There are few things as essential as impressing upon young children the knowledge, guidelines, and behaviors that can help them keep safe as they navigate the world around them. This illustrated book, which follows 6-year-old Hugo Hippo and family during a day at the community pool, does an outstanding job of conveying that information in a way that kids can easily understand. Topics such as setting physical boundaries, i...Read more

Kids delight in this story of a boy who stubs his toe and sets off a sequence of events that grow sillier with each passing moment. A string of animals (a dog, cat, bees, ducks displaced by an old man throwing himself into a pond, a herd of elephants) play key parts in the escalating chain of effect. Man-made objects perpetuate the action as well - a bike with rider gone astray, a teeter-totter that catapults a boy high i...Read more

This sweet, vividly illustrated story is filled with fully-imagined creatures with inspired names - Jilla Birds, Quibblefish, Cranny Bugs, and, of course, the adorable Cutie Boos. They all can be found on or around Booyville Island in the Optula Sea, where a magical tree produces a golden berry that can make your wish come true. When a young Jilla Bird named Gizzo desperately wants to learn to fly but is at his wits' end,...Read more

Here I Am is a marvelous collaboration between Patti Kim, its author, and Sonia Sanchez, the artist. This hardcover book contains no text. Through images alone it tells a story deeply expressive of the complex and varied emotions experienced by a young boy displaced by his family's move to a new and distant land. Everything is different - the people, language, buildings, food - and his feelings of isolation, sadness, and...Read more

This high quality, hardbound book is a gem. Higgledy Piggledy is the delightful tale of four little pigs, brothers who share an idyllic life in the town of Sudden. They get along with one another famously, with one exception. The three brothers with rhyming names, Curly, Twirly, and Whirly, sometimes make fun of their differently named brother - Higgledy Piggledy - simply because his name is unlike theirs. Even so, life i...Read more

Inspired by the collections of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, this guided activity book provides exceptional creative stimulation for young minds while simultaneously exposing them to the beauty of art history. Open the book anywhere, and on the left you'll find a photograph of a historical work of art with a short paragraph providing background information on it. There are masks from around the world, an ancient...Read more

This guided activity book has the same great format as The I (Heart) Art activity book (above), except that here the focus is on historical and contemporary design rather than fine art. Each of the thirty or so activities in this book stems from accompanying photographs of exceptional design works, the result of a collaboration with Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The activities are highly varied and imaginative...Read more

Having this hardcover book personalized so that your child's name and photo appear throughout its pages is a lovely concept, and one that children particularly delight in. What makes it work so well in this case is how beautifully 'I Love You So . . . ' expresses the unconditional love parents feel for their children. The distinctive illustrations are especially appealing, the rich colors and imagery conveying a warmth th...Read more

Self-soothing is one of the most valuable things a child can learn. Little Monkey Calms Down has a bold, humorous style that captivates readers from the very first page and makes it easy for them to absorb this lesson. Little Monkey's response to dropping his ice cream on the floor is one that kids can easily relate to. His brief, sad-eyed expression is followed by a meltdown of epic proportions (wailing, flailing, fists ...Read more

This is a delightful concept, one that encourages children to tap into their creativity and story-telling abilities by making their own book. The end result, a professionally printed hardcover version of the child's creation, is highly empowering, teaching kids that the path to big results is a matter of taking concrete steps. My Awesome Book! is very accessible, starting with its unusually appealing packaging. Inside, th...Read more

Kids and parents alike will be delighted by this tale of an orphaned Pekingese dog with a delicate eye condition and a lonely milliner mouse who pair up to pursue their dreams. Destined to be a classic, this hard cover children's book bristles with imagination and entertainment. Everything about it, from its outsize pages filled with more than 50 full-color images to its captivating storyline and cast of colorful charact...Read more

The internet is an invaluable resource for research and education, but skill in its use requires experience and guidance. This book is filled with science activities carefully designed to help students in Grades 3-6 use critical thinking skills to selectively locate and use information on the web. Activities span several dozen topics, including Animal Cells, Weather Forecasts, Plate Tectonics, Electromagnetism, and our So...Read more

It is not easy to teach principles to children in a way they can truly absorb. This book does just that. The author, David Esposito, takes us into real-life moments during which it may prove especially challenging to feel compassion for one another. A boy, tired and frustrated, finds compassion for his younger brother whose fear of thunderstorms is keeping them both awake at night. A girl chooses to befriend a new student...Read more

The author David Esposito brings a lot to the table with this installment in a series of books that teach children the meaning and value of specific principles. This particular book deals with the principle of honesty. When the truth has consequences we may not like, dishonesty is always an option. Mr. Esposito does a remarkable job of clearly communicating, in a way children can absorb, the value of telling the truth eve...Read more

David Esposito has done a huge service to parents, educators, and children by creating The Principles of Our World series of books. In this installment kids learn the principle of sacrifice, and like the other books in the series, this one uses several stories and characters to which the young reader can easily relate to demonstrate the principle at hand. Readers are provided with a window into the internal struggles many...Read more

As do each of the other books in The Principles of Our World series, this one contains a collection of stories that exemplify a particular principle, in this case the principle of teamwork. Each of the stories provides a different context (home, school, work, parents), and relatable characters in real-life situations. This approach, consistent throughout the series, makes it easy for young readers to see themselves in the...Read more

Clever simplicity of the sort that speaks to a young child's imagination is hard to come by, even more so when it tickles a child's funny bone. That's why really good children's books are rare, and why What Not to do at the Zoo is so refreshing. The title alone arouses curiosity, and each 2-page illustration and accompanying line of text delivers humorous guidance on exactly what to avoid doing while at the zoo. 'Do not t...Read more