Kane/Miller Book Publishers.  I love seeing books from around the world brought to children in the U.S. 
Chicken spaghetti

Here’s a picture book for the 4- to 8-year-old backyard scientist: a simple study of the tiny, many-legged bugs who roll up into a ball when they are scared. (You may know them as roly-polies.) As written by Yukihisa Tokuda, the bugs speak directly to the reader, and the effect, while somewhat amusing to an adult, heightens the interest for a child. Tokuda knows his audience; on a page about the devouring of a large leaf, the pill bug says, “Our appetite is huge. We can eat leaves as big as this. As soon as we eat, we poop (lots and lots of square-shaped poop).” The picture on the following page is a leaf carcass and lots of you-know-what. Such information and illustration will be greeted with jubilation if your elementary-school scientist is anything like mine. But Tokuda’s book isn’t all pill-bug bathroom talk; that’s just a small part. We also learn that the itty-bitty pill bug needs to eat stones and concrete to stay healthy. Awesome, right? Pill bugs aren’t insects, but are instead related to crabs and shrimp. And you’re certainly not likely to see them around in the winter: they do not like the cold. We even find out how pill bug mothers carry their little ones. Sharp-eyed youngsters may ask a question or two about the pill bugs making the beast with two backs on the page about mating and babies, but for the younger crowd, the bugs’ own explanation, “When we’re grown up, we find mates and lay eggs,” will likely suffice. (If it doesn’t, you’re on your own.)

Kiyoshi Takahashi’s uncluttered illustrations—made with colorful cut and torn paper, collage, and colored-pencil drawings—are complemented by the amount of words per page: only twenty or so. In addition to previously mentioned activities, we see pill bugs marching under a night sky, hiding from ants, and shedding their shells. Originally published in Japan in 2003, this quirky, interesting examination of a familiar subject—a creature that almost anyone can track down quickly—makes a fine addition to a nature lover’s library.

I WANT MY PACIFIER

1-929132-65-4

School Library Journal (December 1, 2004):

Ross's humorous illustrations are well suited to the topics addressed in these books. At bedtime, the Little Princess protests, "Why do I have to go to bed when I'm not tired and get up when I am?" Her complaints fall on deaf ears, and she is carted off to sleep by the Doctor, presumably the court physician. Predictable complaints and demands ensue, including requests for water and protests about monsters and spiders. When an attempted escape is foiled, the King and Queen think they have their youngster settled for the evening, but as usual the Little Princess has the last word. The second title is the more comical of the two as the heroine refuses to part with her beloved pacifier. In a variety of settings, a mysterious hand enters the frame of the picture and removes it. The girl keeps unearthing the missing object from such well-concealed spots as the chimney, the dog's bed, and the trash can. It's not until a young cousin enters the mix that peer pressure accomplishes what adult machinations could not. Strong child appeal should make these books popular.