Pack These Picture Books

Great Picture Books to Take on Summer Vacation Trips

Even though you’re trying to keep your packing to “just what we’ll need”  remember to take along some picture books for the younger children.  Vacation trips are made for books rich in detail, or lengthier than usual, as you have time to relax over a book.  You’ll also want to take books that can bear repeated readings: stories and illustrations that reveal new layers of meaning and detail each time they are read.  Match books to destinations, to whet appetites and prepare for what you’re going to experience.  The following books should hold up well.  

 Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm   Details the wide variety of animals, both tame and wild, that occupy tranquil Maple Hill Farm.  We learn about the individual dogs, cats, sheep, geese, horses, cows, and wildlife that surround the tranquil farm.  From Max the Cat to Pearl the Pig, the veritable menagerie of animals’ behavior is detailed in simple language with full pages of detailed illustration bringing to mind Richard Scarry’s Busy World.

 Are any of the World’s Biggest on your trip’s itinerary – Mt. Rushmore, or the Jolly Green Giant?   In The Giant Ball of String, the town of Rumpus Ridge has accumulated the World’s Largest Ball of String.  But then catastrophe strikes - a storm blows it downriver to another town The residents of Rumpus Ridge devise a complicatedly humorous scheme to retrieve their pride and joy.  Geisert draws from a bird’s eye view, illustrations in a world in miniature to pore over as we follow along in this wordless story.

 Chester the Worldly Pig   Like many of us, Chester longs for fame.  He just knows he is meant for more than ending up as somebody’s ham sandwich.  So off he trots to join the circus. The talented pig  becomes famous and has exciting and scary adventures encountering lions, bears, hobos, butchers and carnival owners.  Bill Peet’s books are quite lengthy for picture books, with realistic colored pencil drawings complementing humorous stories that will delight all ages.

Adele & Simon in America   In turn of the century America, Parisian siblings Adele and Simon take a cross country trip,  stopping in various cities of historical interest.  Sharp eyes can also keep a look out for young Simon’s  belongings as he loses them along the way.

 Mossy  A garden of water plants grows on the back of  Mossy,  a beautiful box turtle. She is taken to a nearby nature museum by an admiring scientist and her niece as a very special exhibit .  Sadly, Mossy pines to return to her pond and friends.  The scientist’s niece devises an original way to show Mossy to the museum visitors after she has been released back into her natural habitat.  Brett’s lush pictures with her trademark borders will provide hours of delightful examination as we explore both the nature center and the home Mossy has left behind. 

Munschworks   These treasuries contain 5 or so stories about kids getting in and out of trouble.  Breezy and humorous, the misadventures become even more hilarious with large bold illustrations.  Luckily, the humor never pales, as they will surely be requested over and over.

Camping Trip That Changed America   Taking a car trip out West to visit some of our spectacular National Parks?  Read about how they all began, with this picture book version of Teddy Roosevelt & John Muir’s successful  attempts to save our wilderness.

Not-So-Scary Halloween Picture Books

 Halloween can be fun, but a bit overwhelming for young children.  To enjoy being frightened and frightening is not something that comes naturally!  Why not introduce your little trick or treaters to delicious shivers and joyful shrieking with these not-so-scary picture books?  A list of chapter books for children who prefer benevolent spirits may be found in our Staff Picks under Happy Helpful Ghosts.

 Five Little Monkeys Trick or Treat   That mischievous quintet  decides to play a trick on their chaperone when they go out trick or treating by switching costumes with their friends.  However, the trick ends up being on them.  Includes recipes  for eyeball cookies and worm juice!

 Click, Clack Boo   Farmer Brown,  not a fan of Halloween, sets out some candy, closes the curtains and goes to bed.   Leave it to his animals to pique his curiosity and draw him into their Halloween party.  Simpler in content, without the sly humor and references in other books from this series, a fun read aloud for 3 -5 year olds with all the “Creak, creak, creaking” and “Tap, tap, tapping.”

   Scaredy-Cat Splat  Splat’s ludicrous attempts to be the scariest cat at school provide lots of laughs.

Trick or Treat, Marley!  That rascally, fun-loving puppy does his best to help (?) get the house ready for a Halloween party. 

 Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween   Fans of Scaredy Squirrel, the humorously fearful and list making squirrel, will be reassured to know that he has prepared a Halloween safety guide for those who, like himself, find Halloween pretty nerve racking.  He has all the potential problems scoped out, with chapters on decorations (“Unscary black and orange decorations”), costumes (with a scare-o-meter),  trick or treating (“Getting to know your candy”) and what to do if all else fails (“Play dead”).  Scaredy’s preoccupation  with creating a non-threatening Halloween will give you lots of smiles and chase away the Boos.

 Hedgehug’s Halloween   It’s hard finding just the right costume when you are prickly.  Sheets rip and  balloons pop.  Discouraged because all his friends have Great costumes, Hedgehug is ready to give up when he figures out the Perfect costume.   The heart-warming story is enhanced by appealing forest characters brought vividly to life using  washes of color on a textured background.



    Just Say Boo!  Take charge!  When you’re confronted with all those Halloween terrors, just say “ Boo!”  You’ll find out they aren't really scary.

Word Play

Most of us know that the month of August is named for Augustus Caesar.  But did you know that July is also named for a Caesar: his uncle Julius.  Stories behind the origins of words, idioms, and sayings are often humorous and can give us a glimpse into the past.  How many times have you uttered a well-worn phrase to your children only to have them look at you uncomprehendingly?  For the child who likes to come up with  “Did you know …” at the dinner table, these books could come in handy :

Where Words Come From

Where Words Come From  is an informal history of words and slang such as bagel (from the same German word bouc that means bracelet) and bogus (from  the West African word boko that means fake coin) to white elephant (owned by the King of Siam) and seventh inning stretch (begun by President Taft).

Guppies in Tuxedos provide the origins of common eponyms:  words which evolved out of a name.  We are all familiar with Xerox or Kleenex, but did you know there was a Mr. Guppy and that tuxedos were first worn in Tuxedo Park, New York? (whoops, I guess I am one of those ‘did you know’ types!)

When Blue Meant Yellow focuses on colors, from Shocking Pink to Gunmetal Gray, and includes  a color chart of 191 various hues.

Sometimes it’s not the origin of the word or phrase that sticks in your mind, it’s the use of the word.  Picture books and poetry allow authors creative opportunities to  inventive uses of words.   Since Dr. Seuss revolutionized the learning  to read process with The Cat in the Hat, children have been read clever books that revel in the spoken word, rhyming, punning and other kinds of word play.  Read these books aloud for pun fun.  They are gr8!

Frisky, Brisky, Hippity Hop

Orange Pear Apple Bear 

Wumbers

C D B !

Sheep in a Jeep

E-mergency !

Exclamation Mark !