by Chris Riddell
Macmillan, 2007
171 pp.
Age: 6+
Reading Level: 8+
Interests: mysteries, adventure, travel, strong heroines, fashion, clever plans and maps
Next: Ottoline At Sea, Ottoline Goes to School
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat
21 May 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 6+ Tags: cats, cities, crime, detective, dogs, family, fashion, mystery, strong girls, travel
Scranimals
21 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 5+ Tags: animals, birds, maps, nonsense, poetry, travel, word play
Jack Prelutsky, poems
Peter Sis, illustrator
HarperCollins, 2002
40 pp.
Age: 5 +
Interests: poetry, animals, birds, word play, nonsense, maps, travel
Next: Edward Lear’s The Quangle Wangle’s Hat and others
Also by this poet/illustrator team: The Dragons Are Singing Tonight, Monday’s Troll, The Gargoyle on the Roof
Also by this poet: The New Kid on the Block and many others
The Red Book
14 Mar 2012 3 Comments
in Books, books 4+ Tags: city life, mystery, travel, wordless books
by Barbara Lehman
Houghton Mifflin, 2004
32 pp.
Age: 4 +
Interests: wordless books, mystery, travel, books
Also by this author: Museum Trip, Rainstorm, Trainstop, The Secret Box
To Read Next: Flotsam, other puzzling books
Where the Wild Things Are
14 Feb 2012 1 Comment
in Books, books 3+ Tags: adventure, bad behavior, boats, monsters, night, ocean, travel
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1964
by Maurice Sendak
Harper Collins, 1963
40 pp.
Age: 3+
Interests: monsters, bad behavior, adventure, travel, boats
Also by this author: Outside Over There, In the Night Kitchen, Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
Note: The 2009 movie Where the Wild Things Are is quite brilliant but is not aimed at the same preschool audience as the book! Moving, complex, gorgeous and frightening – definitely more for grownups than youngsters.
Hey, Al
29 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 5+ Tags: adventure, birds, city life, dogs, Magic, New York, travel, vacation
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1987
Arthur Yorinks, text
Richard Egielski, illustrations
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986
28 pp.
Age: 5+
Interests: birds, dogs, city life, travel, adventure, vacation, New York, magic, apartments
Other Titles by this author and illustrator: Homework, What a Trip!
Making the Moose Out of Life
06 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 3+, Canadian books Tags: adventure, animals, boats, island, moose, travel, trying new things, wilderness survival
BLUE SPRUCE nominee – 2012
by Nicholas Oldland
Kids Can Press, 2010
30 pp.
Age: 3+
Interests: animals, moose, adventure, boats, islands, travel, trying new things, survival skills
Also by this author: The Busy Beaver, Big Bear Hug
Bedknob and Broomstick
04 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 6+ Tags: adventure, British history, Magic, medieval history, siblings, travel, witches
by Mary Norton
Harcourt Brace, 1943
(the two original books – The Magic Bed-Knob and Bonfires and Broomsticks – are now commonly combined into this one volume)
189 pp., 20 chapters
Age: 6+
Interests: magic, witches, medieval history, adventure, siblings, travel
Next: the Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks has a totally different plot than the book
Also by this author: The Borrowers series
The Polar Express
19 Dec 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 3+ Tags: bedtime, Christmas, night, trains, travel, winter
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1986
by Chris van Allsburg
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985
30 pp.
Age: 3 +
Interests: Christmas, winter, trains, snow
Also by this author: Jumanji
A Flock of Shoes
19 Nov 2011 1 Comment
in Books, books 5+, Canadian books Tags: seasons, shoes, summer, travel, winter
BLUE SPRUCE nominee 2012
by Sarah Tsiang
illustrated by Qin Leng
Toronto: Annick, 2010
30 pp.
Age: 5 +
Interests: shoes, seasons, summer, winter, travel
Anno’s Journey
11 Aug 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 6+ Tags: art, country life, history, puzzles, travel
by Mitsumasa Anno
originally published in Japan in 1977
New York: William Collins, 1978
42 pp.
Age: 6+
Interests: art, history, country life, travel, puzzles
Rarest Kind of Best 