Song of the Water Boatman

Readers can explore the animal life in a pond in this handsome book by Minnesota's Joyce Sidman and Beckie Prange. Each double page spread has a poem about a pond animal or plant, a short paragraph with background information, and a beautiful color woodcut illustration. This was a Caldecott honor book in 2006, a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award, winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award in 2006, and was on the Outstanding Science Trade Books list in 2006. In short, it is a beautiful book.

Meow Ruff; A Story in Concrete Poetry

This a a story about a friendship that develops between a cat and a dog caught outside in a rainstorm. Beneath the surface, it is more complex as it combines concrete poetry and art to tell the story. Readers will be drawn into the images (made from words) which add much to the basic storyline. Combining poetry from Minnesota author Joyce Sidman, with artwork by Michelle Berg, this is a nice introduction to concrete poetry for younger readers. It was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2007.

The Range Eternal

When I was little, we had a wood-burning cookstove in the kitchen. A wood stove (brand name "The Range Eternal") is the centerpiece of this story. Set in the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota--on the Canadian border--where author Louise Erdrich grew up; in this book she recounts the special memories of her childhood related to the stove in her family's kitchen. Eventually it was replaced with a modern stove, but the memories lingered. The illustrations by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher add even more warmth to this story.

The Tortilla Factory

This book, written by Gary Paulsen and illustrated by Ruth Wright Paulsen, describes the cycle of life with simple text and lovely oil paintings. In this case the cycle involves tilling the earth, planting seed, waiting while the corn grows, harvesting it, and converting it to flour which is used in the tortilla factory to make tortillas, which are eaten by the workers who till the soil... A nice simple introduction to life cycles.

Night Driving

A father and son are driving to the mountains for a camping trip. This trip is special because they are driving at night, and share a number of special experiences that could only occur at night. Written by John Coy with sepia-toned minimal illustrations by Peter McCarty to set the mood, this is a special father-son story.

Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth

In what could be a sequel to Countdown to Kindergarten (posted on Nov. 21, 2007); in this story our heroine is about to enter first grade. However, a second grader has just told her a very scary story about her teacher, Mrs. Watson. Reportedly, Mrs, Watson is a 300 year old alien who steals the teeth of earthling children. That is very scarry for someone with a loose tooth. Written by Allison McGhee, illustrated by Harry Bliss, this is a wonderful story to share with children going through this developmental stage.

Prairie Train

This is the story of a young girl, who takes her first train ride all alone, traveling from someplace on the prairie out west to St. Paul to visit her grandmother. The story is probably set in the 1930's or 1940's and provides an excellent depiction of train travel. Written by Marsha Wilson Chall, illustrated by John Thompson, this could be used with Minnesota history or transportation units as well as an example of perspective in art classes.